Hello embroiderer friends. How have you been? I am hopeful that everyone is going through this pandemic with the least possible impact. Of course, the main thing is health, so I want you to be very well.
In this case, I come to share with you what I recently inquired about embroidering sportswear. Who doesn’t like to wear this style of clothing? Ready for the tour? Are you already dressed in your favorite sportswear?
Well let’s start, first we will see two key elements to start any embroidery, in this case being sportswear we will recommend you: certain needles and threads.Our second step will be to try how to adapt the programming to the fabric.Third, the digitization of logos.And finally, small steps you can take to advance your sportswear embroidery: use a water-soluble stabilizer, take advantage of the Basting function on the hoop of your embroidery machine and of course the final touches.
The first elements you need
Well, I recommend that you choose the correct thread and needle, in addition to adopting the programming to your fabric. We are at the crucial point to ask yourself, are you sure you want to venture into technical embroidery? Well, if so, let’s continue.
Let’s see which needles we get
With regard to needles, you must be careful when choosing them, since you can generate folds in your garments if you do not choose the right tools. Here I share a list of the recommended needle sizes for embroidering functional fabrics:
Needles size:
- NM 60
- NM 65
- NM 70
Another little thing to keep in mind is the shape of the tip of the needle because it is precisely what will determine whether or not the material will suffer damage. For example, slightly rounded ends do not damage the fabric, while normal round ends break the fibers. Another case is the needles with titanium coating that have a reduced mechanical vibration, this makes them ideal for high precision stitches.
And how about I ask you about elastic needles? I will tell you that they are often used a lot for sportswear because they have a coating that prevents stitches from skipping. Be careful! Note that with lycra, embroidery machines can omit stitches from the seam and this is due to the rubbery material in these types of stretch fabrics.
Time to tell you which type of threads to choose
First of all, you have to choose the correct needle and thread thickness. In this way, you will protect the structure of the material and achieve an extremely flexible embroidery. Of course, you will also get a super comfortable garment as a result, no matter where the embroidery is. So that you keep it in mind, in general there is the idea that the thinner the fabric, obviously the finer the needle and thread should be. Well let’s go straight to the threads that I will recommend you:
- Fine polyester yarn: they have a wide mechanical and chemical resistance. And the best thing is that due to their high quality, they can be used in various high speed embroidery machines perfectly.
- Polyester Frosted Matt Thread: this type of thread is not comparable to any other type. It is often chosen when embroiderers really want to create eye-catching designs and give them that special touch. Its main characteristic is that it is absolutely empty of any shine.
- Rayon yarn: it stands out for its silky appearance and its soft natural shine. The quality of its raw material and the manufacturing technologies make the difference. Thanks to these two factors, the yarns can be processed efficiently and productively, with bright and long-lasting colours.
How to adapt the programming to the fabric
Sure you know it but just in case it never hurts to clarify it. When embroidering functional fabrics, wrinkling and hard, stiff embroidery are common problems. In this situation, I will give you several recommendations: decrease the density of stitches in corners or curves (especially be careful in small details), give importance to structured back stitches since this will give you stability in your embroidery shape, embroider diagonally around the warp and weft threads of the fabric. You ask yourself, what is this for? Well I’ll tell you that will help the material stay flat while you embroider. Finally, I advise you to start working at the center of your design.
Digitize the logo you want on your sportswear
Do you know that you can use free font software to create your own words? That’s right, you can use Husqvarna / Pfaff, Quick Font. Also, keep in mind that if you have to make a more complex logo, you can buy additional digitizing software or another option is the logo professionally digitized.
Small steps you can take to advance your sportswear embroidery
Here I will leave you some steps that you can consider to embroider on a sports garment. I hope they will be useful to you, and you can implement them.
Use a water soluble stabilizer
I strongly recommend that you use a thin layer of water soluble stabilizer on top. But for what? Simple, you have to get the stitches to have something to hold on to while you sew. The water soluble stabilizer adds a bit of lift to the finished stitch, and this allows the stitches not to sink into the fabric.
Choose the Basting function on the hoop of your embroidery machine
This feature allows you two things. Let’s start, the first thing is that it attaches the shirt to the stabilizer, and the other is that it can help to a better vision on the fabric. In other words, you can know if the fabric is centered and straight. But what if I am wrong? The good news, you don’t have to worry. Basting stitches are easy to remove.
Time to remove the stabilizer!
To start, you need to remove the basting stitches. What comes next? Well, cut the stabilizer about ¼ of the edge of the embroidery. Be very careful when removing the perforated water soluble stabilizer from the front.
Ready to finish embroidering the garment?
Finally, the best would be that you wash the item to remove any possible traces of water soluble stabilizer, in addition to the drawn alignment lines.
What do you think of our tour of this type of embroidery?
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
It’s time to say goodbye for now. But don’t worry, I have thousands of more topics to investigate about, you know that the world of embroidery is very wide and so nice to inquire for those of us who are passionate about it. I really hope you continue to be a part of this nice embroiderer community.
Don´t hesitate to leave your comment or question, if you have any.
We read soon!
Mary