I am trying to do redwork which has scripture (words).  Which stabilizer should I use tear away (and weight) or cutaway.  I have trouble with the words coming unstitched.  Should I leave back stitches in tact?  Thank you - Linda

Hi Linda!

I’m not sure what project fabric you are using, but for most fabrics I’d use Sulky’s iron-on tear-away. This brand of tear-away is very easy to remove and you will stand less chance of disturbing the stitching. When tearing away the excess, put your fingers on the stitched portions of the design and tear away the stabilizer up to your fingers. Leave a little around the stitching. If it is possible to leave the stabilizer intact on your project (and it won’t hinder the finished look from the front…for instance, on a pillow top or framed embroidery) use a fusible mesh stabilizer over the whole project back and don’t remove it. My personal favorite is Lite & Sheer Mesh Fusible from Terradon Embroidery.

Do not clip the jump threads between the lettering on the back of the fabric. Just clip the front jump threads and any long tails of colored thread on the back. Use a tiny drop of seam sealant, such as FrayChek, to help secure the beginning and ending of each knot on the wrong side of the project. (Do a spot check first on a scrap of your project fabric to be sure that it will not show when completely dry…some fabrics will mark.) Depending on what your project is, it may even be advisable to use a fusible webbing, such as Wonder Under or Steam a Seam, to adhere a piece of interfacing permanently to the wrong side of the embroidered fabric. This will definitely help prevent those stitches from unraveling…but will also give the fabric stiffness, not always desirable!

Good luck!

Evy
A Bit of Stitch

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

Hi, I would like to ask - What kind of stabilizer is used on newborn clothing so that the stitiching is not scratchy to the skin? Thank you - Robin Lapin

Dear Robin,

I like to use Terradon’s “Lite & Sheer Mesh Fusible” stabilizer for any baby articles I embroider when the back of the embroidery will be next to their skin. I use this stabilizer as the main stabilizer, using two layers if the design in stitch intensive. After the embroidery is complete and the excess stabilizer has been trimmed away, I iron fusible webbing to regular sewing interfacing (lightweight, non-woven); cut it slightly larger than the design and fuse the interfacing to the back of the embroidery. This step effectively prevents even the potentially itchy bobbin threads from bothering a baby’s delicate skin.It is important to remember to pre-shrink all fabrics, including interfacing, when used in a project that will be washed.

Hope this helps!

Evy
A Bit of Stitch

What is the best weight of fabric to use when embroidering a Sampler, ie a design for framing? I have used broadcloth (quite thin) and although I don’t hoop it taut, there is still puckering around some of the design. Possibly I should double the stabilizer or better still use a heavier fabric. Any helpful hints would be appreciated. Thanks, Mary, B.C. Canada

Hi Mary,

Well, it really depends on your designs. If they are pretty stitch intensive (like lots of large fill-stitched areas) than you probably need to be using a heavier weight fabric. I have found a really nice denim weight brushed twill at Wal-mart that works well for most heavy embroidery projects.

Another idea is to permanently stabilize your fabric using a piece of woven sew-in interfacing, commonly used in suit making. Just apply a piece of fusible webbing to the back of the fabric and then iron the interfacing over that. Stabilize as usual and embroider.

Another cool little interfacing trick that helps me out when my fabric wants to “wave” around a particularly dense design no matter what I do, is to apply a piece of it to the back of the finished design with fusible webbing after embroidery. Iron it on lightly to begin with from the back and then really press it on good from the front using a mini-iron all around the designs. The mini-iron lets you get really close to the embroidery without ironing over it and seals the “waves” down. After sealing the front, then finish it off with a good ironing on the back.
 
I am sure that you have read all the tips and helpful hints we have about proper hooping…as in, do not stretch the fabric or pull and tug on it after it is in the hoop. Adhering the stabilizer to the fabric before hooping prevents the urge to pull!
 
You might also consider using a cut-away stabilizer too. Sometimes designs that are dense actually do better with cut-away. I always try the lightest cut-away first, and then a bit heavier, if that doesn’t work.
 
I hope this helps…good luck, let us know how you do!
 
Evy
www.abitofstitch.com

Hi Evy,

I have recently knitted a cap for my granddaughter. Is there a way of embroidering a design on the cap?
 
Mary

Hi Mary!
 
I love that someone else besides me wants to put embroidery on knitting! Woo Hoo!
 
Here’s what I’ve discovered…
 
Applique designs work best. No matter how I stabilize my knitted fabric, plain embroidered designs never seem to look as nice as I want them to, so I’ve stuck with just applique.
 
Making a patch (using cut-away stabilizer for the base) and applying the finished applique by hand or with fabric glue produces the best look and is by far the easiest to do. However, if you wish to applique directly on the knit, I suggest you experiment with a sample piece of knitting first. Every yarn has it’s own stretch…some more than others…so it’s important to find the right stabilizer. Sometimes adhering the knit to a light layer of cut-away works and sometimes woven iron-on interfacing backed with iron-on tear-away works better. Knitting is dangerous to hoop (it’s thick, hard to hold in the hoop and can be distorted and easily marked) so hooping stabilizer and sticking and basting the knitting to it seems to work best. Basting by hand seems to work better than using the machine’s basting in place function. Also, water soluble toppers help keep the machine foot from getting bogged down in fuzzy yarn.
 
To see more of my knitting/embroidery projects, check out my photo gallery at www.abitofstitch.com and look under “Knitting & Embroidery.”
 
Be sure to send us pics when you get your cap finished!
 
