This is the link to the you tube tutorial https://youtu.be/9XD5xUSAGHo
Cassie Cartmell – Faodail Creation
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How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Have you ever wanted to turn your own drawings into beautiful embroidery designs? Learning How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer makes it easier than ever to transform simple sketches into custom embroidery files using your Baby Lock Altair 2 embroidery machine.
As a Baby Lock Educator Cassie Cartmell, I love showing sewists and embroiderers how to turn their creative ideas into finished projects. In this step-by-step tutorial, Baby Lock Educator Cassie Cartmell walks you through the process of creating clean artwork in Procreate, transferring it to your embroidery machine, and stitching out a unique design.
Whether you’re creating simple shapes, handwritten lettering, or detailed artwork, this technique opens up endless creative possibilities. With guidance from Baby Lock Educator Cassie Cartmell, you’ll learn how Procreate and IQ Designer can work together to help you create custom embroidery designs that reflect your own creativity.
If you’re new to IQ Designer or Procreate, don’t worry. This beginner-friendly guide from Baby Lock Educator Cassie Cartmell walks you through every step, making it easier to understand the process and start creating your own custom embroidery designs.
Why Learn How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer?
One of the biggest advantages of How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer is that you are no longer limited to built-in embroidery designs.
Instead, you can create completely original artwork and stitch it onto quilts, bags, clothing, cushions, wall hangings, and gifts.
Some of the benefits include:
- Create one-of-a-kind embroidery
- Digitize your own artwork
- Draw directly on your iPad
- Save time tracing designs
- Easily resize designs inside IQ Designer
- Great for beginners and experienced embroiderers
Once you learn this workflow, you’ll discover countless ways to personalize your embroidery projects.
What You’ll Need – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Before starting, gather the following supplies:
Embroidery Supplies
- Baby Lock Altair 2 Embroidery Machine
- IQ Designer
- iPad
- Apple Pencil
- Procreate App
- USB Flash Drive
- Computer
- Fabric
- Stabilizer
- Embroidery Thread
Using an Apple Pencil isn’t required, but it gives you much better precision when tracing artwork.
Step 1: Photograph Your Artwork – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
The first step in How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer is creating your artwork.
For this tutorial, Cassie simply drew a heart on paper.
You can also:
- Draw flowers
- Create simple animals
- Sketch lettering
- Draw quilt motifs
- Create appliqué outlines
Once you’ve finished your drawing, take a clear photograph using your iPad.
Good lighting helps create a cleaner image and makes tracing much easier later.
Step 2: Import the Photo into Procreate – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Open Procreate on your iPad.
Most of the time Procreate opens directly to the Gallery.
Tap the + button to create a new canvas.
Choose a canvas size that suits your project. Cassie often creates custom canvases sized to match embroidery hoops such as:
- 4 x 4
- 5 x 7
- 9 x 14
For this demonstration, a simple square canvas works perfectly.
Next:
- Tap the Actions menu (the wrench icon)
- Select Insert a Photo
- Choose the picture you just took
Your artwork now appears on your canvas.
Step 3: Reduce the Opacity – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
One of the best tricks when learning How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer is lowering the opacity of the original photograph.
Open the Layers panel.
You’ll see:
- Background Layer
- Photo Layer
Tap the “N” beside the photo layer.
Move the opacity slider down until the original drawing becomes faint.
This allows you to clearly see your new lines while tracing.
Step 4: Create a New Drawing Layer – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Never draw directly on your original photograph.
Instead:
- Create a brand-new layer
- Keep your tracing separate
- Leave your original image untouched
Working in layers gives you complete flexibility if you need to make corrections later.
Professional digital artists almost always work this way.
Step 5: Choose the Right Brush – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Select the Brush tool.
Navigate to:
Brush Library → Basics → Jagged
This brush creates a solid, clean line that’s ideal for embroidery tracing.
Using a smooth line helps create better stitch paths later inside IQ Designer.
Step 6: Trace Your Artwork Carefully – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Now the fun begins.
Zoom into your artwork using two fingers.
Rotate your iPad if necessary so your hand moves naturally while drawing.
Begin tracing your image slowly.
Don’t worry if your first attempt isn’t perfect.
The beauty of digital drawing is that mistakes are easy to fix.
