Impressions - February 2012 - (Page 50)

talking SHOP Embroidery Technique How to Embroider Logos on Different Wovens Follow these tips to master the techniques involved in embroidering logos on this fabric type that is a staple of corporate apparel. By Steven Batts, Contributing Writer With woven fabrics, short stitches sit right up on the fabric, but longer stitches tend to pucker the material (left). To combat this, use shorter stitches in the underlay (right), and instead of simply using a zigzag underlay, set the underlay to create stitches across the column. oven items are my favorite to embroider because I usually encounter fewer challenges than when I embroider other fabrics. While wovens often are thin, they are pretty stable. Unlike knit goods — which tend to be very stretchy and textured — wovens typically have a nice, smooth surface that doesn’t stretch a lot. This means fewer stitches are necessary for the design because the embroidery sits nicely on top of the fabric. There are, however, a few challenges that embroidering woven fabrics presents. They tend to pucker more and their thin nature can allow them to move around in the hoop, particularly fabrics with a slicker ﬁnish, such as satin. There are a variety of woven fabrics. In terms of corporate apparel, we tend to 50 Impressions | February 2012 w think of items such as like oxford and twill shirts, jackets and wind shirts. Logos really look nice on these garments. However, woven fabrics are used in many other items, such as, jackets, bags, caps and linens. Their texture can be smooth or rough, depending on the yarns used to weave the fabric. LOGO DESIGN Woven fabrics generally require less effort to get corporate logos to look as good as designs created for their knit goods counterpart. However, I typically digitize designs for a worst-case scenario so that they may work on either substrate. The precautions necessary for woven materials are opposite of the issues for knit goods. Knit fabrics tend to stretch and pull, and have a rougher texture. Because of this, stitches — especially small ones — can be absorbed into the fabric. With woven fabrics, short stitches sit right up on the fabric, but longer stitches tend to pucker the material. This is because the material is more stable. Instead of the material absorbing and giving with the stitches, it will just wrinkle up underneath the stitch. To combat this, use shorter stitches in the underlay. Instead of simply using a zigzag underlay, set it to create stitches across the column. Otherwise, the underlay is just adding to the problem. Having the underlay stitch across a column will nail the fabric ﬂat against the stabilizer and should help prevent puckering. Along the same lines, it is better to keep satin stitch widths to a minimum. On knit materials, you can get away with 7mm to 8mm widths before switching to impressionsmag.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - February 2012

Impressions - February 2012
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conferences
Flocking Meets Fashion
How to Choose a DTG Printer, Part 2
Working Wearables
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Technique
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Graphics & Design
For Screen Printers Only
Digital Decorating
Online Directory
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - February 2012