I have a single letter in satin stitch that I’m putting on baseball hats. I have a major problem, I can’t figure out how to tie off at the end and my design keeps unraveling. Please help! - Deb
Hi Deb;
Yep, that can be aggravating. Some fabrics just don’t want to hold the tie-off stitching. Here’s what I’ve done when that’s happened to me:
Turn off the end thread cutter, if possible.
Before beginning to stitch, once the needle is in the correct place (at the beginning of the letter), drop the needle into the material and pull up the bobbin thread. Pull two nice long tails of both top and bobbin thread. Hold those out of the way as you stitch the design.
If you can turn off the end thread cutter, raise the needle at the end of the letter and remove the hoop, pulling nice long thread tails of both top and bobbin thread again. If you cannot turn off the end thread cutter, stop the machine before it cuts (usually there will be three or four tiny stitches in one place at the very end of a satin stitch column…let the machine stitch one or two of those, then stop the machine), raise the needle, and pull long thread tails.
Thread a hand sewing needle with the bobbin and top thread tails at one end of the letter. Sew several tiny stitches in place at the edge of the satin stitching, hiding the stitches behind the letter. Don’t let the stitches show through to the top, let them hide under the satin stitching on top, but do catch the fabric under the bobbin stitching. Repeat for the other end of the letter.
Clip off the excess tail threads and, for good measure, apply a tiny drop of seam sealant (Fraychek works great) to the hand stitching.
When I really want to be sure something won’t unravel in the wash later, especially if it is going to be getting a lot of wear-and-tear, I coat the back of my embroidery with a thin layer of fabric glue and stick a piece of non-woven interfacing over that.
Hope this helps!
Evy
A Bit of Stitch