Hello everyone, I'm new here. I was wondering if someone would help me with a few issues I'm having with some designs? I've only been embroidering for about a year now so I'm VERY new to all of this. I'm having a problem with the fabric showing through the design. Also, on patterns like eyes where two colors meet, there seems to be a separation and my materials shows through. I mostly embroider in the hoop designs with felt or fleece.

Did you enlarge the design? When I first started I thought I could just make things bigger as much as I wanted as long as they fitted in the hoop. But as I am not a Digitizer soon found out this wasn't always true maybe 10 or 20% would work.
The other thing I have found is if I am going to have a problem with thread it will be Black something to do with the dying process. So buy the best brand you can for that colour.
It is all trial and error and some very talented people on this site to help you out.

Wow! What a warm welcome! Thank you! :-)

This is a lot of information to absorb so I'll reply to each of you separately if that's ok. I don't want to miss anything. LOL

BTW, how do I introduce myself to everyone? What section of the community should I put that post?

After it is stitched, use a fabric marker as already mentioned, but recently I was stitching our granddaughter's name in dark blue on pink towels. Fortunately I ran a test on an old towel and saw some solvy peeking out in a few places. Of course, after washing the nap would show. We really wanted to use that font and then I thought of of mylar. At our local Dollar Tree I found a package of blue gift wrap that is not as sturdy as the mylar sold by fabric stores but it worked and even gave a twinkle to the letters.

2 comments

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

Mylar… that's something new to me. What exactly is it?

by idlebird 07 Aug 2014

Have you ever bought a plastic balloon with a metallic look to it? It's thin and shiny. This material is called mylar. When my granddaughter graduated from preschool, we gave her this huge "Dora" balloon for the celebration. I used peices of that balloon for several designs on kids towels. You treat it like applique. A little bit goes a long way. No heat/no iron!

I stitch black twice when the white background shows

2 comments

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

So just run that step a second time before moving on to my next color stop?

by buffy1 06 Aug 2014

yes

Your third picture shows registration problems. That may be caused because the fleece is stretchy and could be solved by using a sticky stabiliser. If it turns out allright when stitched on a sturdy cotton, it must due to hooping.
It may, however, be a design flaw. I guess the (push/pull)compensation needs to be increased as the gaps appear only in the stitch direction, in the eyes as vertical gaps between the horizontal fill stitch, around the satin stitch eyelid even more on both sides. Unless you have a software programme that lets you correct this, I am afraid you can't do much to improve it.

1 comment

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

Sadly no, the software I have is very basic. But I am considering purchasing Embird. I do understand what you mean by registration. I used to be a graphic designer and had to deal with that in the printing business. And it makes sense now what you said about the fleece being stretchy. I will try the design on some hooped cotton and see what happens.

With dark colours such as black & navy ,I have found it is best to use the same or similar colour in the bobbin for that colour block.
Also with some designs you may need to alter the tension .
With my machine I often have to change the tension from 2.8 to 2.4.It pays to test a design first ,to see if there any problems.
Also use a topping on fabrics which have a pile so the stitches do not disappear into the fabric

1 comment

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

Altering the tension… does that change the bobbin tension or the top thread? And do I want it tighter to fill in those gabs?

Stitching with black can often be a problem. One answer is to use a black marker pen and 'fill' in. I sew on fleece a lot. I never hoop. I only use a good tearaway and stick or baste the material to the stablizer. With fleece it is always best to use a topping so that the stitches do not get lost.

1 images:[1]

2 comments

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

I like working with the fleece and enjoy making cute stuffed things. I do put a wash away stabilizer on top if there is a lot of stitches. I do not hoop the fabric, but I am currently using a spray adhesive. Should I be using something else?

by anssmile 06 Aug 2014

If you want to, you can use pins, just make sure they are outside the area you want to embroider. I find them cheaper than the spray adhesive, and my hoop does not get sticky...

