Ann The Gran Community

   Really, this could change my embroidery world if I could find the answer! I live near PA Dutch Country. Many shops there carry shirts that have embroidered designs that are GLUED on. They sew the embroidery on some sort of stabilizer, then use something like Wonder Under to iron-on the design. I've seen them use an iron to put the designs on the shirts. The embroideries look like appliques. 

   This allows you to do mulitple embroideries on one shirt. Also, the iron-on doesn't pull the fabric on thin t-shirts. The stabilizer feels almost like a stiff (but thin) plastic. Flower stems are perfectly stable, and there's no sign of any cut away or tear away stabilizer showing around the design. I saw a Fall sweater yesterday that had little leaves glued to it. No pulling of the sweater design. They even had a butterfuly on a shirt with the wings not glued down, just the body was glued with the wings loose. The butterfly wings looked like they might have tulle in them, but they were stiff enough to hold their shape.

   Can anyone figure out how this is done?

Hello,

There are many, many adhesive products on the market currently for all types of sewing.

Have you seen the packaged "glitz" designs that the backing is peeled off and then ironed on and slowly peel away the topping?  Same idea.  Some of these adhesive products are excellent and will survive the washing machine and dryer; but there are others that will fall short.

I have used a liquid adhesive to repair vintage quilts when I am unable to do any sewing to them.  Works great.  But then again, vintage quilts do not get washed often.

Reading product descriptions will determine what adhesive would be suitable for what project.

Joan

I do hope someone can answer this, sounds like something that we all could use.

Have you asked the shop where you saw it being done what they used?

Marge

It sounds like the embrodiery was done on heavy duty soluble stabilizer but the stablilzer was not washed away after the design was embroidered. I would think that you could add Wonder Under after the design was embroidered.

I think the butterfly was probably done on tulle or nylon net. I did some experimenting with a butterfly design on nylon net. I embroidered the whole design. Then I embroidered just  the wings again on the nylon net. I cut those out and glued them on top of the design. It gave it a 3-D affect.

I don't know if this is what was done but there is no harm in trying a sample and see how it works.

Aleenes glue had one that you could put on the back of a patch and use it over and over. I think it was called Tacky glue.  And you can get it at Michaels Hobby Lobby even Walmart.

This might help.  My grand daughter is a competition ice skater.  Many of her costumes have designs which appear to be appliqued on, and many crystals etc.  I had occassion to sit with the professional costume maker for about an hour during a measuring session of the team.  As I picked her brain for information she told me that the designs are cut out and affixed to the costumes using glue or a heat type webbing.  Sometimes they designs are then outline satin stitiched or stitched with invisible thread.  She said the gems and crystals are affixed with clue.  The particular brand was called "something" 6000 or 3000???.  She said it has been on the market for a long time, but to beware when using it because of the fumes.  It apparently smells like model airplain glue so use it in a open area. 

I have made patches to sew on and i used heavy stabilizer for the back with a piece of thin irridescent see through fabric in the front.  I did the embroidery, then put a border around it.  I cut away all the excess, placed it on the garment, and used invisible thread to zigzag over the border.  Worked fine. 

the topic is so funny...

i do not think it can change the world.

I don't think that the topic is funny.  If someone could really figure out how they do that it would change the world of ME.

Marge