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Machine embroidery on linen It is getting difficult for newcomers to find the information they seek among the numerous articles and forum discussions. Therefore, I have compiled all the pieces covering embroidery on linen here. In masterclasses, and also on sewing and embroidery forums, you often see phrases like “sew linen”, “embroidery on linen”, “linen napkins”. No wonder, as linen is a very easy-to-sew fabric. There are heavyweight linen fabrics (grayish brown in color), semi-white, white and dyed. Linens are valued for their durability and wear resistance, and also for their ability to absorb moisture while allowing for good heat and air penetration. Linen fabric varies greatly in appearance, from smooth with a matte finish to heavyweight with a coarse structure. Linen fabric is perfect for tablecloths, table napkins, curtains or bed linen decorated with embroidery. This fabric allows for the natural thermoregulation of the human body, which makes it a perfect material for summer clothes. Types of linen fabric, their uses, and appeal for the embroiderers, will be covered in the future articles. Here I’m talking about how embroidery on linen should be done. Newbie seamstresses and embroiderers should remember that natural (i.e. not containing any synthetic fibers) linen fabric shrinks a lot after washing. One must keep this in mind before cutting out and a pattern and embroidering. In order for the embroidered item to keep its neat look after the first laundering, you need to sanforize the fabric, i.e. to wash it or moisten it with hot steam. After washing, the fabric should be smoothed down while still damp, to save yourself the trouble with ironing out the creases. The rules of embroidery on linen Linen is a very easy fabric to embroider and the least troublesome for embroiderers. Nevertheless, there are several pieces of advice that may come handy for the first-time embroiderers on this highly manageable material. Hooping Linen is hooped in a standard way. The fabric should be smoothed down before being placed in the hoop, with a matching stabilizer glued to its wrong side. Only after that the fabric together with the stabilizer is placed onto the smaller hoop and is covered with a bigger one. Tighten the screw until the fabric is taut to prevent shifting during the embroidery. If the fabric is very thin and you’re afraid to damage it, you may hoop a tearaway stabilizer, and glue the fabric on top. Needles There are no special requirements when choosing needles for embroidery on linen. An ordinary embroidery needle with a sharp tip will be fine. Threads You can use any kind of embroidery threads: polyester, rayon, cotton ones; though it is not advisable to use metallics, there are no rules. If your design calls for metallic threads, try it out. Cotton thread is most often used for the embroidery on linen because its dull surface goes will together with the linen surface. Acrylic threads look interesting: they resemble woolen yarns in appearance. Stabilizer Choosing the right kind of stabilizer for linen depends on the fabric type and the design properties. The density of the stabilizer depends on the density of the design and the fabric weight. If the linen is thin, and the design is dense, you’ll need a tearaway stabilizer with adhesive or an ordinary tearaway. If the linen is dense and plain weave, and the design is a “light” one that only contains simple stitches, you may spare the stabilizer altogether. Too dense designs look bad on thin fabrics, spoiling the effect by reminding one of coarse patches. Soft, if dense, designs should be embroidered on soft, flowing fabrics. If embroidering a dense design on a thin linen fabric cannot be avoided, use a thin bobbin thread: it will make the embroidery a bit lighter. As textured linen is often loosely woven, it is necessary to use a thin water-soluble film on top of it. Embroidery designs In case you digitize your own designs, you’ll need to maintain a certain ratio between the density of the design and the weight of linen on which the design or inscription will be embroidered. If you’re going to embroider on loosely woven linen, it’s better to secure it with an outline prior to the embroidery. If you haven't learned to digitize yet, you are welcome to choose something from our large collection of free embroidery designs. Follow these rules, and the embroidery on linen will be a piece of pie to you. Linen towels, napkins, tablecloths, curtains, bedcovers, and pillowcases will decorate your home. Linen clothes, comfortable to wear, will look beautiful as well, thanks to the machine embroidery. ] Original text by Yelena Kraftwork -
