The 5D MultiWave Fill

One of our favorite new features in 5D Design Creator is the MultiWave Tool that was added in the free update earlier this year. This incredible tool allows you to control the flow of stitches in a fill to achieve some amazing textures.

In this first simple example, notice how the line follows the simple curves of the MultiWave Line. In addition to the shape of the curves, you can also edit the density of the fill. Remember: density measures the space between rows of stitches, so the lower the number, the tighter the fill.

You can also add corner points inside your fills. By holding down the CTRL key while adding a point, or by holding down the CTRL key and clicking on an existing point, you can convert the curves to straight lines.

Notice the stitches in the bird’s head. Long rows of running stitches begin near the beak. We were able to add some great depth around the bird’s neck by having the stitches make a very sharp turn, then flowing down the length of his body. The red circled points show how we placed the control points.

One of my favorite pieces we have created so far is this Fleur-de-lis. It is destined to end up on a black shirt stitched in a dark grey very soon!

When we taught this tool in our 5D software class recently, several students asked how we got the stitches to overlap at the top of the design. This is actually achieved by layering two fills on top of one another. The secret to getting an attractive effect when layering fills like this is to pay very close attention to your background grid. By mirroring what you do on the first MultiWave Fill, you can get some very cool effects.

A couple of people in class asked about this design, so we thought it would be fun to share it. You can download it here.

If you use it in a project, we would love to hear about it!