Embroidery services in Edmonton Avoiding embroidery puckering
The pucker effect, where fabric bunches in the embroidered area, causes industry professionals like us at Elite Promotional Marketing to cringe. In order to produce quality stitching on fabric there are many steps that must be followed correctly.
At one time this was common knowledge, and a common skill. According to at Time Magazine article Sew & Reap from the November 10, 1958 issue, twenty percent of all women’s garments in 1958 were made at home. With cheap clothing produced oversees by poorly paid workers overwhelming Canadian retailers, many are turning to recapturing these skills individually while corporations and sports teams are looking for quality products produced in Canada that supports Canadian workers.
At Elite Promotional Marketing, our team has more than 60 years of machine production experience with embroidery in Edmonton. We recognize that the world is facing hard economic times, and that you want to continue to enjoy what you can in this climate, like team sports for yourself or your children, and in doing so you want to buy quality products done professionally.
Logos then become the defining factor, whether it’s sponsorship from a local business, a team logo, a name or symbol - a logo creates a visual impression of your product, services, or company. Embroidered logos add more depth, character, and eye-catching quality.
Embroidery is a delicate process that brings a three-dimensional quality to your logo when you add it to clothing or accessories.
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Embroidery machines use a special digital file format to sew an image. These files are generated from original artwork using specialized software. A slight error can have disastrous results for the finished product.
At Elite Promotional Marketing, we take great care to prevent sewing errors like puckering. Other errors in embroidery production are beyond the control of operators and digitizers, like when a needle breaks or thread snaps, or when the top-thread tension on the machine becomes loose and hits the same spot in the fabric over and over, ultimately causing it to tear - similar to what could happen at home.
There are a number of techniques used to prevent puckering while sewing. The first step is digitizing the design and minimizing the number of stitches - advanced home machines may have this capability. Next comes the hooping process or clamping the garment in the embroidery hoop. This is probably the most important step of all in preventing pucker.
Sewers must find the right tension - not too loose or too tight. Backing is used to stabilize stitches on the reverse side of the garment, playing a vital role in preventing puckering. This fibrous material comes in many different forms including tear-away, cut-away, cap and fusible, to name a few. Finally, try a sample run on a scrap piece of cloth to ensure all tensions and materials are properly in place to minimize loss from repeated errors.
Commercial embroidery equipment runs both a bobbin and a top thread. Poor top thread tension (either too tight or too loose) can lend itself to all kinds of production problems, including puckering. The bobbin, a tiny spool of thread located at the bottom of each sewing needle and is responsible for locking each individual stitch, and while it is not necessarily a factor in preventing puckering, it is crucial in the embroidery process.
Embroidered logos add character to your promotional products-not to mention a sense of quality that printing can’t imitate. To learn more about embroidery in Edmonton and serving Western Canada, contact Elite Promotional Marketing