§ GLOSSARY · COLOR CHANGE
COLOR CHANGE
A machine instruction that stops stitching so the operator (or the automatic mechanism) can swap to a new thread color.
Embroidery vocabularyPlain-English definition
WHAT IT MEANS
Most embroidery designs use multiple thread colors. A color change is the instruction in the file that pauses stitching and prompts (on a single-needle machine) the operator to re-thread, or (on a multi-needle machine) the head to rotate to the next pre-loaded needle. The number and ordering of color changes directly drives production time.
WHEN IT MATTERS
On a single-needle machine, every color change adds operator handling time. On a multi-needle, an excessive color count can exceed the needle count and force interruption mid-run.
SEE ALSO