Digitize Freehand (doodle) with Bernina Designer Plus

Using the Freehand tools in Bernina Designer Plus software allows you to draw your embroidery designs rather than plot them. It frees you up to do more creative designs, and can speed up your workflow. It is lots of fun.
Using a pen tablet is not necessary, but can make the process a lot easier.
Some reasonably priced brands of pen tablets are Huion and Artisul. I am not sponsored by either of these companies.

[@inga-maritathoden7788]

Yes please post more on this subject!

[@CarolUndy]

Shall do.

[@marianhardman6867]

Wonderful video Carol 😊

[@CarolUndy]

Thanks Marian

[@pattyjay1947]

She is the best in explaining thank you soooo much

[@CarolUndy]

Thank you Patty. Happy digitizing.

[@rquilts.Kuwait]

Thank you Carol 🌹. Great I still have my computer pen . Watching this video encourages me to use it 😄

[@CarolUndy]

That's great. I hope you have lots of fun like me.

[@Miz11000]

Thank you very insightful. I have Hatch 3 and pen tablet tried it works great! 😊

[@CarolUndy]

That's great.

[@carinabam5833]

Hallo love all your video's please show us how to digitize crochet.😉

[@CarolUndy]

Will do soon. I am working on this trying out different threads.

[@MaryGabrielleA]

loved this and definitely need a tablet! Can't wait to have a full V9 series available on yor site :)

[@SalTVFan]

You have the V9 software on your pen tablet - does the tablet have wifi/internet capabilities to transfer a design to a PC?

[@CarolUndy]

The type of pen tablet I have is pluged in to my computer via usb. It also has it's own power source, so is not powered by the pc. Essentially it is a second monitor, and so the software is run on the pc and not the tablet. You could also do this with a laptop for a bit more portability. You can get tablets that are stand alone and will run programs, but they are much more expensive and I am not sure whether the Bernina software will run on them. If anyone out there knows, I would be interested to hear.

[@SalTVFan]

Thanks for that. I have a small Wacom thingo but am not great with the hand/eye coordination on screen. Therefore I don’t use it much. Being able to trace on a screen would be a great help.

[@nyssalanzafame9780]

i have the samsung galaxy convertible 360 for this purpose, but the pen will not let me left click , so i cannot use it :( was bummed when i found out. i bought it for this purpose. @@CarolUndy

[@patricialynch6532]

Thank you!

[@angelatamborra2976]

HI Carol. I have the Bernina Embroidery Software 8 Designer Plus, V8.2. Is that smoothing tool available for the V8.2? I don't see it nor do I see the guide at the bar on top when I click open the freehand tool. Great instruction video!

[@CarolUndy]

Hi Angela, Yes the smoothing tool and settings for the Freehand Tools is in V8. I opened my V8 and it came up as a floating toolbar on the workspace. You may have it docked somewhere else on your screen, or if you have a smaller screen it may be hidden. Have a look at the end of your top tool bar for arrows that you click on to show more tools. Cheers Carol

[@wt49s]

Well appears you have been very busy Carol well done

[@marydinkel]

I looked at the Huion website and I’m totally confused. Any specific model or specification to work with the software?

[@CarolUndy]

Hi Mary, I would suggest you get one of their Pen Displays. That means that it will act like a second monitor on your computer. The next thing to consider is size. The model numbers give a clue as to the size e.g. Kamvas Pro 13 has a monitor size of 13.3 inches. Given that these Pen displays need to be attached to your computer they will never be truly portable, but the smaller ones can be packed up with your laptop to move around. So I would choose the largest one you have space for, can move around and can afford. Remember you will effectively be drawing on it so you need a bit of room to make smooth sweeping lines. Here is a link to the page on their website that shows the Pen displays. Make sure you select your country at the top right of the screen so that prices are shown in your currency. Click on the individual products to access the product details and specifications. store.huion.com/au/collections/pen-display

[@peachesita]

Thank you for this video. I’m new to V9 and wanted to know if I had the same ability as the new design doodler software.

[@CarolUndy]

I am glad I have been able to answer that question for you.

[@ShaziaRosay]

I recently discovered Design Doodler software and I think thats a different ball game for getting done quickly. V9 takes too long to doodle

[@nessinicole]

@@ShaziaRosay since this comment I decided against getting design doodler and used the money towards a surface pro 9 instead and I’m happy with my decision. I can sketch on the go with the stylus and a mini wireless keyboard. I was following the fb group for design doodler and it had way too many bugs to work out. I already own v9 and with bernina I feel like I have more control over my designs.

[@gialovesjesus8350]

I’m confused. why are you tracing the artwork? Shouldn’t the software digitize it, and convert it into an embroidery? Seems like it’s defeating the whole purpose.

[@CarolUndy]

The artwork in this instance is not a clear image. It is very pixelated. The Auto digitizing tools would not make a good job of digitizing this so it has to be manually digitized. I used this example to demonstrate the freehand tools, but it could have been done with the open and closed outline run stitch tools by using left and right clicks. This would take a lot longer. For those out there who are skilled at drawing, the Freehand tools can also be used to just draw the embroidery without an image.

[@gialovesjesus8350]

@@CarolUndy thanks for clearing that up. How about if I do a very clear vector illustration in Adobe illustrator can I use that image, imported, and use that artwork without we retracing? Do I have to send it to corel first?

[@CarolUndy]

If you have the Designer Plus version of the software, you can go to The Art Canvas section of the software and import your .ai file. Art Canvas is essentially Corel embedded in the Bernina software. From there, with the image selected, you can click on the Convert button which will convert the image to stitches and take you to Embroidery Canvas where you can make further edits or send to your machine. If you want more control over the conversion you can select the image in Art Canvas and click on the Embroidery Canvas button which will bring the image into Embroidery Canvas where you can either use any of the Auto Digitizing Tools, or manually digitize. You could also use the Art Canvas part of the software to draw your vector graphic and then convert it. If you have the Creator level of the software, you need to save your .ai file to one of the following formats. .bmp, .jpeg, .png, .wmf, .emf, eps, or .cdr. These file types can be imported directly into the Embroidery Canvas and then you can use the Auto Digitizing tools to make your embroidery. These videos might help. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ69amh3qslohpI - Load an Image for digitizing in Bernina Software. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYS6oHloYtGXp9E - Overview of digitizing options for images. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoCmZKiVmKxgqMU - Using the Auto Digitizing tools for beginners Happy Digitizing.

[@gialovesjesus8350]

@@CarolUndy thanks that was very helpful.

[@nninestrong]

А на русском эта программа 🙄 существует.

[@CarolUndy]

You should be able to get the Bernina Software in Russia. The touch screen drawing tablet can be any brand that works with your computer. Here is a link to the Bernina site in Russia.www.bernina.com/ru-RU/Home-Russia You should be able to find a dealer there.