Good luck,
 
Evy
www.abitofstitch.com

Hi Evy,
 
I was wondering if it is possible to embroider on swimsuit lycra, and if so how would this be done as lycra is very, very stretchy. What type of stabilizer would be used? Thank you in anticipation of an answer.Regards
Judy

Dear Judy,
 
Yep! Embroidering on Lycra is tricky! I’ve done a little of it, and hope that I won’t have to do it again any time soon
 
Two things to consider up front:
 
1. Lycra is used for garments that must move with the body. The embroidered area will not move, and if it does, it will be distorted or will distort the area around it. So choose the placement of the embroidery carefully. (The exception to this rule is when the fabric is stretched during embroidery on purpose to accommodate the stretch the body will produce when the garment is worn. I worked for a dancewear company briefly, and while I can tell you that this is possible to do, as I’ve seen it done, I would hesitate to recommend that process. You need to know the percentage of stretch required and be able to exactly match that when hooping.)
 
2. Lycra contains material very similar to rubber. You must use a needle meant to be used for stretchy, elastic fabrics.
 
Here’s what I did…I’m sure that there are other methods that would work just as well…but this one worked for me:
 
I backed the fabric with a light-weight, iron-on, non-woven interfacing first, then backed it with two layers of iron-on tear-away. (I tried cut-away, but it ruined the drape of the fabric later…the non-woven interfacing did not affect the drape nearly as much, yet kept the embroidery looking good during wear. The interfacing also seemed to help keep the machine from “eating” the fabric…it has a tendency to want to pull down into the bobbin. The iron-on tear-away worked better for me than Vilene applied with temporary spray adhesive as stickiness seemed to make all matters worse!) I wrapped both hoops with gauze to prevent hoop burn, and hooped carefully, making sure the stabilizer was completely caught in the hoop. After removing the excess stabilizer I cut away the excess interfacing, gently pulling it away from the fabric to do so.
 
Good luck!
 
Evy
www.abitofstitch.com

Hi, this Grace Manuel from LA. Could you please tell me which stabilizer is best to embroider on t-shirts? I am new at embroidery. I want to do some t-shirts and don’t know which stabilizer to use. Thank you.

Dear Grace,
 
Most knit fabrics require the use of a permanent stabilizer, meaning one that will not eventually wash away as a paper tear-away will. My favorite type of stabilizer to use with knits is actually a woven interfacing, sold by the yard at most sewing stores. Non-woven, light-weight cut-away also works well for thin t-shirt fabric. Check out my “Helpful Hints” at www.abitofstitch.com for more information about stabilizing and hooping knitted fabrics.
 
Good luck! I know you are going to enjoy your new venture!
 
Evy
www.abitofstitch.com

What is the best way to stabilize t-shirts so that lettering doesn’t make holes in the fabric? And, if you get a hole, what is the best way to fix it !Thank you,
Andi Woodson

Hi Andi,
 
T-Shirts are fun to embroider, but they do require a little extra TLC! I suspect that you have tried to stitch lettering that is tiny and stitch intensive on your t-shirt, and it probably sunk right into the bobbin case causing the machine to “eat” your shirt…am I close? Yep, I’ve been there, done that and got the T-shirt to prove it too! Here’s what I learned:
 
Pick a design that is suitable for knits…nothing tiny and densely stitched. Look for appliques, flat filled designs (that are NOT dense) or lettering with medium width satin stitching. (Really wide satin stitches will also give your knits grief!) Lettering that has underlay works best.
 
Remember that flat is better when stabilizing…pick a stabilizer that is NOT cushy or stretchy. I like to use iron-on woven regular sewing interfacing for all my knit projects…followed with a layer of iron-on regular weight tear-away. For more information on my favorite way to stabilize knits, please check out my “Helpful Hints” at www.abitofstitch.com
 
As for fixing those pesky holes…this is what I do, but please note that this works best when the entire hole and then some will be completely covered by the embroidery.
 
If the hole is large, find a piece of fabric that is as close as possible in type and color to your t-shirt. If the hole is very small, you can use regular woven fabric in a matching color.
 
Cut a piece of the patch fabric slightly larger than the hole. Place the cut patch over the back of the hole on the wrong side of the t-shirt. The right side of the patch fabric should show through the hole on the right side. Using woven iron-on interfacing, cover the entire portion of the shirt that will be hooped, right over the covered hole, on the wrong side. Add a piece of iron-on tear-away stabilizer over that, covering an area larger than the hoop. Lay a piece of water-soluble stabilizer over the right side of the shirt, covering the entire area to be hooped. Use temporary spray adhesive to hold the water-soluble stabilizer in place. (This topper will prevent the machine foot from catching on the edges of the hole during stitching.) Hoop the fabric, water-soluble topper included. If you feel you need another piece of stabilizer, slip a piece of tear-away under the hoop while it is in the machine. Now stitch your design. Remove the excess water-soluble topper and tear-away stabilizer. Gently peel up the excess woven interfacing and trim away close to the design on the back. (Warm the interfacing with an iron, if necessary, to aid in removing the excess.)
 
For those holes that will not be covered completely by the embroidery, I learned this little trick from my friend who does alterations…it works great with t-shirts. Pinch the torn fabric together on the wrong side and sew a straight seam across the raw edges. Make the seam as short as possible, but as long as necessary to let the fabric lay flat without denting or puckering at the ends of the seam. Do not stretch the fabric as you stitch. Sew as close as possible to the torn edges, but be sure that they are secure. Press the seam open on the wrong side firmly. Stabilize as suggested above and embroider over the closed hole. Believe it or not, that little seam really does fade into the background…it will be hardly noticeable!
 
Lots of luck!
Evy
www.abitofstitch.com