Someone on another board said she attached a tiny pair of embroidery scissors for trimming to each of her machines (she has several!) with a long piece of thin ribbon. This way they don't get BORROWED and are easy to find when needed... just pull on the ribbon attached to your machine and the scissors are at the other end. I LOVE this idea and need to implement it!
Hi! Most people know that you can save valuable wss by stitching the pieces together with ws thread. I go a bit further though. I stitch my cutaway pieces together to make larger squares. I haven't had any interference with embroidering the designs. I like to keep my scraps of tearaway handy now as a great duster! It's right there, and just give my machine a quick once over. I also use bits of it for cleaning out my bobbin case. It's great because it's lint free. It is also absorbant enough to to add a dab of oil and swab my bobbin case and its holder with a bit of oil. Good for dusting off your computer screen and with a little windex sprayed on , your screen on your embroidery machine too!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
NEVER try to do embroidery with a one year old grandson in your lap. It just doesn't work out very well. It's like an octapus sitting in you lap grabbing stuff from every direction all at once.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Any cone of thread, or any metallic thread works better if it comes off a thread holder to the back and right side of the machine. Thread shredding and breakage are almost a thing of the past!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Clip those jump threads after each color is finished sewing. It only takes seconds, and it makes a world of difference in your finished embroidery.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
When I'm going an embroidery marathon and hooping heavy things like towels or sweat shirts, I was killing my fingers trying to tighten the hoop. So now I use the tool that the machine comes with for tightening the needle or changing feet. Works like a charm.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I have learned so much from so many during the few years I've been at ATW but I think organization is the key to making my embroidery experience more enjoyable. I make sure I have all the materials I am going to need right at hand. Having the stabilizer for the product, making sure I have all my threads out and on the thread stand (DH made me a 14 spool stand) in the order they are going to be used. When a color needs to be repeated later in the design, I will leave that space blank and then after using it the first time, I will move it to the empty place. This also allows me to see the colors being used and make changes if I want to. Having the proper scissors at hand. Of course, I have my little curved nippers for cutting threads, but if I'm doing applique, I make sure my applique scissors are right at hand. All that being said, I guess my tip is organizing my threads in order to be used.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
The best tip I can give about machine embroidery is buy a embroidery machine with a bigger field of embroidery. Make sure it has a 4x4, 5x7, and a 6x10 hoop, or something comparable. I bought a small machine with just a 4x4 and it wasnt but a couple of months I wanted a bigger machine. Go ahead and buy the bigger machine, I promise you won't regret it!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
My tip is make sure you have a comfotable place to machine embroidery. There isn't much to do between thread changes so have your computer right beside your machine and a telivision set there, too. Makes machine embroidery multi-tasking, and you need to stay close to your machine just in case the thread or needle breaks. Sometimes the thread nests underneath the design and the machine will keep sewing, but if you are right there, you can hear the difference and stop the machine and fix the problem before it goes any further.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I joined Artistic Threadworks. Seriously, this has been the best education in machine embroidery available.This is not brown nosing. It is truely what made a difference in the hobby.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Locate someone in your community that already has a knowledge of this hobby. If she or he is willing, it is wonderful to have someone near by that can help you out when you are having trouble.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Look for a dealer that is willing to treat you with respect, answering questions that must seem simple to them.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Save your scraps of vilene/water soluble stabilizer in a bag. When you have enough (or run out and are desperate) you can either: a)Stitch the pieces together to make a large enough piece to hoop b)Mix 1/4 yard in a 8 oz of water and use it as liquid stabilizer. c)make more wss by combining 1/2 alcohol 1 C water and about 2 yards of scraps. Brush it onto a non-stick cookie sheet and let it dry. Now you've got more WSS and it didn't cost you anything.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I always start with a practice design. This is the design I want but, I put it on cheap fabric or stabilizer. I save this design next to the picture I have printed out of the download, placed in a clear page protector. That way I know exactly the size and colors if I want to duplicate the same design.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I know it sounds like a 'plug' for ATW, but the best tip I have for new embroiderers is to join ATW. What I have learned here, I couldn't have learned anywhere else. Even the instructors and dealers I have encountered don't know nearly as much as the ATW group. And all the help from Holly and Larry is incredible. This really is the best $20.00 i have ever invested.