Embroidery Fonts

What Are Embroidery Fonts?

Embroidery fonts are files that are programmed to create letters. The information contained in the file is digitized in a way that the embroidery machine can read. Using the file, the embroidery machine can recreate the letters or words on the fabric. Additional fonts can be downloaded for free or purchased separately.

An embroidered font is very similar to the font you use on your computer or phone. Your computer may have Ariel or Times as New Roman fonts. The font is a writing style.

Embroidery machines have a range of fonts or characters. The difference with the specific font of the embroidery is that it has to be readable by the embroidery machine. All the information an embroidery machine needs to reproduce fonts is stored in an embroidery file.

When it comes to embroidered fonts, there are three different types of files. Let’s take a look at them and see how different they are.

BX fonts

BX fonts primarily allow digitizers to take their sewing file fonts (or embroidery designs) and assign one stroke (key on the keyboard) to each letter so that they fit into the proprietary software program. Easy to type.

Many digitizers have used this service, and to be honest, I think that’s the main problem with this type of embroidered font. Regardless of their experience, anyone can develop and sell BX fonts, which have flooded the market with poorly digitized and automated digitized BX fonts.

To be fair, many digitizers do a great job of converting their fonts to BX, but at the same time, the number of average digitizers who have created BX fonts far outweighs the good fonts. Regardless of who digitized them, BX fonts are all strokes defined by embroidery files (or embroidery patterns).

I have been repeatedly asked if we provide BX format for our fonts in Embroidery Legacy. Years ago, I had a developer ask me to convert my work to BX format. The answer was yes and still no. I do not provide BX format; The reason is simple:

Any font is as good as the digitizer that made it. Putting my work in the pool of both excellent and bad digitizers no longer makes a difference to me and the quality at which we have worked so hard to build our reputation.

I know that the developers of the BX format have recently released a “replica” of Wilcom’s world-renowned object-based ESA font technology within the highest levels of their software digitizing module; but as I noted earlier That said, any font is as good as a digitizer them.

ESA Embroidery Font

ESA fonts (Embroidery Specific Alphabets) are the most advanced and customized type of embroidered fonts. ESA fonts are an embroidery font file format specific to Hatch and Wilcom embroidery software. These keyboard fonts are the most customizable form of embroidery font as they can be easily adjusted, resized, and reshaped, all while giving you professional results.

Ironically, ESA embroidery fonts have been around for a long time, and that’s one reason why Wilcom has been a global leader in the commercial embroidery industry for decades.

I remember making ESA fonts 27 years ago when I ran my own two multi-head factories where we produce more than 10,000,000 embroidery products each year. I had two reasons for making these fonts on business days.

1. I didn’t want to digitize the same characters over and over again (as I said before, it gets very boring). I also wanted to make sure that the fonts I was using would meet the expectations of users and myself. 

2. ESA fonts have the same features as Wilcom’s EMB format. Not only does this mean that all the letters are engineered to fit the nearest point, but they also include Wilcom’s incredible Fabric Assist features and much more.

TTF

True Type File (TTF) fonts are not embroidery fonts. They were developed by Apple in the 1980s for use with computers. Fonts are the letters that appear on the screen in their original form. In other words, just like you type them. Regardless of screen resolution or size.

Once installed in the embroidery software, the TTF file is automatically converted to the embroidery format when you use it. Although this change can be a bit hit and miss.

Instead of being a real representation, spelling correctly can get lost in automatic translation. Causes a bit of confusion, especially in more complex letter designs. TTF designs work best with simple and narrow fonts instead of blocked or complex fonts.

Choose the font for your project

With all the different fonts available, how do you choose the best fonts for your project? My advice is to consider the style, size, and weight.

The fonts convey a hereditary feeling – some look traditional, some more modern. Some are casual, others are more formal. In general, Sans Serif fonts – those with no small feet on their heads – look more modern while Serifs look more traditional. Loopy script fonts have a formal feel unless the characters are very different in size – then they look more comfortable. When you see a font, ask yourself what kind of feeling it makes, and ask yourself if it suits the shape you’re going for.

Font size is also an important factor in choosing embroidered fonts for your project. Some fonts come in petite sizes which makes them suitable for delicate items like handkerchiefs. Before buying a font, make sure it is available in the size you want.

And, finally, consider the weight of the font. Thicker characters – Nappies will work better on fabrics, while thinner ones will work better on more delicate materials. A very thoughtful font can get lost in textured clothes.

Some popular embroidery fonts

Many embroidery designs are characterized by embroidered words or names that are similar to handwriting or hand-lettering, which is why cursive and calligraphy fonts are often used for embroidery.

Both cursive and calligraphy are under script fonts, and the main difference between them is that when it comes to cursive fonts, the letters are all connected, whereas the calligraphy style does not require the letters to be root.

Let’s take a look at some cursive and calligraphy embroidery fonts:

Cursive Embroidery Fonts

1.  Stitched: Handwritten Font

This handcrafted font with dashed strokes excellently reproduces a real running stitch. Its subtle flaws, such as irregularly tilted characters and unique superscript dots, make it completely authentic. If you want to give the impression that you have sewn a design by hand, this is the embroidery font you are looking for:

2. Cross Stitch 

Recreating a beautiful and detailed sewing style with embroidered letters that look cross-stitched and embossed for a more realistic effect, this font is perfect if you want a more traditional look of hand embroidery for your design.

3. A New Script Font

Towards a more modern-looking font, Rebels typeface features beautiful crescendo handwriting with glyphs with more contrast strokes and a longer X-height. It also comes with a swash replacement for lowercase letters.

Designed for embroidery, it works well even in small font sizes so it will look great whether embroidered on handkerchiefs, aprons, blankets, or other personal items:

4. A Lovely Script Font

In a beautiful handwritten cursive font, the family home has smooth, coarse strokes resulting in quirky coiled characters. Aside from the heart-shaped superscript dots, the font itself has a romantic look and feel that is perfect for wedding embroidery hoops or other love-themed embroidery designs.

5. Bodoni Terracina

Royalty, beauty, and grace – are the things that come to mind when you look at the Bodoni Terracina font. The glyphs themselves were created by the Italian typographer Giambattista Bodoni. And with neat, thin strokes and all the characters oblique, this stylish font has a lot of readability and can help you create a stunning, formal-looking embroidery design:

6. Cattieshine

Get the complete package with this fully packaged font bundle featuring handwritten Sans Serif fonts, a Crescent script font in 2 weights, over 100 doodles, swash, and floral ornaments, and 10 background patterns.

The Katie Shine script font has wild, irregular strokes while the breath serif is thick and mono weight and comes in large and small caps. Combining these fonts with embellished decorative elements, you can create beautiful embroidered designs for tote bags, pillowcases, and a variety of fabrics. Here is an example: