Better Wilcom Docs Site

Appearance

Designing for cording ​

Cording designs are made up of running stitch outlines. Bear in mind:

  • Create the design with run stitching to define the cording pattern.
  • Run stitching may cross over itself or other objects in a continuous fashion. It is best to avoid long runs of overlapping cord.
  • However, cording should be, as much as possible, continuous, as the cord cannot be trimmed by machine trimmer, only by hand.
  • Consequently, any disconnected cording sections must be digitized in different colors so the machine will stop to allow for manual trimming.
  • It is ok to have sharp corners but avoid extremes.
  • It is possible to combine regular embroidery and cording in the same design.
  • Conversely, it is possible to create cording-only designs with no other embroidery stitching.

Producing cording on the machine ​

To perform cording in combination with embroidery...

  • Stitch data from the design file stops the machine as required. On the production worksheet, a ‘Stop’ is displayed with an additional color swatch indicating ‘CORD’. This prompts the machine operator to switch to cording.
  • Choose an embroidery thread to stitch the cord to the fabric – either a matching color, contrasting color, or see-through thread.
  • The machine stitches the design automatically, with the cord being fed through the cording device, in shapes defined by the stitch data.
  • At the end of a section of cording, the machine stops so that you can trim the cord.
  • When Cording is applied, a Cord In/Out function is inserted into the stitch sequence. Some machines have a specific cording function which is output when saving to machine file – e.g. Barudan FDR-3 file format or Schiffli machines that support cording. For machines that don’t have an explicit cording function, the software outputs a Stop code.
  • During production, the needle penetrates either side of the cord, not through the center. As a consequence, the cord is pushed one way or the other.
  • Relevant production information is also recorded on the design worksheet:
  • Cord size and color
  • Length of cord required
  • The stop sequence shows when to start cording, trim cording, and end cording.