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Make sure your machine has stopped sewing if you trim your jump stitches between color stops. If you accidently hit your scissors with the moving needle it can cause great damage to your machine and possibly yourself.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Print out a template of the design. This will aid in placement, especially in tight places!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Make sure you take your tme and follow each step . Read your manul about you sewing machine so you know what you are doing. Ask for help when you need it.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Test sewing is not only a good way to make sure the design will sew well on fabric, but it's also great to be aware of what color sews when, or to audition alternate colors.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Are you trying to embroider with metallic thread? Does your thread keep breaking? Put a few drops of All-Purpose Sewer's Aid on the spool of thread and you will have fewer problems.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Never pull thread backwards through the tension disks. Is not good for it. Besides clipping at spool makes spools faster to put away and pulling thread forward through the disks then clip at embroidery. Your machine will purr for you much longer.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Clip bobbin thread before you go running to show off your project.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Keep a list of thread colors you have in your purse,Otherwise you could end up with many repeats.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I would have to say using gripper shelf/drawer liner to hoop WSS. Cutting a 2-3" open frame to fit your hoop... and adding it and WSS together, then hoop to prevent slippage during stitching...is a life saver. I also cut out some from a roll used to prevent rugs slipping. It works just as good!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Buy or put your dream machine in lay-a-way or at least talk about it outloud or you may end up with the lowest end model on Christmas with no thread or stabilizer.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Multiply machine cost times 5 for supplies, software to edit designs with, plus needles, plus thread, plus stabilizer. There are some designs that can MUST be purchased and add for the expense of doing freebies for every Tom, Dick and Harry. And the #1 must have accessory... a membership @ ATW.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
My biggest learning curve with machine embroidery was to learn how the bobbin tension and the top thread tension work together to make a perfect stitch. I had to learn through trial and error how to tighten and loosen both the bobbin thread and the top thread. After I understood what makes the perfect stitch, whenever I had problems with I could adjust the tension easily to have perfect embroidery. So my tip is to make sure before you leave the dealer with that new machine, have them show you how to adjust both the bobbin and the top thread to loosen or tighten the stitch and to show you what a perfect stitch should look like. This also goes hand-in-hand with stabilizing properly and using the right SHARP needle!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Read your manual forwards and backwards and know your machine. It won't hurt to get suggestions from a repair person too.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Join Artistic Threadwords the day you bring your machine home from the store! Without Artistic Threadworks I would have never realized the vast world of creativity that my machine could open up for me.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Don't use candles in your sewing room! Seriously, I love candles and lots of other folks do, too. They're calming and restful. Just the atmosphere I want in my sewing room. But according to my Service Tech, candles are similar to smoking as far as the machine is concerned. He said he can always tell when someone has candles in a sewing room. The inside of the machine gets black from soot, and it's in his shop a lot more often, too!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I store my embroidery thread in two 6-drawer plastic units which sit side-by-side to the left of my machine. Spools are arranged in "rainbow" order, with some extra drawers to further divide the colors. For example, I have reds, pinks, oranges, yellows and golds, etc. I also have a drawer for dark neutrals and light neutrals. Nets from a floral shop hold threads neatly on the spools, and strips of clear vinyl wrap the smaller spools. The true color lights I have on the sewing table also enable me to choose the correct colors for my project as well as clearly see my embroidery area.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
My tip is make sure you have a comfotable place to do machine embroidery. There isn't much to do between thread changes so have your computer right beside your machine and a telivision set there, too. Makes machine embroidery multi-tasking, and you need to stay close to your machine just in case the thread or needle breaks. Sometimes the thread nests underneath the design and the machine will keep sewing, but if you are right there, you can hear the difference and stop the machine and fix the problem before it goes any further. Join ATW and ask questions on the forum. There is a world of embroidery experience on the site and someone will have an answer to your question. Not to mention all the great designs and support. It is well worth the price of admission.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Buy or put your dream machine in lay-a-way or at least talk about it outloud or you may end up with the lowest end model on Christmas with no thread or stabilizer.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
