Brother Pe Design 6 Manual

							13
Before Use
→If the upgrade has been completed suc-
cessfully, the dialog box shown below ap-
pears.
Online registration
If you wish to be contacted about upgrades and provid ed with important information such as future product 
developments and improvements, you can register your  product online by following a simple registration 
procedure.
Click  Online Registration  on the Help menu of Layout & Editing to start up the installed Web browser and 
open the online registration page on our Web site.
Uninstallation
1.Turn on the computer and start up Windows.
2.Click the  Start button in the task bar, and then click  Control Panel.
3.In the Control Panel window, double-click  Add or Remove Programs.
4.In the dialog box that appeared, select this software, and then click  Change/Remove.
Technical support
Contact Technical Support if you have a problem. Plea se check the company web site (www.brother.com) to 
find the Technical Support in your area.
aNote:
If a warning appears at any time, follow the 
instructions that are displayed.
aNote:
Online registration may not be available in some areas.
aNote:
With an operating system other  than Windows XP, point to Settings in the Start menu, and then click Control Panel. In the Control Panel window, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
aNote:
Have the following information ready  before contacting Technical Support.
• The make and model of the computer that you are  using as well as the Windows version (Refer to 
page 8 and check the system requirements for this product again.)
 Information on any error messages that appear
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							14
Before Use
Tips and Techniques for Creating 
Embroidery Patterns
■Sewing wide areas
When satin stitching is sewn in a wide area, the stitched area may shrink after sewing, depending on the 
material and the type of thread used. If this happens, switch to this alternate method: Select the fill stitch and 
use stabilizer material on the reverse side of the fabric.
■Sewing directionIn order to limit shrinking, select a stitch direction perpendicular to the larger edge of the area. 
■Sewing order
After creating an embroidery pattern made of several different parts (in Design Center or Layout & Editing), be 
sure to check the sewing order and correct it if necessary.
With Design Center, the default sewing order is the order in which the sewing attributes are applied.
With Layout & Editing, the default sewing order is the order in which the elements are drawn.
■Enlarging/reducing embroidery patternsThere are several ways of enlarging or reducing an imported embroidery pattern in Layout & Editing. You may 
choose to scale your pattern with the pointer, or apply the Stitch to Block function, then scale the pattern.
When you normally scale an imported pattern, the number of stitches that will be sewn remains the same, 
resulting in a change of embroidery quality if the size of the pattern is greatly changed. However, by holding 
down the   key while scaling the imported embroidery pattern, the original embroidery quality can be 
maintained, since the stitch density and fill pattern automatically adapts to the new size.
Another method of maintaining the original embroidery quality of the pattern is to select the Sew – Stitch to 
Block command, then scale the pattern. When a pattern is scaled only moderately, it may not be necessary 
to apply the Stitch to Block function.
Patter n
After sewing
aNote:
When using the satin stitch in a wide area, the needle may move out of position by about 10 mm with some 
machines. In order to avoid this, use the above-mentioned alternate method.
Shrinking more likely to occur Shrinking less likely to occur
This system allows you to create a wide variety of embroidery patterns and supports wider ranges for the 
setting of the sewing attributes (thread density, sewing pitch, etc.). However, the final result also depends 
on your particular sewing machine model. We recommend that you make a trial sewing sample with your 
sewing data before sewing on the final material. Remember to sew your trial sample on the same type of 
fabric as your final material and to use the same needle and the same machine embroidery thread.
Ctrl
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							15
Before Use
Sew Types
The sewing attributes for each sew type are first set to their default settings; however, by changing the settings 
of the sewing attributes, you can create custom stitching. (For details, refer to pages 91 through 95 and 
pages 172 through 178.)
■Line sew types
Zigzag stitch Running stitch
Motif stitch E/V stitch
bMemo:
The stitching for the programmable fill stitch and the motif stitch depends on the selected stitch pattern. 
For details, refer to “Programmable fill stitch” on page 93 and 175 and “Motif stitch” on page 95 and 177.
■Region sew types
Satin stitch Fill stitch
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							16
Before Use
Programmable fill stitch Motif stitch
bMemo:
The stitching for the programmable fill stitch and the motif stitch depends on the selected stitch pattern. 
For details, refer to “Programmable fill stitch” on page 93 and 175 and “Motif stitch” on page 95 and 177.
Cross stitch Concentric circle stitch
Radial stitch Spiral stitch
Piping stitch
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							17
Chapter 1
Basic Operation
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							18
Getting Started
About This Chapter
This chapter is organized as a tutorial to provide you with a hands-on introduction to the basic features of the 
applications.
1. Automatically Creating Embroidery Patterns
1-1. Using the Auto Punch Functionc page 19
In this section, we will use the Auto Punch function in Layout & Editing to automatically convert an 
image to an embroidery pattern.
1-2. Using a Photo Stitch Functionc page 25
In this section, we will use one of the Photo Stitch functions to create a more realistic embroidery 
pattern from a image.
2. Creating and Editing Embroidery Patterns
2-1. Using Design Centerc page 30
In this section, we will use Design Center to manually create an embroidery pattern from an image 
using a four-stage procedure.
2-2. Using Layout & Editingc page 39
In this section, the embroidery pattern created in Design Center will be imported into Layout & Editing, 
where a few objects will be added and the layout will be rearranged.
2-3. Using Programmable Stitch Creatorc page 54
In this section, we will learn how to use Programmable Stitch Creator to edit a stitch in order to create 
a custom stitch pattern.
3. Creating Large-Size Embroidery Patterns
3-1. Designing a large-size embroidery patternc page 59
In this section, we will design an embroidery pattern that is too large to be sewn in a normal 
embroidery hoop and therefore must be divided into sections.
3-2. Embroidering large-size embroidery patternsc page 63
In this section, we will sew the separate sections of the embroidery pattern to create large-size 
embroidery.
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							Basic Operation
19
Automatically Creating Embroidery Patterns
Using the Auto Punch Function
In this section, we are going to automatically create an embroidery pattern from an image.
Follow the instructions in this section step by step. If you have to interrupt this exercise for any reason, it is 
recommended to save the file (refer to Step 6, “Saving the embroidery pattern”, on page 23). You will be able 
to retrieve it later and resume your work.
The complete procedure will take you through the different steps of a normal working session using the Auto 
Punch function. 
Step 1
Starting up Layout & Editing
1.
Click , select All Programs, then 
PE-DESIGN Ver.6. Select Layout & Editing 
to open the Layout & Editing window.
bMemo:
If a shortcut for Layout & Editing was 
created, for example, on the desktop, 
double-click it to start up the application.
→The Layout & Editing window appears.
bMemo:
 To fill the entire screen with the Layout & 
Editing window, click the maximize button 
on the right end of the title bar.
 At this time, you can change the Design 
Page properties by using the menu 
command 
Option – Design Page 
Property. (For more details, refer to 
page 77.) For this example, we will not 
change the Design Page settings.
Step 1Starting up Layout & Editing page 19
Step 2Opening an image file page 20
Step 3Adjusting the size and position of the image page 21
Step 4Automatically converting the image to an embroidery pattern page 21
Step 5Displaying a preview of the embroidery pattern page 22
Step 6Saving the embroidery pattern page 23
Step 7Transferring the pattern to an original card page 24
Step 8Quitting Layout & Editing page 24
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							20
Automatically Creating Embroidery Patterns
Step 2
Opening an image file
First, we need to open the image that will be 
converted into the embroidery pattern.
1.Click Image on the menu bar, point to Input, 
and then click from File on the submenu.
→An Open an image file dialog box similar 
to the one shown below appears.
2.Double-click the ClipArt folder to open it.
3.Select the sample file tulip.bmp in the ClipArt 
folder.
bMemo:
If the Preview check box is selected, the 
contents of the selected file will appear in the 
Preview box.
4.Click Open to open the image file and to close 
the dialog box.
bMemo:
Double-clicking the file name also adds the 
image to the work area and closes the dialog 
box.
→The image appears in the work area. 
Menu bar
Toolbar
Sewing Attributes bar
To o l  B o x
Wor k a rea
Design Page 
Status barMaximize button
Close buttonTitle bar
Minimize button
Reference Window
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							Basic Operation
21
Automatically Creating Embroidery Patterns
Step 3
Adjusting the size and position 
of the image
1.
Click Image on the menu bar, and then click 
Modify.
→Handles appear around the image.
bMemo:
The status bar shows the dimensions (width 
and height) of the image.
2.Move the pointer over a handle.
→The shape of the pointer changes to 
, , , or , depending 
on the handle that the pointer is over.
bMemo:
  is for scaling the width.
  is for scaling the height.
  and   are for scaling both 
dimensions at the same time. 
3.Drag the handle to adjust the selected image 
to the desired size.
4.Move the pointer over the selected image.
→The shape of the pointer changes to  .
5.Drag the image to the desired location.
Step 4
Automatically converting the 
image to an embroidery pattern
1.Click Image on the menu bar, and then click 
Image to Stitch Wizard.
An alternate method is to click the Toolbar 
button indicated below.
→The Select Stitch Method for Image dia-
log box appears.
2.Select Auto Punch, and then click Next.
→The image is analyzed, and the resulting 
image is displayed in the Image Analysis 
dialog box.
Status bar
Handles
Image to Stitch Wizard
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							22
Automatically Creating Embroidery Patterns
bMemo:
The following stitch methods are also 
available.

