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The Importance of Test Sewing by Kris Congo
Why should we test sew? We know we love the design on screen, won't it look just as great? The answer is "not always". Why? You ask. Here I can tell you why. When we see designs on screen, on websites, in catalogs or in images they look so eyecatching. Sometimes when we sew them on our favorite vest, or jacket it ruins our garment. We blame the machine, the digitizers, or even ourselves. There could be several reasons why the design did not sew out well. One reason is stabilizer. If you are using the wrong stabilizer for the type of fabric you are embroidering on, you can have problems. The next factor to consider is needle choice. You need to match up your needle type to the fabric type and thread type and weight of the thread. The eye of the needle is different on all needle types. Especially with Metallic Thread, the needle is very important. There are some brands of needles that have a product called Metallic Needles. Be sure to check those out. Another reason for problem embroidery is maybe the design is digitzed very well, but the design may not have been specifically digitized for that type of fabric. You should not use a design on a ballcap for instance unless it was specifically digitized for ballcaps. It will make a difference. A design that is digitized for denim fabric may not do so well on a fabric with a pile or heavily textured like corduroy, fleece or terrycloth. The design will need to be digitized accounting for underlay, density and other factors for these various fabrics. If in doubt call or email the digitizer of the designs and ask them what they tested it on, or ask about the underlay and density of the design. This is why we always suggest doing a test sew on the type of fabric you will be embroidering on. You will work out the kinks beforehand thus saving your nice garment. If you hire someone to do a custom digitized design, you will most likely go through this process and work closely with the digitizer to get a design that is digitized for your specific needs. The digitizer will do a test sew for you on similar fabric. A great idea is to keep all of your "embroidery faux pas". For instance if you ruin a polo shirt, do not throw it away. Use it to test sew designs before stitching them on other polos. This way you will know how your design will react to that type of shirt without ruining the shirt. For more information on test sewing or any questions please send us an email at orders@punchworkstudio.com |
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