There’s beauty in towel embroidery, but when the process it entails enters the picture, the technique becomes less appealing. For someone who doesn’t have a background in digital embroidery, towels and terry cloth might all be Greek. However, embroidering on Terry cloth is not just meant for those who have a knack for embroidery. Anyone can learn a thing or two by understanding the basics.
There are golden rules that you need to keep in mind if you’re new to terry cloth embroidery. Dipping your toes into this technique might be intimidating, but knowing the basic rules will keep you in the right direction:
1. The most preferred technique to preserve the embroidery is using Rayon thread.
2. If you want to make sure that the design is as detailed as possible, using Solvy, or a water-soluble plastic film, will help you achieve desirable results.
3. Ensuring design stability is recommended by tearing away backing. You can also use solvy as backings depending on the circumstances.
Digitizing designs on Terry cloth or towels
Home and single-head embroidery machines have been immensely popular over the last few years, all thanks to the profitability of product personalization. Results may vary depending on the available embroidery equipment, but editing and lettering software became an integral part of the industry. Since Terry cloth embroidery needs specific values, such techniques may not be applicable to other types of fabric.
Rules are as follows:
1. Increase the density on your fill stitches and column by 10% to 20%.
2. Counteracting the thickness and preventing the fabric from piling up can be addressed by increasing the values of pull compensation. As the column thickness increases, so should the amount of pull compensation.
3. For even and flawless lettering, use zig-zag underlay. This technique also provides a cleaner edge on the column stitches.
You can also create a three-dimensional effect on your designs. You can do this by building up the underlay. This technique is known to be visually effective but may take more time because it will require you to build up the underlay manually. For better results, use the technique on thicker columns measuring 4mm wide.
The design principles of digitizing logos on towel embroidery
Employ this embroidery technique by building up multiple runs on the underlay focusing on the column areas’ center. To provide cording, which will push up the stitches of your column, you need to be fairly excessive. Add zig-zag stitches which should be on a 45-degree angle on its first pass. Run the slanted stitches on the opposite direction on the second pass following webbed effects to hold the center run underlay that you placed down.
The next step to take is to place the satin column stitch over the top so you create a convex underlay ridge which will give your design more depth. Avoid getting far ahead when employing this technique when following up from your previous column underlay. There can be slight changes to the design as the underlay will start popping out if you don’t use this technique carefully. You can also be as creative as you like if you want effects to be dramatic. You just need to make sure that you choose the correct design elements and incorporate them properly.
When digitizing for terry cloth, you should also keep in mind that it has its own challenges. You can only achieve excellent results if you follow correct pull compensation, density, and underlay. The fill stitches also need to be stable within the underlay. You can achieve this result by using cross-stitched underlay rather than the standard opposite direction technique.
Digitizing Software
The designs, with the help of embroidery digitizing, can be modified so they fit the required value and element. The process only becomes difficult when designs need to be in fine details. There are easy fixes you can apply if you’re in a difficult digitizing situation. One technique you can use is by adding a 1/3 fill thread which has the same color as your fabric. You can place the fill behind the portion of your text or design or behind the entire logo. Be sure to digitize the fill without any underlay values. Include functions like tie-in and tie-out as well. The purpose of the fill is to matte down the pile of cloth so your lettering looks clean.
Another option worth exploring is to create generic appliques shape in different sizes. Be sure to run your towel embroidery designs on top of these appliques. You can quickly edit your designs if you stitch oval, squares, and rectangles in different sizes. Although this solution is time-consuming and costly, the results are amazing and they can give you the quality that customers want.
The design needs to be consistent. This is why you need to be careful with choosing the material, ensuring they blend well. Using appliques on 100% cotton Terry cloth is cost effective and can give you more creative freedom. The stitch counts are lower and you can cover more areas because more underlay and density will be required.
If you’re running a single color towel embroidery design, you can hoop Solvy within the frame and wind the bobbins, making sure that you’re using the same thread color that you used for the front. This technique is best employed on reversible symmetrical logos and embellishment designs. Even when some designs don’t possess these attributes, you can still achieve these results on the reverse side of the fabric.
Due to the fact that this technique doesn’t use backings, the idea of creating loose fill designs makes the approach effective on all fabrics. Once the Solvy dissolves, the material becomes absorbent and functional like it intends to be. There are also software programs you can download that are capable of adjusting the push & pull compensation, stitch count and density depending on the fabric you’re going to use.
These techniques give you optimal results, but you need to make it a point to master your skills as well. By experimenting with these different techniques, you will be able to make use of your creativity to the fullest and ensure customer satisfaction.
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