PulseToday Embroidery blog

Stretching the Limits- Embroidery on Stretchy Fabrics

2008-05-09T20:21:00Z

By Jimmy Lamb

If you were given the choice of sewing on a denim shirt or a t-shirt, which would you choose? That’s a no-brainer! Most embroiderers would choose the denim shirt, as it is typically easier to hoop and yields higher embroidery quality. Of course, that is no accident – denim is a very stable fabric, while a t-shirt is made from a knitted fabric, which generally is “stretchy” and flexible in nature. This makes it much more difficult to hoop and sew. But knit fabrics are a staple of the embroidery industry, so the challenges must be overcome in order to be successful in this business.

The characteristics that make sewing on knits so difficult are the same ones that make the material so popular with consumers. Knits are composed of interlocking looped stitches, which provide a fair degree of stretch and flex, making them the ideal choice for creating comfortable clothing. In addition, knits tend to shed wrinkles well and don’t unravel when embroidered.

However, knit fabrics are not all created equal; they come in a variety of textures, weights and fiber contents. Here are some examples:

Firm Knits – These knits are not very stretchy and can almost be treated like wovens. Examples include double knits and Raschel knits.

Lightweight Single Knits – These have a moderate stretch. Examples include tricot and jersey knits. Jersey knits are commonly used in lightweight polos and t-shirts.

Interlock Knits – These knits are heavier and thicker than single knits and have a fair amount of stretch. They are used in heavier grade polo shirts and t-shirts.

Textured Knits – These knits tend to be heavyweight with textured surfaces and have a moderate amount of stretch. Examples include knitted terry and velour, sweater knits and fleece.

Two-way Stretch Knits – These are unique in that they stretch both in length and width, whereas the other categories of knit have considerably more stretch in one direction than the other. Two way stretch knits tend to have a large amount of spandex fibers and are usually selected for activewear such as bathing suits and dancewear.

On Top of It All - Cap Embroidery Side Hooping, Method #2

2008-05-09T19:57:00Z

Clamping systems, such as the ones manufactured by HoopTech, have revolutionized the embroidery industry, simplifying difficult hooping jobs and even making formerly impossible tasks quite doable. Hoop Tech actually offers two distinctive windows for doing the left and right side of a cap. However, some of the standard square windows work just as well.

The first advantage of a clamp over a tubular frame is sewing area, as it offers more than the tubular frame does.

The second is that the hooping process is much easier, as it's done on the machine. Simply open the clamp, slide the side of the cap in, and then lock the clamp down.

One other nice thing about a clamping system, is that it's not limited to sewing on a cap side. Using different size clamp frames, the system can be applied to many difficult hooping applications, therefore providing multiple solutions to various embroidery challenges.

But it all comes down to cost versus benefit. If you do a lot of cap sides, then a clamp is a reasonable investment. If not, then you may want to stick with the tubular system, though its much more tedious.

On Top of It All - Cap Embroidery Side Hooping, Method #1

2008-02-28T11:50:00Z

Most caps provide enough space on the sides for the addiction of small designs or text. And though the surface is slightly curved, it's much flatter than the front or back, which means less chance for distortion.

If you have a 270-degree cap frame, and there is a 90% chance that you do, then you can sew on the front and both sides with one hooping. However, many embroiderers run into problems with the quality of the side embroidery when done using this method. It's quite common to end up with a crooked design, especially if it's a line of text. The real culprit is the hooping, not the frame. It's quite challenging to get the cap framed properly, and more times than not, it's due to the construction of the cap. As a result, many shops prefer to sew the sides of the cap with a separate hooping. We will look at two methods of doing this.

Cap Side hooping Method #1

The first (alternative) method is to use a tubular hoop, typically the 12cm one. You can hoop the side like any other garment. And because the side is virtually flat, it's quite simple to manage with a tubular hoop. Much like doing the back of the cap, you will need create some kind of frame or "jig" to assist with the framing the corner of a table works well, plus there are also some commercial aids available designed specifically for cap situations such as the one produced by hoopmaster. The only real challenge when hooping the side is the sweatband. You must make every effort to pull it out of the way! If you sew through it, there is an extremely high likelihood that the cap will not fit the wearer properly.