Machine Embroidery Advice Needed - Resizing a Purse File

Fiber & Textile Discussion and Questions
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Hey Machine Embroidery Friends! I have a project I want to create, and I need some advice from those more seasoned stitchers. I love wearing Darn Good Yarn’s sari wrap skirts, which are made from upcycled saris. But there’s a fatal flaw: they don’t have pockets. And let’s face it, none of us go anywhere, not even around the house, without our phones now, so pockets are necessary.

The skirts have two long ties, that get threaded through buttonholes, then tied in a bow at the back or side. So my thought was to go back to the origins of pockets, which were actually separate garments, worn under skirts, and accessed through slits in the skirts. But to update the idea, I want to create a pocket that can be worn on the outside, slipped onto the skirt tie via loops on the pocket. I searched around for patterns, thinking there must be something similar to be used as a belt bag or pouch. Especially for the festival folks. Sadly, I wasn’t happy with anything I was seeing, and was therefore going to draft my own pattern. There were some cool leather belt pouches for Renn Faire wear, but they were bulkier & stiffer than I want to wear around the house.

But all of a sudden I bumped into a pattern for an in-the-hoop purse on Urban Threads; the In a Stitch Purse. (Or possibly the Flower Purse). Both are created in-the-hoop, and have D-rings that are attached to the body of the purse. They are intended to then have a cross-body strap added, but I thought it would be perfect to thread the skirt tie through the D-rings. I could then swap the pocked across all my skirts.

But herein lies the rub: The purse file comes in 3 sizes. The largest is too large for my biggest embroidery hoop, and there is no larger hoop to buy. (It is also bigger than I want to wear at my waist.) But the medium sized file, is just barely too small for my phone. I have an iPhone 11Pro, and with it’s case, it comes to just about exactly the width of the purse. I’m pretty sure that if I stitch it up, once the finishing edge stitching is in place, the phone won’t fit sideways, and if I stand it up, will also be too tall, causing the purse flap to not close. But just by a 1/4"-1/2".

The best size would be something a little bigger than the medium. So my question is, have any of you ever resized a purchased file like this? Are there any big pitfalls I should avoid? Is this a crazy idea? Should I instead just make an old fashioned pocket or zip pouch, made to size to fit my phone, with belt loops sewn to the back?

@PrincessP
@Animegirlie
@thanate
And @ anyone else who knows anything about resizing!

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I haven’t done a lot with pattern editing, but small amounts of all-over re-sizing are fairly easy to do either just on your machine in the editing phase, or in whatever program you have to edit pattern files. The main danger I’ve seen talked about is of changing the size enough that you mess up the stitch lengths/density, and sizing up one of UT’s purses to the largest you can fit in your hoop should be just fine, especially with a pattern like either of those where you’re not worrying about fill.

My other thought with usability would be whether the finished pocket/purse is going to be too heavy for the tie straps on your skirts (and this will depend a lot on materials and what you’re carrying) so it might be worth thinking about ways to reinforce the ties if that becomes an issue.

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I have not resized purchased patterns but sounds cool!

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I have no suggestions about resizing the files, but maybe putting the purse on a belt might be more convenient than threading it onto the skirt ties. And you could use it with garments that don’t have ties. There’s historical precedence for purses on belts, too. Just don’t make it look like a fanny pack. UK residents: that doesn’t mean the same thing in the US.

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you can resize a little but it does at times throw it off. Depends on machine and such how to eat or an editing software (dependent on your computer)

Here is another idea though from kreative kiwi the finished dimension is a bit taller

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Thank you guys for your help!

A good idea. Yes, old school pockets did work that way. But the skirt ties already wrap around the waist once or twice, creating bulk there, so I specifically don’t want to wear a belt on top of that. Both because it would add even more bulk to a waist that doesn’t need it, and because any belt I used wouldn’t lay flat against the criss crossing ties. Hence the desire for a pouch that slips onto the skirt ties.

Thanks for the link Bugaboo! I peeked at the pattern, and it inspired me to go back and give a second look to some alternate purse designs. I scrambled to work on one today, while my dog was out of the house at the groomers. (She’s terrified of my embroidery machine and goes NUTS when I use it, so I never get to use it.)

I created this with a pattern from Embroidery Library. It came out so beautifully! But… It’s 2 cm smaller than anticipated. Since it was a purse, I assumed the sizes listed on the site, were for the finished item. Nope. I should have realized it would be for the overall area of hoop that would be needed. So I made a very beautiful bag, that does exactly what I want it to do, that I can’t use. :woman_facepalming:

IMG_3408
IMG_34081734×1462 1.07 MB

It’s nearly big enough, but not quite. If my iPhone 11 Pro wasn’t so huge, it would totally fit in there. As it is, it’s basically the exact same size as the phone.

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oh but that one is super cute and could be a nice pocket addition for other things! I don’t blame your dog! No one believed me when I said its scary when I turn it on! Its loud and the whole time you’re like OMG is it working or coming to life???

I think you can resize in the trial version of PE Design 10. Not sure though I have a Mac so fro a native software I am limited to stitch artist.

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I messaged AIMR to see what size her phone is. She collects the same skirts, and if her phone isn’t as crazy big as mine, it might work for her.

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I have to check my closet to see if I still have mine! If so I may be gifting you and @AIMR LOL I never wear them!

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I have PE Design 10, so I could try to resize the file for you @MistressJennie :slight_smile: Feel free to email it to me with the dimensions you’d like and I’ll have a go.

Otherwise, there’s some free software that might be helpful called Melco Sizer. I’ve used this to change embroidery machine file types, but I’m guessing that it can resize files too (If only because of the name of the program).