Ann The Gran Community

I think this is a question for Pat or anyone else who has experience doing jackets. I re-read your blogs on stabilizing and badgemaster. I am not that familiar with the water solubles, except for using them as a topping. I have graduated from shirts and hats to jackets for my husbands club. The jackets will be nylon, oxford or satin with flannel or quilted lining. They are coaches jackets and baseball jackets. What stabilizer would you recommend and type and size of needle. The jackets are a bit priceyer (is that a word?) than shirts and hats and I would hate to mess even my first one up.

I would appreciate any help and suggestions that anyone could give me before I take the plunge.

Thanks, Nancy

You are one hard working lady!  The next thing they will want to have embroidered will be their 'unmentionables.'  LOL

Since I have never done a jacket, I definately would go to a second hand store or charity clothing store and try to match what you are going to be working with.  There are several variables here and you will need to work with a "test sew out."  The good news is that if you find a similar jacket, you will be able to do several test sew outs because you can use it all for testing.

Do those jackets have a separate lining or are they fused?  If they are not a single piece of fabric,  I would start out with doing a 'frame' or baste on the pieces before you work with the design.  Why? well, if those two pieces somehow are out of alignment and you do the design, you got a real problem.

How dense is the design?  How thick is the actual fabric of the jacket?   If you have photos or something you can show us, we can make a better assessment.   I do, however, recommend a Cutaway adhesive stabilizer rather than a tear away because tear away can pull on stitches and for something that will (possibly) be laundered, it needs to stay strong. 

BTW, if you are only using water solubles for toppings, you are missing a lot of ways to use it, not the least of which is Free Standing Lace (FSL).

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Pat, Sometimes I wonder what I have gotten myself into, but I enjoy every minute of it. It is nice to know that the guys appreciate my work.

I looked at some jackets my husband happen to have that were embroidered and I could not see any stabilizer, which lead me to believe that they used a water soluble. I think like you and like to go with cutaway. This way I know the design is going to hold up to wear, tear and laundry. Once the items leave my hands you can only imagine how they are laundered.

I am almost positive that the lining will be seperate, so  thanks for the idea to baste before hooping, as well as after hooping, I hope it will not leave holes.

I will be stitching the Indian Emblem as I did on the hats, but larger and will be stitching names on the opposite side. The emblem is approximately 10,000 stitches.

Here are pics of the jacket styles. The coaches jacket has a flannel lining. I went with the preshrunk flannel lining. The satin baseball jacket, they will have a choice of flannel or quilt linings.

Thanks for your imput.

Nancy

You do have some interesting elements going for you.  That emblem is a dense design and with 10,000 stitches, you are going to be stitching a lot!

I am going to make the recommendation (I hope if anyone is aware of a flaw here, they speak up) that you use a #75/11 needle.  It is good for not leaving a large hole, I would check out using a #70/10 as well.  Your test sew out is really important here.

For the costs to the group, I would go with a minimum of $8.00 for the design.  That works out to about 80 cents per thousand stitches and is an amount I would charge for a group with which I was affiliated***.  That means, that I would charge more to a client who walked in the door.  Additionally, if someone walked in the door, you would be selling them jackets so that you make some money off the jackets as well as the embroidery.  If the store across the street says "free embroidery," that just means they have added those costs, including extra hooping, set up fees, etc., to the price of the jacket.  Since you are in the 'starting stage' of working into a business, be careful not to just give your work away.   There are ways to discuss with clients why your charges are reasonable.

If you don't see any stabilizer in a commercially produced item, there are multiple reasons for this.  For one, they have someone who does nothing but clean up the design to their specifications.  So, a trimmer might be so experienced that you cannot see any stabilizer.  Of course, they may have used wss, but the fact is that they will not wash the item (unless requested for some reason).  That is an extra step for which they must also charge a client. 

I am really sold on Badgemaster for all the reasons in my blog.  I can see that this stabilizer is most likely a commercial product because, after using it for over a month now, it is not just heavy, it is resilient to stretching and holds well with needle holes.  You can probably tear away your current wss, but it is really difficult to do so with Badgemaster, and I end up cutting it away.  That is a small price to pay for confidence in my stabilizer.

After thinking about your project, I also think it will be advantageous to baste the wss with the fabric and lining at the same time.   And, after all, if you are not happy with the placement, you should be able to remove and rebasted if needed.  Be sure to make a template made of a lightweight cardboard, like they put into men's shirts.  You will need that for each item to be placed identically.   I personally did get the Perfect Placement Kit and find that it is well designed and easy to use.  I can have confidence in my placement because I am not very good with making my own tools.  If you have a moment to view the video on this, you will see that it takes about 8 seconds to place an item on a shirt. 

***I have costs for family (if they are nice) LOL; Internet clients; and those who are not nice to me. . . You can have multiple amounts.  I also have a cost for a charity, which is just to cover my threads and electricity, etc.  My time is my donation.  I also give my test sew outs to some charities, I do a lot of animals, especially cats.  I tell them to find someone to buy picture frames for the sew outs, have someone else put them together, and they have a very salable item.  Even if they just get $5.00 for that package, it is the cause that benefits.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Pat,

Thank you for all of your information. I will definately try the 70/10 needle first, and I am going to try the cutaway heavy stabilizer first. Since there is lettering I will use a ws topping.

I have been afraid of discouraging people, so I have tried to figure my price reasonably. Right now I am only dealing with club members. It never dawned on me to make a profit off the clothing. I have been all wrapped up in figuring the price of my time and material. I just spent the day revising my catalog and uping my prices because I forgot about shipping charges. It is amazing how some sites charge a small fortune for shipping and others charge a very small flat rate, or free after a certain amount. But now I realize that they may have incorporated the price into their items as well. Learning as I go along here.....

I am going to purchase the perfect placement kit. How great is that. I will also make a template with my first jacket, as you suggested. As a matter of fact I will use all of your tips.

I will let you know how I make out. I ordered 2 jackets in my husbands size to try first. If all goes well I will give the guys the ok to put their order in. I just may talk my husband into finally letting go of an ancient jacket he has and let me use it for testing.

Thanks again for all your help.

Nancy

You know, Nancy, that when you have completed the first jacket, you will be the real expert! 

My suggestions are based on what I know about fabrics and the embroidery tools as well.  I did sew for many years, but grew tired of it.   It is odd that embroidery does not have that drawback for me.  There are so many fun things and I enjoy computers as well, so there is nothing to be bored with in ME! 

Your issues with rates brings up some interesting thoughts, including, the 'duh' factor.  That is why we use a mentor to guide us.  I remember when I first heard the word mentor.  The statement was to 'learn' from someone whom you find who has already achieved what you are wanting to do.  I remember thinking "duh" (but at that time there was no word for it), but it does make sense.  Of course you can chart your own journey, but who has time to reinvent the wheel?

Learning is one of the greatest gifts we possess, and teaching is learning as well.  If you have ever shared something with another person, you know what I mean.

Lastly, tell dh that he is part of a great learning process, his donation will be a hallmark item and earn its place in your journey.

Pat, you are so welcome and I hope I do help.