My biggest learning curve with machine embroidery was to learn how the bobbin tension and the top thread tension work together to make a perfect stitch. I had to learn through trial and error how to tighten and loosen both the bobbin thread and the top thread. After I understood what makes the perfect stitch, whenever I had problems with I could adjust the tension easily to have perfect embroidery. So my tip is make sure before you leave the dealer with that new machine, have them show you how to adjust both the bobbin and the top thread to loosen or tighten the stitch and to show you what a perfect stitch should look like. This also goes hand-in-hand with stabilizing properly and using the right SHARP needle!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
If you are going to do embroidery for the public, it is a good idea to create a form on which the customer has to spell out the name, etc. they want placed on a garment. You can even have small blank shirts, pants, hats, etc. drawn on the form so they can mark where they want the designs placed. That way there is no question as to whether you finished the piece as per their instructions.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Before purchasing from a designer, download AND stitch out one of their sample designs that is similar in style to what you would like to buy! You will be amazed at how many designs, that turn out all right in the end, have weird stitch sequences, unnecessary jump stitches and other irritating quirks that make you go back again and again to your tried and true favorite designers.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I keep a "Tide" pen right along side all my other embroidery tools. I never know those little spots from no where will appear and besides I always seem to make my finger bleed on my design. Anyway, it really does take those spots out.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
My tip is to have a support group. The forums here are the best! You can ask any question and get at least one answer, or you can just read what others are asking. The knowledge you gain is invaluable and will make your embroidery experience much more enjoyable.
I love to add a lace cuff to my fancy blouses. By pinning some water soluble stabilizer to the cuff and extending it to 1 inch beyond the bottom of the cuff, I can use the continuous embroidery hoop to sew a lace design on both the edge of the fabric and beyond in the free air. I make historical costumes for wearing in the Society for Creative Anachronism and this adds an authentic look to the gowns and is beautiful besides.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
When embroidering lace bowls, use a balloon to shape your bowl. When completely dry just pop the balloon and you have a wonderful piece of art!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I store my embroidery thread in two 6-drawer plastic units which sit side-by-side to the left of my machine. Spools are arranged in "rainbow" order, with some extra drawers to further divide the colors. For example, I have reds, pinks, oranges, yellows and golds, etc. I also have a drawer for dark neutrals and light neutrals. Nets from a floral shop hold threads neatly on the spools, and strips of clear vinyl wrap the smaller spools. The true color lights I have on the sewing table also enable me to choose the correct colors for my project as well as clearly see my embroidery area.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Using a shade lighter than black can soften a design/outline.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
If you are selling your work, use designs with lower stitch counts, ie: quicker, whenever possible. Saves $$ & time. Also, sometimes simpler IS better.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Take a placement class. If you can't take a class in person, then get Holly's CD on Embroidery Basics and placement.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
Machine embroidery can be intimidating at first...so getting information can make the learning process much easier. Ideally, you can have a friend come over and teach you one on one, as well as be just a phone call away if you run into a jam. Next best would be to take lessons and participate in clubs offered from your dealer. Reading the manual that came with your machine should be top on your priority list, and there are several books published that are packed with information and tips to help out. Do not overlook the power of your computer to access information! Many machine embroidery websites offer beginner tip pages, but best of all are message boards, where you can post a question and get lots of answers from someone who has been there and done that before! In other words...jump in and try it!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
This is a tip for any type of sewing not necessarily machine embroidery. I use a empty Smucker's Ice Cream Topping bottle for disposing of broken, bent or damaged pins and needles. Any type of bottle (Bath & Body Works aromatherapy bottles work well) with an attached lid that snaps open/closed and doesn't allow anything to come back out unless you unscrew the lid. This keeps them out of the plastic trash bag so they cannot poke through and hurt someone.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I do a lot of applique. I use an iron on backing that adheres to the fabric. You pull off the white paper coating and put that side face down where you are going to applique. I use the small little iron to press a piece of it in place to hold it to the fabric, it glues the applique in place so it does not move or pucker the fabric while completeing the applique. Then you continue with your applique. When it is finished I iron the entire piece of applique. The applique material never puckers after being washing and always looks like brand new. I have sweatshirts I have done using this method and washed them dozens of time.
