If you’re looking to design some embroidered patches for your business or organization, you might want to familiarize yourself with some of these embroidery terms. They may assist you in designing the perfect patch for you!
1. Appliqué:
This is a decoration or trimming cut from one piece of fabric and stitched to another to add dimension and texture. Designs with appliqué are usually more economical than embroidery alone, especially if the appliqué occupies a significant amount of the design.
Vintage patches often use this technique, as well as quilting. Embroidered patches today often use this technique sparingly.
2. Birdnesting:
This is not a fun one!
Birdnesting happens when a collection of thread between goods and needle plate bunch up, resembling a bird’s nest. This can be caused by improper tensioning of the top thread or not following thread path correctly.
Unless you stop to address it, this looping will persist. It can even hold the fabric eventually resulting in the fabric popping out of the hoop.
3. Boring:
No, not like nature programming or infomercial boring. This describes open-work incorporated into embroidered designs. A sharp pointed instrument punctures the fabric, and stitches are made around the opening to enclose the raw edges.
This is seen in a lot of garments and can bring an embroidered patch to the next level.
4. Denier:
Not like a “climate change denier,” this kind of denier is a unit of weight used to measure the fineness of thread. Pronounced “Den-yer”, these are represented by the weight of the strands of thread and the number of strands per thread.
For example, to find the weight in grams of 9000 meters of thread. If 9,000 meters weighs 120 grams, it is a 120-denier thread. Many polyester and rayon embroidery threads are 120/2, which equals 2 strands of 120-denier thread for a 240 denier total. Larger denier numbers are heavier threads.
5. FOX test:
This catchily-named method of testing thread tension and soundness of timing occurs when you sew the word “FOX” in one-inch satin stitch block letters. If the reverse side has a correctly balanced ratio of one-third bobbin thread to two-thirds top thread, your tension is perfect!
6. Nap:
Not like the thing we all want to take right after lunch, this item is a fuzzy or downy surface of fabric covering either one side or both, produced by brushing. It can be anything from thick wool, to a thin cotton fabric.
7. Tackle Twill:
If you’ve ever watched a televised sports game, you’re familiar with Tackle Twill! These are the letters or numbers cut from polyester or rayon twill fabric that is commonly used for athletic teams and organizations.
8. Tie-In Stitches:
These are small stitches used at the beginning of a sewing cycle, particularly on satin stitches, to prevent the thread from pulling out of the embroidery. An essential in any embroidery project.
9. Tie Off Stitches:
Another essential – Small stitches, usually about 1 mm in length that “lock” the stitches in the fabric to prevent the stitch from unraveling when the thread is trimmed. Without Tie off stitches, the thread can potentially unravel and destroy the embroidery. They are particularly necessary when making satin stitches wider than 1.2mm, as satin stitches have a tendency to unravel more easily than running or fill stitches.
10. Tubular Embroidery:
Totally Tubular! This describes embroidery produced on an embroidery machine which allows tubular fabric or pre-assembled garments to be placed around the hook assembly. Allows sewing of the front of a garment without sewing through the front and back of it. The above photo shows the hoop used to create this technique. Tubular embroidery looks great on embroidered patches or hats.
These terms aren’t a need to know, but a nice to know. And definitely effective tools in describing to your artist exactly what you want in your patch design.