If you make an error:
- Tap with two fingers to Undo
- Tap with three fingers to Redo
These simple shortcuts can save a tremendous amount of time.
Step 7: Fix Any Mistakes – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
If you accidentally delete your drawing layer, don’t panic.
Simply create another layer and continue tracing.
Cassie experienced exactly this while creating her heart design.
It’s a great reminder that even experienced users occasionally make mistakes.
The important thing is understanding how layers work.
Once your drawing layer is restored, continue tracing your artwork.
Step 8: Clean Up Your Lines – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
As you continue learning How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer, you’ll notice that smoother lines produce better embroidery.
Avoid jagged edges wherever possible.
Instead of trying to draw everything in one stroke:
- Draw a small section
- Zoom in
- Continue from where you left off
- Connect your lines smoothly
This produces much cleaner embroidery results.
If needed, switch to the Eraser tool.
Use the same brush profile for erasing to maintain consistent line quality.
You can also adjust your brush size depending on the level of detail you’re cleaning up.
Once you’re satisfied with your tracing, switch back to the Brush tool and make any final adjustments.
In the next section, you’ll learn how to export your artwork from Procreate, import it into IQ Designer on the Baby Lock Altair 2, convert it into embroidery stitches, customize stitch settings, and stitch out your finished design.
Export Your Artwork from Procreate – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Once you’re happy with your traced design, it’s time to prepare it for your embroidery machine.
Before exporting, remove the original reference photograph.
Open the Layers panel and locate the photo layer. Swipe left on the layer and tap Delete. You should now only see your clean line drawing.
This is an important step when learning How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer because removing the original image ensures IQ Designer imports only your finished artwork instead of unnecessary background details.
Next, tap the Actions menu (the wrench icon).
Choose Share and then select JPEG.
Procreate gives you several sharing options, but JPEG works perfectly for importing into IQ Designer.
Save the JPEG to your preferred cloud storage, such as Google Drive, making it easy to access from your computer.
Download the Artwork to Your Computer – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Open Google Drive on your computer.
Locate the artwork you just uploaded.
Download the JPEG and save it to your computer’s Downloads folder or directly onto your desktop.
Rename the file something meaningful, such as:
- Heart
- Flower
- Butterfly
- Quilt Block
Giving your artwork a clear name makes it much easier to find later, especially as your design collection grows.
Once renamed, copy the JPEG onto a USB flash drive.
Your artwork is now ready to transfer to your embroidery machine.
Import the Artwork into IQ Designer – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Now it’s time for the exciting part of How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer.
Insert your USB stick into your Baby Lock Altair 2 embroidery machine.
From the home screen, select IQ Designer.
Choose Line Design since your artwork is a line drawing.
Next:
- Open the USB drive.
- Locate your JPEG.
- Select the artwork.
- Press Set.
IQ Designer imports the drawing and prepares it for editing.
If your lines are clean, you’ll immediately notice how crisp the imported design looks.
One advantage of tracing in Procreate instead of importing a pencil sketch directly is that digital lines reduce unwanted “noise” and produce much cleaner embroidery designs.
Adjust Your Design Inside IQ Designer – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
After importing the artwork, you’ll see your traced design displayed on the screen.
From here you can make several adjustments before converting it into stitches.
You can:
- Resize the artwork
- Make it larger or smaller
- Reposition it
- Preview how it will stitch
You’ll also notice a background image.
This is simply the original guide image that IQ Designer used during conversion.
If you find it distracting, reduce or hide the background so only the stitch outline remains visible.
Viewing only the embroidery lines makes it much easier to check for smooth curves and clean corners.
Choose Your Stitch Type – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
One of the biggest advantages of How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer is the flexibility to choose different stitch styles.
Instead of being locked into one stitch type, IQ Designer lets you customize your embroidery.
Popular options include:
Straight Stitch
Perfect for simple artwork, outlines, signatures and hand-drawn illustrations.
Satin Stitch
Ideal for bold outlines that stand out on fabric.
Satin stitches create a raised embroidered look and work beautifully on appliqué projects.
Zigzag Stitch
Great for decorative effects and wider outlines.
If you accidentally select the wrong stitch style, don’t worry.
Simply return to the stitch settings and choose another option before saving your design.
