{"id":2659,"date":"2025-08-22T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/?post_type=knowledge-base&#038;p=2659"},"modified":"2025-10-21T11:18:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T11:18:03","slug":"how-to-manual-trace-an-image-to-embroidery","status":"publish","type":"knowledge-base","link":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-manual-trace-an-image-to-embroidery\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Manual Trace an Image to Create a Custom Embroidery File"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using a backdrop image is a fantastic way to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/create-embroidery-designs-from-any-image\/\">trace<\/a> a photograph, sketch, or logo, or simply to use it as inspiration for your embroidery design. This guide will walk you through importing a bitmap image and placing it behind the design area as a backdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_99530\"  width=\"1290\" height=\"725\"  data-origwidth=\"1290\" data-origheight=\"725\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7U7KjD0rXWs?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"YouTube player\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/7U7KjD0rXWs\/maxresdefault.jpg\" title=\"\"><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Part 1: Importing the Image as a Backdrop<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Follow these simple steps to load your image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click the <strong>From file<\/strong> icon on the main toolbar to begin the import process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your system&#8217;s file browser will open. Locate the bitmap image you wish to use (e.g., a JPG, PNG, BMP file) and click <strong>Open<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After selecting your image, a dialog box will appear, showing a preview of the image and several handling options.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From the available options, select <strong>Open as Backdrop<\/strong> and proceed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The image will now be placed behind your design area, ready for you to work on top of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>A useful tip: While the software presents multiple ways to handle an imported image, the &#8216;Open as Backdrop&#8217; option is specifically for creating a non-editable reference layer to draw over.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Part 2: Adjusting the Backdrop Properties<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before you start designing, you will likely need to adjust the image to fit your needs. You can easily scale, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-transform-designs-move-resize-rotate-skew\/\">rotate<\/a>, and change other properties of the backdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigate to the <strong>View<\/strong> menu at the top of the screen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select <strong>Backdrop properties<\/strong> from the dropdown menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A control panel will appear, giving you access to the following tools:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scale:<\/strong> Adjust the size of the image. This is particularly useful for fitting the reference image within your selected hoop.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rotate:<\/strong> Rotate the image to the desired angle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Straighten:<\/strong> Use this tool to correct the alignment of a crooked image.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>View Options:<\/strong> Change the visibility or appearance of the backdrop (e.g., dimming the image to make your new vector lines more visible).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Remove:<\/strong> Completely delete the backdrop image from the design area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Part 3: Designing on Top of the Backdrop<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With your backdrop in place and properly adjusted, you can begin creating your design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select a drawing tool, such as the <strong>Outline tool<\/strong>, from the toolbar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Begin tracing or drawing your desired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-insert-and-customize-ready-made-shapes\/\">shapes<\/a> directly on top of the image.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once a shape is created, you can select it and choose a fill or outline color from the color palette.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Continue building your design by using any of the software&#8217;s powerful tools, like the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-create-circular-patterns-with-circular-array-tool\/\">Circular Array<\/a><\/strong> to easily <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/knowledge-base\/how-to-move-scale-and-duplicate-objects\/\">duplicate<\/a> parts in a pattern.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This method allows you to accurately and creatively transform any image into a unique embroidery design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Important Note: One Backdrop per Design<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DRAWings\u00ae PRO XII allows only <strong>one<\/strong> backdrop image per design file. If you wish to use a different image as a backdrop, you must first remove the current one by navigating to <strong>View &gt; Backdrop properties<\/strong> and clicking the <strong>Remove<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Using a backdrop image is a fantastic way to trace a photograph, sketch, or logo, or simply to use it as inspiration for your embroidery design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2660,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":""},"categories-kb":[333],"class_list":["post-2659","knowledge-base","type-knowledge-base","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-kb-how-to-training"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"categories-kb":[{"value":333,"label":"How to Training"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/how-to-manual-trace-an-image-to--1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"DRAWings Embroidery Software","author_link":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/author\/drawings\/"},"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/knowledge-base\/2659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/knowledge-base"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/knowledge-base"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categories-kb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drawstitch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories-kb?post=2659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}