July 2008 - Posts

• The Avid Embroiderer Presents Endless Hooping, July 25, 2008

  Thanks for responding to my request for what you wanted to talk about!  Endless Hooping was the winner by far.  I selected "Celtic Crosses" because it is robust with great designs and methods.  There are interlocking and non-interlocking designs, pre-designed corners and some interesting keepsake designs for linen.  Of course, you can Search for "Borders" and find many others here at ATG.  The first thing we need to discuss about ‘endless hooping' is that your project needs to be well thought out before you begin.  That may seem obvious, but with so many factors entering your project, planning is essential.   Decide on the fabric/item. I am doing an old pair of pillowcases for practice and to bring them back to the ‘front' of my linen closet. Consider a design. Do you want floral, scroll or whimsy? Does your partner like the design too? I chose a Celtic design for its lovely curves and simple design. A pillow case border is generally placed an inch or two above the cuff seam. I would discourage putting something this lengthy on the cuff since the lower fold of the fabric could shift making a ‘twist' in the fabric. However, ME enthusiasts can choose anything they want, including a design from the hem vertically to the top edge of the case. In software that resizes, like Catalog Express, make your design size a simple number to deal with. In my case I resized to 5" x 1.5" since the pillow case is 21" wide. I will sew out my design 4 times and there will be a little left over on each side, which is fine with me.   This pillow case costs $55.00 EACH. (We better learn to do this!)  Photo courtesy of Horchow, Fashion Bedding.  I am marking the pillowcase, following the line of the cuff which is how the case actually lays.   I am using a 1" distance centering line for my design.            Next, I am preparing to set my fabric in my hoop.  Ann has the best stabilizer for this project, Adhesive and Water Soluble which is just perfect for this project.  It will hold the design securely and wash away when I am done!   I carefully press the fabric into the hoop making sure I have my alignment set.   Using my hoop grid and when I am satisfied with my layout, I finger press the fabric into the stabilizer and finish with a hand roller.  This makes the adherence even.              I begin to sew out the design and make note of the machine parameters of where I am placing my design and hoop.  The placement of the design will be the same for each sew out.  Please note in the second photo, the arrow is pointing to an opening where the second color will land.  This is one of the marks of good digitizing because it alleviates density and pull issues.              After completing my first design and before removing my fabric from the hoop, I will reinsert my grid. Using a crayon or non-permanent marker, I will be tracing the top of the original design.  The second photo shows my tracing artistry.                    I then disassemble my fabric and prepare the hoop and stabilizer for the repeat design.   Here is the fun part.  Before I place the fabric back into the hoop, I align my grid and tape it down to the fabric.  When I place the fabric back into the hoop, the grid seats the fabric in the hoop where the next design will be sewn.  And when I am happy with the position, I press the fabric to the stabilizer.  I use my machine's layout function to make any last minute adjustments.  I prefer to have my additional designs closely abut the original design or actually land a little on top of the original design.  As you are working through your repeats, keep your eye on the finish spot and make adjustments if required.                       Another method would use the same principles of placement, but you would print out your designs with appropriate software and lay the trimmed design prints where you want them to be sewn.  Either method requires that you plan ahead and prepare to adjust when and where necessary.  Corners are for the practiced and courageous.  Doing a design completely around a square or rectangle table cloth would require much planning and careful placement.                                      These are examples of "interlocking" designs.  This has a much closer tolerance but creates a really beautiful and endless design.              Last but not least, this pack has one of the loveliest keepsake designs I have ever seen.                                                       Greg was kind enough to find the background of the design.  It is in this link if you would like to read and/or print it.  It has a romantic story!  Don't forget to backup your designs often.  I just completed backing up my designs on Wednesday.  I did not back up this blog, and guess what? ...this blog became corrupt!  BACKUP!  Put your machine to work, Pat  Print this Blog      Posted Jul 18 2008, 11:37 PM by pat71896 with 11 comment(s) Filed under: Tips, projects, stabilizers, annthegran stabilizer, The Avid Embroiderer, catalog xpress, tips for new embroiderers, heirloom