Photo Stitch 1 (Color and Mono)
Refer to page 116 for more details on the 
Color setting and to page 120 for more 
details on the Mono setting.

Photo Stitch 2 (Color and Mono)
Refer to page 122 for more details on the 
Color setting and to page 124 for more 
details on the 
Mono setting.

Cross Stitch
For more details, refer to page 125.

Design Center
For more details, refer to “Using Design 
Center” on page 30.
bMemo:
 Various settings are available for 
converting the image to an embroidery 
pattern. (For more details on the various 
settings, refer to page 115.) After changing 
the settings, click 
Retry to display the 
image with the new settings applied.
 Areas of the image that will not be 
converted to the embroidery pattern 
appear with a crosshatch pattern. Click 
each area to select whether or not it should 
be converted.
3.Click Finish.→The image is converted to an embroidery 
pattern, which is displayed in the Design 
Page.
Step 5
Displaying a preview of the 
embroidery pattern
You can display a preview of the embroidery 
pattern in order to see how the stitching is 
connected, or you can display a realistic preview 
of the embroidery pattern in order to see how the 
pattern will appear once it is sewn.
1.Click Display on the menu bar, and then click 
Preview.
An alternate method is to click the Toolbar 
button indicated below. 
→A preview of the embroidery pattern ap-
pears. 
Preview
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