Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Sweatshirts
Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Sweatshirts
Sweatshirts are an excellent
canvas for embroidery designs.
You can make your shirts and
garments uniquely yours by
choosing designs that suit your
preference and taste.
Sweatshirts are usually made of
cotton, or a cotton and polyester
blend. Some are a bit thicker than
others, with fleece-like lining. Some
have Lycra, and are stretchy.
No matter the sweatshirt that
you're working with, the techniques
shown here will give you pictureperfect results, each and every
time.
Click here to watch a video tutorial
for embroidering on sweatshirts!
Special Project Notes:
Begin by pre-washing the sweatshirt according to the label instructions. If you don't prewash, you risk the fabric color bleeding onto the design, as well as shrinking / puckering
around the embroidery stitches when the shirt is laundered later.
Then, determine where you want to place the design. Placement is largely up to personal
preference, so put the design where you want it. Traditionally a design is positioned so that
the top of the design is 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 inches down from the garment neck, centered between
the left and right sleeve seams. If you're working with a child's shirt, traditional placement is 1
1/2 - 3 inches down from the neck.
There's a handy-dandy chart that shows traditional placement on a variety of garments, and
you'll find that right here.
I find that a template is helpful when
positioning a design. A template is a
printout of a design that shows the
center point and axis lines. If you’ve
not used templates before, click here
for a quick tutorial.
The design featured here is the
Snowmen and Snowflake Trio.
Place the template on the shirt.
When it's positioned where you want
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Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Sweatshirts
the design to stitch, mark the axis
lines, and the center point. These
markings will help you to hoop the
shirt later.
I use an air-erase pen to mark, but
I've also used chalk, soap, and
masking tape.
Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer
with temporary adhesive. I use
KK100. Just a quick shot will be
enough - no need to overdo it.
Turn the sweatshirt inside-out and
smooth the stabilizer onto the area
that will be embroidered.
Turn the sweatshirt right side out,
and slide the inner hoop inside the
shirt.
Place the top hoop on top of the
sweatshirt. Line the horizontal and
vertical axis lines on the shirt with
the marks on the hoop, and press
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Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Sweatshirts
the top hoop into place.
Make sure there are no ripples in the
fabric, and that the grain isn't
skewed.
Attach the hoop to the machine, and
roll the excess sweatshirt up and out
of the way. Use chip clips or hair
clips to keep the excess shirt
material free and clear of the hoop.
Load the design into the machine,
and move the hoop so that the
needle is right over that marked
center point.
Once the needle is right over the
center point, embroider the design.
After the design has finished,
remove the shirt from the hoop and
turn it inside out. Trim the excess
stabilizer away. I leave about 1/2
inch of stabilizer around the design.
Stabilizer choices:
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Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Sweatshirts
We're fortunate that there are many types of stabilizer available to us. The three main types
are cutaway, tear-away, and water-soluble. Some have adhesive, often called "sticky" or
"sticky back." In the photos above you saw that I use cutaway stabilizer with temporary
adhesive. Using cutaway stabilizer with a sticky-back adhesive is essentially the same thing,
so that's fine to use too.
Be certain that you use cutaway stabilizer. Tear-away stabilizer is insufficient, and will be
problematic. It can cause misalignment, gapping in the stitches, and thread tension
problems.
Here's why cutaway stabilizer is important: When manufacturers make a sweatshirt, they
don't anticipate that anything will be added to it. When we embroider on it, we add weight
and tension with stitches. Stabilizer provides a foundation for the fabric so that designs can
be added to it.
If you use tear-away stabilizer, the needle perforations will weaken and degrade the
stabilizer, essentially tearing it away during embroidery. That leaves little behind to support
the fabric. The fibers of the fabric can stretch and skew, resulting in misalignment. You
might experience thread nesting or knotting, or bobbin thread floating to the top. And the
stabilizer will continue to degrade during wear and wash, so over time the fabric will become
stretched, cupped, and misshapen.
Cutaway stabilizer is a consistent and stable foundation for sweatshirts, which is why we
use it, and recommend it to our customers as well. It supports the fabric beautifully during
embroidery, and during wear and wash also. It's the best choice for top-quality results.
We've tested cutaway and tear-away in our sewing studio many times. Here's a peek at a
recent test:
We embroidered a simple Santa
design onto a sweatshirt backed with
one piece of tear-away stabilizer.
The needle perforations degraded
the stabilizer within the first two
thousand stitches. With little left to
support the fabric, the fibers
stretched and skewed and the
stitches started to land in the wrong
spot.
The end result is a mess. Not only is
the fill not meeting the edges of the
oval, but the oval itself is skewed.
The fill is outside of the borders in
the letters and the numbers - and
the fabric is puckering as well.
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Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Sweatshirts
Here's the same design, on the
same sweatshirt, with the same
needle. But instead of using tearaway stabilizer, we used one piece
of cutaway stabilizer. The results are
picture-perfect.
For best results, use cutaway stabilizer. One piece is sufficient, and a 2 or 2.5 ounce is just
fine. Using multiple pieces or layers of stabilizer is not recommended. That can dull the
needle, cause thread breaks, larger holes in the fabric, and puckering.
Hooping the sweatshirt is also
recommended. I've heard from
embroiderers who prefer to hoop the
stabilizer only. Then, they use a
basting stitch or adhesive to adhere
the garment to the stabilizer.
I've tried that method and I've gotten "ok" results, but there is always
shifting that occurs. Sometimes the
shifting is noticeable, and sometimes
it isn't. Here's a demonstration:
We embroidered two sweatshirts one was hooped, and one wasn't.
The two sweatshirts are side by side.
If you look at the unhooped shirt
you'll see a gap in the brim, and also
a thinner fill on the hat. The satin
stitches are a bit more ragged as
well.
The hooped shirt doesn't have any
gapping. The results are "ok," but I
like the hooped result better.
There's also gapping and separation
between the stripes of the
snowman's hat.
Why does this happen? If fabric isn't
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Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Sweatshirts
hooped with the stabilizer, then it's
going to wiggle a bit as the hoop
moves around and about. That
means that stitches aren't landing
where they should be, and there are
gaps and separations.
I also see a little bit of puckering
around the stitches in the unhooped
version. I think this occurred
because the stitches drew the fabric
in. The hoop keeps the fabric from
pulling in, or contracting, which
eliminates any fabric puckering.
Sometimes there is concern about
marks made in the fabric when
hooped. For a sweatshirt, a ring will
come out when moisture is returned
to the fabric. There's a nice "hoop
burn" tutorial right here for you.
Nearly any design can be stitched onto a sweatshirt, but consider how the fabric is going to
drape when it's worn. Avoid big and blocky designs for the front, as those won't drape very
well.
I tend to use a sharp (sewing) needle on most of my projects, because I get crisp and neatlooking stitches. I used a size 11 sewing needle on the samples above. An embroidery
needle can also be used (75/11).
Stitching tips for sweatshirts:
Needle
75/11 sharp needle; an embroidery needle may also be used
Stabilizer
Cutaway (2.5 ounce)
Design Choice
Designs of any complexity will work well, but consider draping
Click here for a printable version of these project instructions.
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you can download a free copy by clicking on the icon below.
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