Fill Closed Shapes – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Because Cassie’s heart is a closed shape, IQ Designer can also fill the inside.
Select the Fill option.
Tap inside the heart.
The machine automatically fills the enclosed area.
This feature works wonderfully for:
- Hearts
- Flowers
- Stars
- Leaves
- Simple animals
- Quilt motifs
Experiment with different fill patterns to create unique embroidery designs.
Fine-Tune the Stitch Settings – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Before stitching, take a few moments to adjust the embroidery settings.
You can customize:
Stitch Width
Increase or decrease the stitch width depending on the effect you’re after.
Stitch Length (Run Pitch)
Adjust the spacing between stitches.
Longer stitches create a lighter design, while shorter stitches produce a denser, more detailed finish.
Thread Colour
Preview your design using different thread colours before stitching.
These adjustments allow you to personalise every project without needing separate digitizing software.
Save Your Design
Once you’re happy with the settings, save your design.
Press Memory to store the file inside your Baby Lock Altair 2.
The machine converts your artwork into embroidery stitches.
You’ll now see the finished embroidery design in the embroidery screen, ready to stitch.
This is one of the most rewarding moments when learning How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer watching your own drawing become a stitched design.
Stitch Out Your Embroidery Design – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Hoop your stabilizer and fabric as you normally would.
Thread your machine.
Load your saved design.
Before pressing Start, preview the embroidery one final time to ensure everything looks correct.
As the machine begins stitching, you’ll see your digital drawing come to life.
Cassie’s simple hand-drawn heart stitched beautifully, demonstrating how easy it is to create custom embroidery from original artwork.
Once you master this technique, you can create much more detailed designs.
In Cassie’s example, she also traced a portrait of Taylor, proving that How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer can be used for far more than basic shapes.
Tips for Better Results – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Use an Apple Pencil
Although you can draw with your finger, an Apple Pencil provides greater accuracy and smoother lines.
Keep Lines Clean
Smooth lines produce smoother embroidery.
Avoid unnecessary bumps and jagged edges whenever possible.
Zoom In Frequently
Working close-up helps produce cleaner curves and more professional-looking designs.
Work in Layers
Never trace directly onto your original photograph.
Separate layers make editing much easier.
Save Often
Save your Procreate project as you work so you never lose your progress.
Frequently Asked Questions – How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Can I use any drawing in Procreate?
Yes. You can trace simple sketches, children’s drawings, lettering, logos (that you own), quilt motifs and original artwork.
Does IQ Designer work with JPEG images?
Yes. JPEG images imported through a USB drive work very well, especially when they contain clean, high-contrast line art.
Is an Apple Pencil required?
No, but it makes drawing much easier and improves precision considerably.
Can I resize my artwork after importing it?
Absolutely. IQ Designer allows you to resize your artwork before converting it into embroidery stitches.
Which embroidery machine is shown in this tutorial?
Cassie demonstrates the process on the Baby Lock Altair 2, although similar features are available on compatible Baby Lock machines with IQ Designer.
Final Thoughts on How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer
Learning How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer opens up a whole new world of creativity. Instead of relying solely on built-in embroidery designs, you can transform your own sketches, illustrations and artwork into unique stitched creations.
By combining Procreate’s powerful drawing tools with the flexibility of IQ Designer, you’ll be able to personalise quilts, bags, cushions, clothing and gifts with designs that are truly your own.
Whether you’re tracing a simple heart like Cassie or creating a detailed portrait, the workflow is surprisingly straightforward and incredibly rewarding. The more you practise, the more confident you’ll become at turning your ideas into beautiful embroidery.
If you enjoyed learning How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer, be sure to explore more Baby Lock Altair 2 tutorials here on Faodail Creation. You’ll find step-by-step embroidery, quilting and sewing projects designed to help you get the most from your machine while building your skills one project at a time.
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How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer | Baby Lock Altair Tutorials
How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer | Baby Lock Altair Tutorials is a fun way to explore your Baby Lock Altair.
If you enjoyed How to Use Procreate with IQ Designer | Baby Lock Altair Tutorials, you might also like How to Embroider a Key Ring or Luggage Tag you can also try How to Embroider Fabric Labels to learn more about your Baby Lock Altair.
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