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When to hoop
or not to hoop?
When at all possible, hoop your fabric. It is the
most secure method for embroidery. A few exceptions are:
Velvet
Corduroy
Satin Faced Silk
Velour
Very Thick Terrycloth
There are other fabrics that benefit from not being hooped as
well, mostly expensive silks and fine linens. Many natural fibers
crush or mark easily so it is always smart to test a little corner
of your finer fabrics before you hoop your project. Some people
have success in preventing hoop burn by wrapping their inner
hoops with soft fabric. (I use this method as a last resort.)
Fabrics that have loops (such as terry cloth); have a cut pile
(such as corduroy and velvet) or have a very loose weave may
be damaged by sticking to a stabilizer if that stabilizer will
be pulled away after stitching. These fabrics are usually either
hard to hoop or tend to mark with hooping, so they really need
to be stuck. I like to use Vileen stabilizer and temporary spray
adhesive for these projects. Vilene stays well in the hoop and
is sturdy enough to support most fabrics. Because it dissolves
with water, you do not have to worry about disturbing the pile
of the fabric by pulling it away.
Sometimes, however, I find myself using a fabric that shouldn't
be hooped or washed, and would be damaged by ripping away a sticky
stabilizer. In these cases I use a regular piece of lightweight
woven interfacing for my stabilizer and just trim away as much
of the interfacing as I can after stitching. Usually these projects
end up with a lining, and as interfacing is soft and pliable,
you cannot tell that it remains.
Knits are one of the fabrics that benefit from using woven interfacing
as a stabilizer. The most commonly used stabilizer for knits
is the non-woven cut-away. However, as a knit is already thick
and spongy this just adds to the depth, which can cause design
distortion. If you have ever embroidered a design on a sweatshirt
using a cut-away stabilizer and ended up with a not-so-happy
result, the stabilizer was most likely the problem. I like to
use iron-on woven interfacing for all my knit projects.
Apply it to the back of the fabric, ironing just enough to hold
the layers together, and then add another layer of iron-on tear-away
stabilizer over that. (The iron-on woven interfacing needs to
be slightly bigger than the area of the embroidery design, and
the iron-on tear-away needs to be slightly bigger than the hoop.)
After stitching and removing the tear-away, gently pull up the
interfacing and trim the excess from around the design. Some
people like to use iron-on knit interfacing, which stretches
in both directions. They usually use two or three layers placed
at different angles. I find that woven interfacing works best
and only one layer is needed. Remember, when embroidering on
knits, the thinner the better!
There are several stabilizers that can be removed with heat.
These stabilizers also work well for projects that cannot be
washed, you just need to be sure the fabric can withstand the
heat necessary to remove the stabilizer later.
Peel and stick stabilizer is popular, but use extreme caution,
as the sticky is very sticky! Any stabilizer can be made into
a "stick to"
stabilizer by spraying one side of it with temporary spray adhesive.
Fabrics that cannot be hooped also benefit from being basted
in place on top of the stabilizer as an extra precaution. Most
embroidery machines have a function that will sew a basting stitch
outline around the perimeter of the design area. If your machine
does not have this function, you can carefully baste the layers
together by hand while they are in the hoop.
^Back to Top
Stabilize!
Having trouble with embroidery that puckers and ripples around
the edges when it is removed from the hoop?
Incorrect hooping and/or stabilizing usually causes puckered
embroidery. Fabric that has been pulled drum tight in the hoop will pucker
around the edges of the embroidery after it has been released
from the hoop...so resist the temptation to tug on the fabric
after you have hooped it. Your fabric should be "at rest"
in the hoop. This means, smooth and flat, but not spring
board tight.
To hoop correctly, simply lay the fabric over your hoop, align
it, straighten out any wrinkles, and then place the top part
of the hoop into the bottom part of the hoop. (Hoop your projects
on a hard flat surface...not your lap.) If you have a wrinkle
in your fabric after hooping it, hoop it again. Do not tug the
wrinkle out.
The primary purpose of stabilizer is to keep the fabric
from moving in the hoop. The only way to be sure
that the fabric does not move during stitching is by adhering
the stabilizer to your fabric.
Two excellent methods of stablizing:
- Cut a piece of iron-on stabilizer (such as Totally Stable
by Sulky) slightly larger than your hoop. Iron the stabilizer
onto the back of your fabric and hoop it. If you feel you
need another piece of stabilizer, slide it under the hoop
after you have put the hoop in your machine.
- Hoop your fabric. Cut a piece of stabilizer slightly larger
than the hoop. Spray one side of it with temporary spray adhesive
and place over the back of the hooped fabric. The stabilizer
should extend slightly beyond the perimeter of the hoop. Lay
the hoop right side up on a hard, flat surface and smooth the
fabric onto the stabilizer with your hand. If you feel you
need another piece of stabilizer, slide it under the hoop after
you have put the hoop in your machine. (Always use temporary
adhesive well away from your machines. Spray in a box to help
prevent drifting.)
Too many layers of stabilizer can also cause distortion or puckers
around and in a design. Choose your designs to suit your fabric.
Lightweight, loose weave fabrics need designs that are not stitch
intensive. Heavy weight, tightly woven fabrics can support more
stitches such as wide satin stitching or large filled areas.
If you need to use more than two layers of stabilizer, chances
are that you have chosen a design that does not suit your fabric.