Original text: unknown Good afternoon! Among the lovers of the machine embroidery there are those who prefer step-by-step tutorials, master-classes and other guidance materials, and there are also the ones who try to master the great variety of working practices all by themselves. For whose who are on the brink of engaging into learning machine embroidery techniques by themselves, here's a little bit of advice. The phrase "learn by yourself" does not mean "turn a blind eye to all that has been previously written on the subject", but "to use what has been previously written and to fill the gaps". Learning machine embroidery technique by yourself What you should notice when mastering the technology of embroidering on a specific type of fabric. The fabric and its characteristics You should know the fabric you are going to work with. Learn, if only superficially, its characteristics. Whether is stretches or not. Whether it is loosely or densely woven. Whether its surface is smooth or piled. If we are talking about using machine embroidery techniques on different types of fabric, I'd like to name it "Machine embroidery on the types of fabric that give you trouble", because in most cases embroidery on a densely woven smooth-surfaced material does not you cause any trouble at all, even the chosen design is a bit too dense. Stabilizers and hooping methods First of all, learn the main types of stabilizers in existence. We have already described various types of embroidery stabilizers and where to use them; also you can search our forum for tips. Try to figure out what type of stabilizer will be better for you fabric. Whether you should use a water soluble stabilizer or not. Whether you need an underlay and of what kind. When to use a tearaway stabilizer and when a cutaway will be better. Whether you should hoop the fabric or better go without it. Needles and threads You have probably noticed that many needles for machine embroidery and sewing are made for specific purpose. There are omni-purpose needles, embroidery needles, also needles for metallic thread, silk, woolen fiber etc. First, learn the materials available and then use what you have. Perhaps, the main recommendation on using needles will be as follows: You should not use expensive needles when working with densely woven fabrics that do not cause trouble, and when working with delicate fabrics such as silk or calico you should not use the same needles as you do for densely woven ones. Try to use rare and expensive needles for their intended purposes. The threads come in different types, too, and each of these types has its own usage recommendations. The main types of thread are polyester, viscose rayon, wool and cotton. The last two are the common polyester threads without luster, but with the addition of wool and cotton. Try using different threads with different types of needles available in your machine. When choosing which ones to use pay attention to the width of needle's eye and thread thickness. When you use a thick woolen fiber, you'd better not choose a narrow needle's eye. And so, gradually, you will understand, whether you should use a thick thread when embroidering on silk if you cannot use a thin needle with it. Whether you should choose a big eye needle when working with a thin thread. How many needles for silk will you need to embroidery a dense design on the tarpaulin... The Designs For a beginner all machine embroidery designs look the same. Beginners don't pay attention neither to the density of the design nor to filling characteristics. They don't yet know what the words "satin", "tatami" and "motif" mean. But such a situation won't last long. After having embroidered a dense chevron on a thin knitwear and having got a "bulletproof vest" as a result, or having embroidered a rare stitch on a terry towel you will understand that you should pay attention to design characteristics. To understand how a satin column pulls the fabric, how the tatami behaves, what restrictions apply to the stitch designs and where they will look good and harmonious. We will definitely write about all this in our blogs, and meanwhile we suggest that you embark on a journey of learning the machine embroidery techniques by yourself. -
Do you have Wilcom Es 3 machine embroidery software to upgrade or is it a new purchase? There are 4 packages, lettering, Editing, DecoStudio and EmbroideryStudio. If you are serious thinking about machine embroidery digitizing Then Embroidery Studio is what you need. The Wilcom E3 version contains all the options to create perfect embroidery designs and logotypess and unlike E1.5 or 2 version (es2006) you don't need to spend a ton of cash to get creative digitizing features because they can be bought individually as and when you need them. If you sub your digitizing out then Editing will allow you to fix up mistakes and modify embroidery designs for different fabrics. It also comes with the full lettering suite. You can pick up the Wilcom embroidery software second hand but you need to be sure it is legal by checking the dongle number with Wilcom first. If it is Wilcom ES 2009 or older then it is no longer supported and will become problematic on newer Windows OS (vesrsion 7 64 bit). However you can update older machine embroidery software to Wilcom E3 which could save you money if you buy right. Please contact to me if you want to know more. I've been in the business a long time and I'm an authorised trainer.
