Denim is a twill weave and runs diagonally and any diagonal weave is
difficult to control, whether you are attempting construction sewing or
machine embroidery. Twills are designed to give the wearer ultimate
wearing comfort by the natural "give" it has. That's why we all love our
chinos & jeans! However, this comfort quality presents a real
problem for machine embroidery enthusiasts.
It is essential to
keep fabric "blocked" while cutting, assembling, and stitching either
regular seaming or machine embroidery. From cutting out pattern pieces
to hooping denim for embroidery, you will experience a challenge of
keeping the fabric "blocked" squarely. If you're a quilter, you know
exactly what blocking is. If you're not a quilter it simply means
keeping the grain of the weave, in both cross & straight directions,
straight or square.
Denim is difficult to block because of the
diagonal weave and, generally, denim is a heavier weight than most other
fabrics are. I recently stitched an ankle length, heavy, denim duster
coat using a very large design down the front edge of the coat opening,
near the hemline. This meant I had to keep the design running straight
in 2 directions at once.digitizing embroidery The outcome could have been quite unsightly if I
hadn't taken extra precautions to make sure the design was placed
squarely and that the stabilizing was adequate to prevent the puckers
and warping that result from the pull of a machine embroidery design
while it is stitching.
Since I had chosen a rather dense
assortment of designs to combine for a scene, I knew that I had a
difficult, but not impossible, task. First I had to determine what would
keep the twill from becoming distorted during the stitching. Second, I
knew it would be next to impossible to hoop the coat - the denim was as
heavy as any work jeans I've seen.
I immediately knew that I
wouldn't be able to hoop the coat, therefore it was a matter of first
stabilizing the denim then finding a way to create a method of hooping a
backing that would hold up under a high stitch count design and remove
easily when the stitching was completed. Given the factors I couldn't
change - the weight of the fabric & the heaviness of the group of
designs - I wanted to use a "formula" of layers which wouldn't create a
stiff effect when all was done. The front edge of a coat does flip open -
this could be considered a lethal weapon if one is not careful!
~ DESIGN PLACEMENT ~
The
first problem to overcome - can you imagine the bulk of all this fabric
when attaching the hoop to the machine! Since the bulk of the fabric
must be to the left of the machine so as not to constrict the movement
of the embroidery "arm" and hoop, the design had to stitched upside
down! To accomplish this you simply flip the design/s first vertically
then horizontally.
Using a printed image of the design and the
plastic grid for the hoop, I decided exactly where I wanted to place the
design. (Always stand about 3 feet away from the garment to make sure
the design is where you want it! It's usually best to try it on &
look in the mirror.) Since this was for my daughter I had to wing it!
~ PREPARING THE FABRIC OR GARMENT ~
I
laundered the coat to shrink it to prevent any warping or puckering
which would have happened after it was laundered the first time. Next I
steam pressed the front of the jacket to its original flat state by
applying Magic Sizing and heavy steam. Now the key here is the word
press - not iron! If you iron (move the iron in any direction while
bearing down) denim will be stretched and distorted.
After
allowing the coat to dry completely after this process, and making sure
of the design placement previously decided, I then applied the fusible
medium tear away backing to the back side, using a dry iron set at the
polyester setting, making sure that the backing straight grain was
running with the coat cross grain. Again - press the backing not iron
it. To avoid an armor look, I chose the soft tear away backing as the
second layer which was placed straight grain to straight grain. A light
spraying of 505 temporary adhesive was applied to keep it from shifting.
~ STABILIZING ~
My
choice for the "hooping" backing was wonder solv - a water soluble,
fabric-like stabilizer, which will support any number of stitches. I
hooped a piece in my Brother jumbo hoop, which has a 5 X 12 inch stitch
area. I then sprayed the wonder solv with a heavy coat of 505 spray.
I
set the jumbo hoop on my Hoop Mate to insure that I could get the front
edge of the coat straight with the curved edge of the hoop. Then,
making sure that the hem edge was kept straight as well, I pressed the
entire backed portion of the coat to the hooped wonder solv. I placed
the plastic grid template over the "hooped" fabric to double-check the
placement Whew - the worst part of the project was accomplished!
~ FINALLY! READY TO STITCH ~
After
locking the hoop to the embroidery arm, I placed a sheet of web solvy
on top to prevent the stitches from sinking into the denim. The first
thing I stitched was the basting outlines in all three areas of the
jumbo hoop. It takes a bit of time, but is well worth the effort. This
secures the fabric/garment to the hooped backing helping to insure the
least amount of movement during the actual design stitching.
I
proceeded by stitching the top design first, then the bottom design and
finally the center design. By moving around the hoop in this fashion you
are preventing excessive pull in any one area, which can cause
distortion of the fabric and unsightly puckering.
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