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I use those wash out markers to mark placement points on my projects. Instead of those expensive ones you find in the sewing stores, I buy a pack of children's washable markers and use them. You get 8 for about the same price as one of the others and they work great! Plus you get different colors to choose from!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
The thrift store is a great place to shop for items to sew out designs on. Especially while I was learning I wanted to try new things without investing alot of money in to blanks. I have done several denim shirts that way. A couple dollars spent on a shirt makes it easier to be brave enough to try new things. After all the worse that could happen is I'd be looking good while mowin' the lawn!
We do not test or endorse any of the tips listed here.
You are cautioned to follow them at your own risk.
I got fed up with looking for designs, sometimes it took forever to open all the designs then my precious embroidery time would be taken up before finding something to embroider. so what I do now is open the design after d/l and then click onto my realistic preview, then hit the prt scr button on my keyboard, open my paint programe and paste and save as (give it the same name as the name of design)then save it alongside the deign. You may think this is a pc tip but believe me it's a time saving embroidery tip, because if you open the file and click on thumbnail you get the pics of all the designs, instead of timewastingly opening designs!
When I do a blanket for Weddings and Birth announcements. I do a sample in a 5X7 to frame for that special occasion, my customers love them.
I like to do "in the hoop" projects and embroider on strange things in strange places!! Sometimes that is difficult to do without special hoops or tools. I am on an extremely tight budget, and cannot yet afford much in extra hoops right now for embroidering in difficult areas. I also have a serious lung disease that prohibits me from using the spray adhesives to keep fabric and loose items from wiggling around in my hoop. I was getting very frustrated and felt like I was so limited as to what I could could embroider on. Then I thought of something I use a lot for scrapbooking and cardmaking. I have a couple of boxes of different sizes of removable adhesive "dots." I tried using those in a few places instead of adhesive spray, and they held pieces of unhooped fabric and unhoopable items such as dog leashes and patches in place beautifully. I just placed them in spots where the needle did not stitch. They pull right off immediately afterward, with no problem, and leave nothing behind to clean up. Not only that, they are reusable over and over again, so they are extremely economical. There are several hundred on a roll in a box for just a couple of dollars, and are available at craft and discount stores and on the internet. Sometimes I use them now in regular sewing to hold something in place temporarily instead of basting. If I do happen to accidentally sew through one of the adhesive dots, there is no harm done. It cleans off the needle quickly and easily. (ask me how I know!) There was no damage done to my machine at all. I have learned to make sure I am familiar with where a design stitches ahead of time before I use the dots all over the place for the first time!!! Using these glue dots has saved me MANY hours of frustration, preparation and clean up time. I have put embroidered and made piles of "in the Hoop" projects since I thought of this idea, and I have not even made a minor dent in my $$3.00 box of glue dots!!!
Don't be taken advantage of with your embroidery. Embroidery costs money and takes time you should be compensated for both.
This may be very different from most tips. First and foremost...embroider for yourself first. Don't let friends / family use you or guilt you into doing projects for them, thus always doing for others and not yourself. (98% of things I have made belong to others now!) I have found that a great hobby can become frustrating! While giving is a great pleasure, don't forget to give to yourself too.
When I have a design that I know I will use several times, I store all the thread necessary for that design in a ziplock. I can still use the thread for other projects, but I put it back in the ziplock when done. It makes life a bit easier and I know I have the thread when I want to embroider the design again. And ziplocks are readily available.
Don't be afraid to ask questions of any of the embroidery Groups! The more questions you ask the more informed you will be! I received FREE lessons with the purchase of my Designer I, but everytime I run into a jam or am just not sure about something, I'll either do a search on this website or check with one of the Yahoo! groups I belong to and sometimes I do both. We're always learning and I feel that if I can receive a tip from someone who has already learned firsthand or give a tip from something I've tried, then that's what it's all about.
When sewing out a test design - always stitch them out on a predetermined size square of fabric to be put into a patchwork quilt. i.e. use a 6,7,or 8 inch square of fabric each time - when you are ready to make your quilt you have all your squares precut and ready to go. Mix and match the fabrics to get a unique quilt.
I have learned the most from making mistakes. Once you make a mistake you tend not to do it again....The more mistakes you make, the more you learn and the better you get!
We've just sent a list of your questions to our repair technician. As soon as he answers them we'll post them as Q&A here in Bobbin-Buzz and on ArtisticThreadWorks. So thanks for your questions!