Embroidery on Performance Wear

[ErinAllenLamb]

Hi Guys!

Long time no see! I am transitioning into my new job on the screen printer/embroidery side very well.  It is fun and challenging!

We do a lot of embroidery in house here and we do it well. Everything from basic polos to tackle twill and between.  The only thing we struggle with is embroidering on the performance wear.  We find that it is thin and flimsy and the embroidery itself will pull the garment.  It looks pulled/gathered and just doesn't look as good as we would like it to.

Do any of you experience this? If so, have you come up with anything to combat the pulling/gathering that occurs?

Let me know if you want a picture to show exactly what I am talking about!

It is great to be back!

Erin

[Denis Kolar]

Try mesh backing, smaller stitch counts or the newest thing that they came out with is woven backing. Woven should help a lot with "puckering" and pulling/gathering of the shirts.

[ErinAllenLamb]

We use mesh backing and have lowered the stich counts and just tried the woven backing with still no luck...  anybody else have suggestions?

[bj]

I have a few suggestions:
1. Possibly try lengthening your underlay stitches.  If the underlay stitches are too close together it can pull that type of material. 
2. Also, you may want solvy.  It helps hold the stitches in place.
3.  One last thing to try is not to put your hoop as tight as usual.  What happens when the hoop is tight on that material then when you take it off the material is stretched out and then pulls inward creating that bunching and puckering around the logo.
Hope one of those are helpful

[mooseman]

There are a bunch of issues here but lets see if i can cut to the chase

Stretchy facrics are not your friend

any time you energize it (stretch it ) it will move back like hooping / unhooping

don't hoop it in the usual way.

attach the backing to the material wit some of the tac sprays so the backing and fabric are temp bonded thaen carefully hoop the joined pair sew then trim & peel the stuck on backing.
 or
if you don't like the sticky stuff
hoop a typical piece of backing minus the garment, set the hoop in your machine, position the garment on the backing and attach it with a basting stitch  that will sew down the fabric to the backing with a running basting stitch that runs just outside the design and the outer regions of the hoop to stabilize the garment to the backing. Sew your design, then pull the basting stitches trim the backing and go.

Lastly get some of the new magnetic hoops 
http://store.hirschinternational.com/product/MAGNETIC-MIGHTY-HOOP-55-SQ-FOR-TAJIMA-360MH-TJ,6195,159.htm

or some clamping hoops
http://store.hirschinternational.com/catalog/Clamps,157.htm

or some fast frames

http://www.embroiderysupplies.com/fast-frames.htm


mooseman