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Quality Embroidery Since 1958

Learn How to Easily Digitize In-the-Hoop Embroidery Projects with Zipper Insertions

Create Your Own Stunning Practical ITH Projects!

Easily Create Custom Embroidered Gifts & Fashion Accessories with In-the-Hoop Zipper Insertions

  • In-the-hoop embroidery purse with zipper insertion
  • In-the-hoop embroidery Halloween bag with zipper insertion
  • ITH Christmas Stocking Embroidery Project

ITH projects have become extremely popular, yet most embroiderers don’t realize how easy it can be to create your own with the proper instructions.

This in-the-hoop (ITH) digitizing lesson will teach you the steps needed to create a custom zipper insertion that can be applied to virtually any embroidery project your mind can imagine. Whether it be bags, pants, jackets, or almost anything else, get ready to take your embroidery projects to an entirely new level! In this lesson, you’ll learn:

  • How to construct and layer materials properly to create an in-the-hoop design.
  • How to incorporate custom zipper insertions into ITH projects in a way that is both easy and machine friendly.
  • Which stitch types to use to ensure durability and quality within your finished in-the-hoop products.

Please Note: This is an Advanced Digitizing Lesson

Even if you consider yourself an advanced digitizer, we do highly recommend our Digitizer’s Dream Course as a prerequisite before taking this advanced lesson. It covers much of the foundational theory and rules you’ll be using and building upon within this lesson. All sales on this lesson are final, so please first complete our Digitizer’s Dream Course (which we do have a money-back guarantee on) to ensure you have the necessary knowledge required.

Haven’t yet heard of the Digitizer’s Dream Course? Click here to learn more

Chris K testimonial image

“I can confidently create my own in-the-hoop zipper projects -highly recommend John Deer’s Embroidery Legacy training.

John not only teaches you how to create amazing, creative and fun projects and designs, but he also teaches the theory and why behind it. This way, you can apply what you’ve learned to your own designs. 

5 star review– Chris K

Digitizing Lesson Overview

Using our proven hands-on approach to learning how to digitize (which we first introduced with the Digitizer’s Dream Course), this lesson will have you digitize an in-the-hoop embroidery design with a zipper insertion right alongside John.

Please note that this lesson is taught in Hatch Digitizer software as some of the advanced tools used are not present within other software brands (If you’d like to download a free 30-day trial of Hatch to take this lesson in, click here). You can try to recreate the theory & techniques taught in this lesson in a different software brand. However, we don’t have follow up support for other software brands, and can’t guarantee the same results.

Although this lesson uses the rudimentary stitch types throughout the embroidery design portions, the underlying process is what’s most important. The logical steps needed to create a production-friendly “zipper insertion” and layering the fabric to get the desired finish result is what digitizing smooth-running ITH projects is all about. This lesson includes:

frankensac artwork
  • 1 hour and 15 minutes of interactive video, which is taught directly in Hatch Digitizer software. The video will never expire and can be streamed on any computer, tablet, or mobile device.
  • Digitize an exciting “Franken-sac” in-the-hoop project/embroidery design yourself using artwork we supply. We chose this artwork for this lesson because it’s more complex than most ITH projects. The embroidered detail around the zipper gives the project a dramatic effect. The design itself includes digitizing theory, while the zipper requires more advanced ITH techniques. The other design images featured on this page are examples of what you can easily create with the information you’ll learn after completing this lesson.

So How Much Is It?

Although we originally planned on listing our advanced lessons for $249.95 per lesson, this lesson is currently available for

Only $97!

John Deer World's Most Awarded Digitizer

John Deer has been the most awarded embroidery digitizer in the world for over 20 years now. As a 4th generation embroiderer, John has an incredibly unique history in the embroidery digitizing industry as he is the last remaining Schiffli Master Digitizer still alive & teaching in North America. John learned and apprenticed under Swiss Schiffli Master Digitizers (then known as “punchers”) over 35 years ago in his grandparent’s factory, before computers even entered the digitizing world.

In the 1990’s-2000s John owned & ran one of North America’s largest commercial digitizing houses, where he did the digitizing for many large corporations including Disney, Coca-Cola, GM, the NFL, & the NBA. John has personally won 30 separate digitizing awards in the commercial industry and wrote the book on digitizing called “Digitizing Made Easy” which has sold over 51,000 copies & is used in Universities across the United States to teach those studying textile.

Proven Results

Here’s what our satisfied students have to say…

Isaac Tavares testimonial image

“I recommend the advanced digitizing lessons with my eyes closed!

John has a natural talent for teaching. I already knew that when I took the Digitizer’s Dream Course, but since I’m not very talented, I doubted my ability to do advanced techniques. Well, John’s talent and teaching method has outweighed my limitation (and the fact that English is not my natural language). Now I find myself looking at something and thinking: Well, to digitize that I have to do this and that… wow! I now know how!

– Isaac T

Shirley Horton testimonial image

“I take every class John offers and continue to learn from a master.

I took John’s digitizing workshop, I learned more in that short time than I did in the past 3 1/2 yrs. My work definitely took a turn for the better. All of the theory is a must to know to get beautiful, soft embroidery. John is a very patient and precise instructor and has a way of explaining things so they really ring home and you don’t forget.

– Shirley H

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, the Digitizer’s Dream Course is a prerequisite for this advanced digitizing lesson (click here to learn more about it if you have not yet taken it).

This advanced lesson will build on the theory taught within the Dream Course. No matter your level of digitizing experience, we highly advise you start with the Dream Course.

This lesson is taught in Hatch Digitizer software as some of the advanced tools used are not present within some other software brands.

You can try to recreate the theory & techniques taught in this lesson in a different software brand. If you’ve completed the Digitizer’s Dream Course, you should already know where the tools/buttons are within your software brand. However, we don’t have follow up support for other software brands, and therefore can’t guarantee the same results.

If you use a different software brand other than Hatch, another option is to take this lesson using the free 30 day trial of Hatch (click here to download it).

No, the artwork provided in this lesson is strictly for educational purposes, it is not to be duplicated or reproduced in any format for sale. You can, however, use what you learn in this lesson and apply it to your own artwork to sell.

Ready to Take Your Digitizing to the Next Level?

If you’ve taken our Digitizer’s Dream Course, you already know our education works… Enroll in our advanced lesson today to learn how to create beautiful in-the-hoop projects with zipper insertions that’ll leave your friends, family, and customers in awe.