If you're willing to experiment, it may be possible to manipulate the thread (or the design itself) to get the desired effect. Choose a thread with a consistent repeat pattern.
Stopping in the middle of a design and pulling up the thread to load a particular color is one way to control how the colors stitch. This is easy to do when embroidering repeat motifs, like the four identical scrolls shown (4). Although they're all embroidered in the same variegated thread, the design was programmed in four different colors to ensure a stop between each motif; use editing or digitizing software to add automatic stops. At the start of each scroll, the thread was pulled up to the beginning of a turquoise run. Note that the color progression of the four motifs are very similar, but the color spacing is not precisely identical. Although a thread may have even spacing, occasional variations in run length are to be expected.
Be sure to account for any length taken up by jump stitches--move forward through the design to the start point for the next section before pulling up the thread. Also be sure to account for thread length taken up in underlay stitches.
Take the concept of pulling up colors to the next step by manually stopping in the middle of a stitch pattern (5). The geometric motif on the left was stitched out continuously without stops, while the motif on the right was stitched out with several manual stops. A run of orange was pulled into place for each dot, then the orange was bypassed on each bar. Of course, this requires a close eye on the machine at all times. Because there are no tie-off stitches, leave long thread tails; after embroidering, draw them to the back of the work and knot.
Designs with pull-up potential include those with repeated elements, such as flower petals, leaves or berries, that are all stitched in the same direction. At the start of each element, pull up the thread to the same color each time. Motifs created from lettering are also especially suitable (see the "Machine Embroidery" column in the Nov. '03 Sew News for ways to use letters and monograms to create original designs).
Another way to incorporate variegated thread is to edit out some of the color stops in a multicolor design and replace them with variegated thread. The fish shown was designed with several colors straight-stitched over a fill stitch. Get similar results without changing threads; edit out the color stops and replace them with a variegated thread in high contrast to the fill stitch (6). Watch out for jump threads--it's very distracting when a dark thread section is caught under a light one, and vice versa. Be careful about editing out too much. When the same variegated thread was also substituted for the final outline stitching of the fish, important details were lost.
tip:
While most machine embroidery designs are digitized for 40-wt. thread, many variegated threads are available in slightly heavier 35-wt. For very dense motifs, use a size 90/14 needle and reduce the sewing speed--or use on-screen editing or embroidery software to enlarge the design slightly without changing the stitch count.
