The RBD & M.E. Family – A Look Behind the Process

At RBD & M.E., our goal is to create beautiful projects and instructions that are as easy on your machine as they are on your eyes.

Our Machine Embroidery Manager gets the ball rolling by meeting with the entire team to provide an overview of all the projects included on each USB. They oversee the full process from start to finish and are often consulted as questions and decisions arise along the way.

We begin with the design phase, where the manager, designer, and machine embroidery specialist work together to engineer the clearest and most efficient way each project will come together. This includes determining hoop sizes, fabric types, colors, thread choices, stabilizers, and stitch techniques. New ideas and methods are often test-stitched at this stage to ensure the final process runs as smoothly as possible.

Once that framework is established, it’s passed along to the digitizers, who bring the designs to life. The first round includes an in-depth peer review focused on standards such as jump stitches, stitch types, and overall file quality. Next, the machine embroidery specialist reviews the files, final edits are made, and an outline of the instructions is created and sent to the graphic designer.

From there, our tester/sewists step in to stitch every design using the exact materials and processes that will be used in the finished project. This includes testing how the background fabric is hooped, which stabilizers are used, and whether fusible interfacing is needed. Designs are stitched repeatedly until they meet our standards, then samples are created using both Basics and collection fabrics.

While testing is underway, the instructions are illustrated and written, then carefully reviewed by the team. Once everything has been approved, the design files and instructions are finalized and sent into production.

This process is rarely linear—and that’s by design. If something isn’t working during testing, such as the fit or construction of a doll’s coat, it may return all the way to the design stage. When that happens, the manager, designer, digitizer, and machine embroidery specialist regroup to troubleshoot and refine the details.

That extra care and collaboration ensure that when a project reaches you, it’s been thoughtfully engineered, thoroughly tested, and refined from every angle—so you can stitch with confidence and focus on the joy of machine embroidery.