Impressions - January/February 2021 - 39

A popular embroidery location is the lower sleeve,
just above the hem or band on short-sleeve styles.
Placement Options
The most popular location for embroidery on placket shirts
is the left chest.There are tools available to assist with proper
placement, regardless of shirt size.The general rule for adultsize shirts is for the center of a standard-size logo to be about
7.5 inches down from the shoulder seam and slightly closer to
the center front than to the arm opening.The right chest also
sometimes is used for personalization.
Another popular embroidery location is the lower sleeve,
just above the hem or band on short-sleeve styles.This location
frequently is used for sponsor names for events, slogans and
small logo symbols. In winter, some customers favor long-sleeve
placket shirts, and embroidery can be placed on the lower end
of the sleeve, just above the band.
Because most placket shirts generally are worn with at least
one button left open, you can place a small logo or monogram
on the inner part of the placket that would be covered if the
shirt was buttoned. Collar tips are another less frequently used,
but viable option.
A few years ago, the locker patch was a popular selling feature
on high-end shirts.This rectangular or half-moon double layer
of fabric at the back neckline is designed to protect the shirt
when hung over a locker hook. It provided a nicely framed area
for a website address on business-identity apparel.
Even without the double fabric layer, the area just below the
back neckline is a great embroidery location. For youth teams,
it's an ideal spot for individual players' names or numbers.

fabrics is possible and depends on the following factors:
1. Correct Density: Digitizing should have with gentle
angles and appropriate density values. Fill-stitch areas will have
proper underlay technique, tacking the unstable fabric to the
stabilizer, running in the opposite direction from the top layer
of fill stitches.
2. Specialty Stabilizer: Hoop with an appropriate stabilizer, such as a specialty polypropylene cutaway or a specialty woven cutaway designed for moisture-wicking materials.
These special stabilizers are the secret sauce for success with
moisture-wicking fabrics.
3. Proper Hooping: Avoid stretching the fabric while
hooping and keep both hoop parts level afterward. Recessing the inner hoop lower than the outer hoop - a common
practice with most knit fabrics - can slightly stretch this knit
type, resulting in puckering.
4. Needle Selection: Use extra-light ballpoint needles
with a slender blade when embroidering fabrics knitted with
a lightweight yarn. Remember, the size of the ball should be
relative to the size of the yarn it is pushing aside.

Stabilizer Selection & Hooping
Placket shirts' fabric types and weights vary widely. From 100%
cotton piqué to 100% polyester microfiber, the key factors are
comfort, launderability and longevity. Hooping techniques
and stabilizer selection are similar but not entirely the same
between the various placket-shirt fabric types.
Basic knit fabrics used in low- to moderate-range shirts can
be embroidered effectively with standard cutaway stabilizers.
Depending on the design's stitch count and detail, good results
can be achieved using a light or medium-weight nonwoven.
Lighter-weight knits with more stretch can present stitching
issues, even on simple designs. These fabrics can be stretched
when hooping and the lightweight fabrics can shift during the
high-speed embroidery process.
Experienced embroiderers who practice good hooping techniques can use the popular nylon stabilizer product with an
embossed appearance.This translucent stabilizer may seem too
lightweight to support a detailed, high-stitch-count design, but
it provides reliable results in hoop sizes up to 6 inches.When
hooped securely - gripped on all sides by the hoop - designs
don't tend to pucker the fabric and outlines will be on track.
The most difficult placket shirt fabrics - lightweight,
super-stretchy, moisture-wicking materials - also are the most
popular. Successful, high-quality embroidery on these technical
This commercially available tool helps get proper
left- and right-chest placements on placket shirts
using the top button as the reference.
JAN./FEB. 2021

P.39

Impressions - January/February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - January/February 2021