Sometimes there simply isn't enough fiber in the fabric to support
the stitches, or the fabric is poorly woven and this causes the
design to appear distorted. Hold it up to the light and check
to see the pattern of light showing through. If the light holes
you see are very tiny and evenly spaced, then the fabric is woven
well. If you see unevenly spaced holes and areas through which
the light just seems to shine brighter, then the fabric may be
poorly woven. Remember that stabilizer is not intended to help
increase the quality of your fabric.
^Back to Top
A Dozen Things
to Know
- Always preshrink your project fabrics (including applique
fabric) before beginning a project.
- Use spray starch or fabric sizing (when the fabric allows
it) to keep your project fabric crisp for ease in hooping.
- Keep your thread stored in a way that will prevent dust and
light damage. Opaque plastic boxes with lids work well. Mini
king spools or small spools can be stored in children’s
toy car keeper boxes found at most discount stores.
- Protect the embroidery arm of your machine. When stitching,
be sure nothing impedes the movement.
- Clean out the bobbin case on a regular basis.
- Remember to change your needle. If your machine is skipping
stitches, chances are you need a new needle.
- If you are using your body weight to push the top hoop into
the bottom hoop while hooping...loosen the hoop! It shouldn’t
hurt to hoop, and you shouldn’t have to jump up and down
to do it. Never use pliers or some other tool to tighten the
hoop screw. Use your fingers, and don’t hurt them either!
- Use the smallest possible hoop for your design.
- Pre-stitch designs on project fabric (or something very similar)
before beginning the actual project.
- Back applique fabrics with fusible webbing...fuse to the
background fabric after trimming and before stitching the final
satin stitch edging, right in the hoop using a mini-iron. Do
this on a hard, flat, heatproof surface.
- Use tweezers to lift and hold jump threads while trimming.
This helps prevent accidentally clipping stitches.
- Do not leave the room while the machine is stitching. The
very time you walk out on your machine, the needle will break
and punch holes in your project...or something just as bad!
Our machines like to bask in our attention
^Back to Top
Some Cool
Tools!
(See the favorite places page for
links)
Creative Sewing in West Columbia, South Carolina has invented
a metallic thread spooler. This is the best little tool ever
for stitching with metallic or other glittery specialty threads.
Placed in the bobbin winder on top of your machine, it spools
the thread off into the tension unit as it was wound on the spool.
This means no twists to develop into knots!
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Creative Sewing
519 12th Street
W. Columbia, SC 29169
803-936-1251 |
Embroidery nips are little squeeze scissors that have short
curved blades. They are extremely easy on your hands, get into
tiny places and are a must-have tool for anyone who loves applique.
Best of all, they are inexpensive! Buy a bunch, you will be glad
you did!
Michael Miller Fabric Paper is a fabric that has been treated
to act like paper. You can cut it and it will not ravel; fold,
pleat or bend it and it will hold a crease; punch holes in it;
print on it and BEST of all, stitch on it! Comes in solid colors
and many wonderful prints. If you warm it with an iron, it hoops
easily.
Sulky Totally Stable is my hands down favorite stabilizer. It’s
easy to apply, easy to remove and the scraps can be re-used.
You can purchase it by the yard and in small rolls or packets.
Comes in black and white.
505 Spray and Fix is simply the best temporary spray adhesive.
It really holds and does not gum up the needle. A light spray
will do it, and it comes in a big economically sized can.
Glitter by Superior Threads is the strongest hologram thread
I have found. Really nice colors too!
Rainbows by Superior Threads is a variegated shiny embroidery
thread with a short color variation. Perfect for making stripes
in tiny embroidery designs. The colors are simply astonishing.
Blendables by Sulky is a cotton variegated thread with a short
color variation. This thread is great for stippling and is available
in two weights.
Quick Grip glue by Beacon Adhesives will stick almost anything
to almost anything including glass, leather and plastic. Best
all around permanent glue in a tube. Beacon Adhesives also has
a comprehensive line of other specialty glues.
Super 77 Spray and Fix is a permanent spray adhesive that has
a super fast tack, yet allows for repositioning before curing,
and holds extremely well. This glue is great for applying patches
to projects that you cannot hoop. Also works well for paper projects
^Back to Top
Metallic
Thread Trouble?
Two brands of metallic threads that were invented to be used
commercially by high speed machines are Yenmet metallic and King
Star metallics These two brands are excellent to use with embroidery
machines because they shred less and are wound on spools that
will feed vertically into the machine from a thread stand. King
Star is more commonly sold in Australia, and Yenmet is found
mostly in the US.
When using metallic thread wound on spools so that the thread
spools off horizontally (like most common sewing thread) it is
best to let the thread spin off the spool as it has been wound
on...which means, you will need a metallic thread spooler. A
metallic thread spooler sits on the bobbin winder of your machine
and allows that type of spool to be placed so that the thread
winds off horizontally as it was wound on. This helps prevent
the kinks and twists that occur when metallic thread winds off
horizontal spools over the end caps. (See Resource Places under
Favorite Places for the link for metallic thread spoolers.) Although
some Sulky metallics are cross-wound, I find that a metallic
thread spooler is an absolute must when using this brand...especially
their Sliver threads. This spooler works great with Superior
threads Glitter too.
Avoid using sticky stabilizer...it really plays havoc with metallic
thread.
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