Tutorial: Making .tiff File Embroidery Patterns Layerable in Photoshop Elements

Welcome to my first tutorial! After my post about the tea towel I embroidered I got a couple emails asking how I made the .tiff files that came on the CD included with the Doodle Stitching book into motifs that have transparent backgrounds, and how I used them to make my own arrangements of the motifs. I thought instead of answering those questions individually, I would post a tutorial of exactly how I did it.

Before I get started through, I want to thank Aimee Ray, the author of Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection. I contacted her before I started this post to make sure she wouldn't mind me using some of her images within the screenshots I am using. She couldn't have been nicer! You can find her at her blog Little Dear Tracks, and her Etsy Store. I love her designs, and really enjoy stitching them, as you can see from the project below.

I made this design from the motifs found on the Doodle Stiching CD and using the method I outline below. It was this project, which I call "Stitching with My Gnomies", and the tea towel that inspired me to write this tutorial.

Note: I am using these .tiff files because that's the form the embroidery motif's I am currently using come in. However, this process works just as easily on JPGs, even PDFs if you convert them into JPGs.

What you will need:

• Images that you want to work with (You can find some free pattern's on Aimee's blog, or just search Free Embroidery patterns. Or, conversely, if you already have the Doodle Stitching book, you will want to use the motifs from the included CD.)
• Photoshop Elements (PSE)

If you do not have Photoshop Elements, you can download a free 30-day trial here. Your interface make look a little different than mine as I am using PSE 9 and you would have PSE 10, but the differences will be minuscule. 

So, let's get started shall we?

Click on any image to enlarge it, Skitch's type isn't as big as I would like.

1. The first thing you are going to do is open PSE on your computer. Then it is time to bring in the files you want to work with. For each file just go to File > Open > and then navigate to the file(s) you want. You will notice that your files are now in the Project bin. Within the Project Bin you will see your files as little tiles. Just click on whatever one you would like to work on and it will come up in the program. When you are done with that file, simply click on the next one you would like to work with. 

Your working file.

2. Select your first file to work on. The next step is making the background of the image transparent.  To get the background transparent you will have to use the "Magic Eraser" tool. You will find the icon on the left of your screen that looks like a pink eraser. In the bottom right corner of that icon, you will see a little tiny black triangle. This indicates that there is a flyout menu of additional options for that icon. You can see a lot of the icons have that triangle, but we are only concerned with the eraser now.


3. If you click and hold the eraser icon at the small triangle, the flyout menu will appear, giving you different eraser options. You want to chose the "Magic Eraser" tool. Once you choose that option, it's icon will replace the original eraser icon, it will look like an eraser with a little sparkle on it, in your tool tray. You can now move back to your file that you have open to work on.

Choosing the Magic Eraser tool.

Click yes in this box, and the next one that comes up too.

4. To make the background transparent, you will simply click on the image, using the Magic Eraser tool, anywhere on the image where it is white. PSE shows what is transparent with small grey and white checkerboard. White does not mean it is transparent, it just means it is white.If you are using .tiff files, a box will come up asking if you want to convert the image to Greyscale, click yes. If you are using JPGs, you will not receive this message. You will notice that each time you click an area, the white background is replaced by the checkerboard pattern. You want to keep clicking, everywhere there is white, until all you see are the black lines of the drawing, and the checkerboard. Repeat this process for each file, if you are using more than one. If you can see smaller white areas, just use the zoom to increase/decrease the file view.

A motif with a half-transparent background.

A motif with a fully transparent background.

5. Now, if you want to create your own embroidery motif from the files you have just finished working on, you will have to layer them. Go to File > New > Blank File. A box will open asking you the dimensions of the empty file that you would like to create. Change the method of measurements to inches by using the pull down menu for both width and length, and then type in the preferred measurement. I am choosing a simple 8x8 in file, but you can chose any size you would like depending on your project. Remember though, if you are printing this out, your max size will be constrained by the max size your printer can print.

Making a new, blank file.

Choose the size you want by choosing the method of measurement and numerical value.

6. Once you have the blank file, you will see that by default it is labeled as background in the layer palette in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. While keeping that file open, mouse over one of your newly transparent embroidery motifs, click, hold and pull it up into the large window (NOT the layer palette) that has the blank file in it. You will now see that there are two files, stacked in the layers palette. The background (blank file) on the bottom and the motif file on top.  The easiest way to understand layers is to think of them as pieces of paper sitting on your desk. As you add more files to the blank layer, you are stacking them on top of each other, like stacking pieces of paper on top of each other. You can only move the layer you have highlighted in the layer tray. To switch between layers, just click on the layer you want in the layer palette. If the image is too large, select its layer, and choose the arrow tool in the top left corner of the tool tray. This will allow you to grab the resizing boxes on the corners of the image.

7. So, now all that is left to do is to arrange the files in the design you want on the blank file. The eaiest method for those new to PSE is to drag them up one by one. Drag the first up, place it where you want, and resize as needed by using the corners of the box around the motif. Once you have the first one in place, drag the second up, place it, and resize, until you have all the files where you want them. When ever you make a change, like resizing, to one of the images, a little box will appear under it with a red X and a green check mark. You must check the green checkmark to OK the change before doing anything else.

If you decide you would like to move one at any time, simply click on that motif's layer in the layer palette to bring up the box around it, just grab it and move or resize as needed. Or if you want to see what the design would look like without one of the layers, simply click the little eye icon on the left hand side of the layer. That hides the layer from sight until it is clicked again. Play around with it until you get the design you want.

This is a transparent file dragged onto the white, black Background Layer. Use the resize boxes at the corners to resize to a more manageable size.

8. Now you can print the layered file, the print menu will show you exactly how it will be shown on the paper. Or, if you are ABSOLUTELY positive you have it the way you want, you can go to Layer>Flatten Image. That pulls all the layers together and changes the file to a JPG file. I prefer to click print, see what the print menu shows me regarding to the designs placement on paper to make sure everything will print properly, and then flatten, and then print. You can also, if the whole design is a little too small, resize the whole thing. Select all the layers by holding the shift key, and clicking on the bottom and then the top layer. That will just put one large resize box around the entire design that will allow you to resize it all at once, while keeping the same proportions and placement. You can also save the file to your computer without worrying about changing the other files from .tiffs to JPGs, unless you specifically choose to save them as different files to save the transparency.

Shift Clicking the layers to select them all, and allow you to resize the entire image.

Flattening the image.

Using the print window to check your design.

9. Once you print, trace over it with your iron on marker (I use this one) or use what ever transfer method (different transfer methods can be found here) you normally use to move designs on to your fabric, and get stitching!!

Thanks for working through my first tutorial! I hope you found it useful, and please go to Aimee's blog and check her work out. It was super nice of her to give me permission to use her images in the tutorial.

I would love to hear some feedback on this. Was it helpful? Useful? What can I improve?

Screen shots were made by using Skitch.


*Legal Schmegal - I was not asked or paid to make this tutorial. I did it because I wished there would have been one for me to follow when I was trying to figure this out. All thoughts, opinions, etc are my own.