• The Avid Embroiderer Presents: Needles, July 3, 2008

  Needles           General Information:  The lower the number, the smaller the needle regardless of the type. Fine fabrics, satin, silk, linen, require the #60/8 Sharp or #65/9 Sharp. Either would be good choices.  Those fabrics are snagged by a dull or overly large needle. To pierce heavy fabric like denim, use #80/12 Sharp or #90/14 Sharp.  Knits and loosely woven fabrics need a ball point needle. The finer the jersey and pique knit use a smaller needle. Cotton fabrics work well with sharp or universal needles. Tapestry is also loosely woven so you will want to use a ball point needle. These will more easily go between the threads of the fabric instead of penetrating them. Wedge point needles are made for plastics, vinyl and leather goods. Wedge point needles make a ‘slice’ rather than a hole. If your needle is causing the design to be "cut" out of your fabric, try a wedge point.   Here’s a deal!  Originally $4,999.00 and on sale for $39.99… Cardstock demands a very fine, sharp needle and the smaller the better.  It will also require a fine thread, at least a #50 or #60 thread.  Metallic needles are sharp and have a larger hole.  This allows the metallic thread to feed easier and therefore, less thread breaks.  Nothing that I know about will stop metallic thread breakage. If you think your needle (not yet attached to the machine) might have an eye that is too small, you can take a 12” piece of the thread and put it through the hole.  Hold the thread vertically and spin the needle, this demonstrates how easily the thread moves through the hole.   Embroidery needles have a slight amount of flexibility to them, allowing better movement.  Sewing needles are generally more rigid.    If you have a dual machine that sews as well as embroiders, you may have been given two different bobbin cases.  Other than thread and needle, the reality is that sewing and embroidery have very little in common in their process.  Here is why:    A sewing machine uses the top and bottom threads equally to combine two fabrics together.  You will use an equal amount of thread with the top and bottom.  This diagram shows the process.   However, an embroidery machines uses the top thread to cover your fabric while the bottom thread holds the top thread snugly to the fabric.   This method uses approximately 40% more top than bottom thread.   This diagram is courtesy of Designs in Machine Embroidery), you already know that you will see top thread on the bottom of your design, as it should be.                                                                  dumpING the needle Let’s all put a dollar into a bank account for every time we wondered when to change the needle.  The account will be in my name and I promise to tell you about all the fun I have spending it. Options:  Listen to the ‘experts’ (not including yours truly). When you start a new project When you are doing delicate or detailed designs When your machine starts to sound different When you think of it When you have done 70,000 or 150,000 stitches When the needle is bent Give up and take up a new hobby.  Drum Roll (as Cathy would say)!  I don’t have a simple answer.  I do, however, follow a few rules.    When I begin a new project, I think about the prior age/usage of the needle, I might change here. When I am doing small words and want those “o’s” and “e’s” to have good definition, I probably will change here. I do listen carefully to my machine.  But noise in general does not mean the needle is in need of change.  Any unusual sound requires an immediate stop of the machine.  I might consider changing the needle here. When I change the bobbin, I see lint in the bobbin case area; and I may think about changing the needle while I am cleaning up that area. I do keep an eye on the number of stitches I have been creating.  It reminds me it is time for a check up at my dealers.  But I may change my needle just because of usage by count. I always change a bent needle immediately.  I believe in strong stabilization, which dulls a needle.   I change that needle.   A worn needle can be one cause of tension issues.  Here are “Test Your Tension” files for the most common embroidery formats.   I have placed the test file in my machine’s memory.  If you don’t have a memory on your machine, keep this file handy and use it periodically.  Here’s how: Use contrasting threads for top thread, bobbin thread and fabric so that you can readily see where your thread is landing at the current tension setting. If possible, use different brands of threads. Observe your test.  The appearance of the majority of your test indicates your general tension. If adjustments are needed, make them in small increments, and repeat the test. Naturally, the factory setting is the most accurate, but over time, wear and movement will make a reset inaccurate without a fully trained technician. Keep the stitched out pattern for future reference. Check often.                         TensionTestDST.zip                     TensionTestEXP.zip                    TensionTestHUS.zip TensionTestJEF.zip                        TensionTestPCS.zip                     TensionTestPES.zip TensionTestXXX.zip   To print this blog:  Print   Did you see the New Photos Section?  It is called “Challenges and Advice” and it will be great for all those discussions and suggestions that ATG users are renowned for sharing!    What would you like the next Blog to be about?  I have several subjects in mind:  HEIRLOOM/WING NEEDLE PLACEMENT GUIDES ENDLESS HOOPING YOUR IDEA        Posted Jul 03 2008, 02:33 PM by pat71896 with 27 comment(s) Filed under: blog, needles, The Avid Embroiderer, changing needles, wing needle, tapestry, denim, satin, heirloom, knits, thread tension