ImagesMagUK_Digital-Edition_Nov17

TIPS & TECHNIQUES

Time to stop Puckeringup

Follow Erich Campbell’s practical tips and expert advice to kiss puckered garments goodbye

I t seems inevitable that embroidery will cause fabric to pucker and create ripples in your garment. It’s particularly pernicious when stitching performance garments with their stretchy, slippery and gossamer materials that are a challenge to keep stable in the hoop. While no single technique or material addition can entirely mitigate the problem of puckering, a balanced approach to the causes of this problem can help reduce its appearance. Set up Set the stage Even though thin, slick, and stretchy materials are popular, it pays to learn which garments are the least stable and, if possible, pick a similar piece with a little more material resistance to the embroidery process; present your best option that doesn’t distort as easily to your customer. Similarly, choose designs that are more open and less filled to keep from weighing down or taxing your thin materials, and choose colours – when you can – that reduce contrast so that you can keep densities low. Set the stage for success as much as you can before the stitching starts. Digitising and densities Reduce stitch densities as much as you safely

A window of stabiliser above the garment can increase grip while decreasing abrasion and the crushing of garment fibres

can when digitising. Each stitch leaves a thread spreading apart the garment’s yarns like a wedge; the more you add, the more the garment’s fibres have to move out of the way, causing distortion. Use underlays that lift up top stitching with structured scaffolds to allow for less density without losing top coverage. Mesh underlays work well for fills and edge run underlays under satins provide

structure for clean edges and increased coverage without excess density. Tablecloth sequencing Use the ‘tablecloth method’ to sequence designs: start in the centre of the decorated area and move away from that secured centre, imagining your presser foot as a hand smoothing wrinkles from a tablecloth. Loose material gathers in front of the apparent direction of the needle; the waves of gathered material become permanently stitched-in wrinkles if you stitch toward existing stitched areas, effectively ‘crashing’ the wrinkle into the unmoving, stable area that’s already attached to the stabiliser. Mind your stitch angles as well; don’t push or pull in your garment’s weakest dimension if you want to avoid stretching. Overall underlay If your design has a large area of complete coverage, or enough elements under which you can hide travelling stitches, add a straight-stitch underlay path before the design runs that starts from the centre and stitches out and back in a rough

This sample (from a competitor’s shop) was causing extreme rippling and the satins were pinching the fabric. You can see how the designs are causing intense distortion

In this sample, you can see how at the size specified, I opted for a satin-edged fill. Add that to a centre-out sequence and balanced densities, and this sample is much smoother than the one from the other shop

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