I see you got good answers. Welcome to stitching and Cute Embroidery. I'm adding a flower to yours.

2 comments

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

Ok newbie question… what are the flowers on the right for? I see them with different numbers but I have no idea what it does.

by jrob 07 Aug 2014

Click on the yellowish orange Q&A at the top and read the FAQ's about the site. It will help you navigate and know how-to and why. The flowers answer is there, but the flowers are just a way to say thank you, I like your answer, I agree or I've read this one. Welcome! I'm glad you are here.

Welcome to cuties! This is the place to get help as everyone loves helping others. Sometimes

When the problem in the purple picture happens to me, it means that I didn't use the right stabilizer or the person who created the design wanted spaces there. I fill in the showing spaces by filling in the space with thread using a free motion techinque. I put my feed dogs down, set my machine to straight stitch, and take one stitch at a time and move the fabric under the needle where each stitch needs to go.

The cat problem looks like the design wasn't dense enough, or you have pokies sticking through the design. It's hard to tell without actually seeing it. If you are stitching on fabric that is fuzzy or like bath towels, some of the thread will poke up through the design. Unfortunately, you don't know if there are going to be pokies or fabric showing through until after you have stitched it out. That is why some people always do a test stitchout. On bath towels, people put something under the design to keep the towel threads laying flat. I use a fine nylon netting under the design. Then I tear it away from around the design so it doesn't show. I use a color to match my embroidery thread.

If I feel that the design isn't dense enough...meaning not enough thread to completely cover the background fabric, I look at the design in my software to see if the background peeks through. I can add extra stitches to fill in those areas if they aren't too big. In the case of this cat, you can use a black permanent marker and go over the design and "paint" the background that you can see with the marker. A lot of us have permanent markers in lots of colors!

If you know how to change the density of the cat, you could increase the density (add more stitches to it) in your software, but you have to do that before you stitch it out. That's why viewing it in your software or doing a test stitchout helps. Sometimes this results in a design that is heavy and thick with lots of thread making it stiff. There is always more than one way to fix a problem, and you will learn with experience what works best for you.

We are our own worst critics. To me, the designs look great! There is a learning curve in learning the best ways to do ME. There are so many variables. For me, it ends up with me guessing what is the best type of thread and the correct stabilizer for the fabric I'm working on.

2 comments

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

Thank you for such a detailed explanation! I'm using very basic software at the moment. It's called Embrilliance. It does not allow me to add or remove stitches. I'm on a Mac so I'm limited right now on what's available. I do have the capability to run Windows programs on here, but I was trying to find the best software first before purchasing. I see a lot of people use Embird so I might go with that.

As for the design, when I look at it in the software it DOES appear to be dense enough. It's only when I stitch it that it's not. And again, it seems to be only when I use black.

The idea of black permanent marker is brilliant! I'll have to try that!

Just FYI, not sure if the type of thread matters, but I use Sulky. Also, I was using a medium weight tear away stabilizer for the purple monster. For the cat I used Floriani cut away stabilizer.

What exactly do you mean by a test stitch out? Sorry if that sounds odd, but I'm still learning a lot of embroidery terms. ;-)

And yes, I tend to be overly critical of everything I do. It's the artist in me who just wants perfection. Life is not perfect and I seem to forget that at times. LOL

by anssmile 06 Aug 2014

A test stitch-out is where you stitch the design on a piece of loose fabric (a piece of the same fabric you are going to use for your project) to see what it looks like, BEFORE you stitch it on your project. The test stitch-out can be thrown away if you don't like it.

Welcome to a great site!
Anneliese

I think you will find out that some designs are digitized better than others. Also black is very difficult if the stitching is not close. I have gone back and re-stitched the design or part of the design where it shows through. That usually works unless it is too dense for re-stitching. On some things where stitching is separating I use the regular sewing machine and stitch in the space as if doing and outline stitch. I often do a test stitch of a design to make sure how it stitches especially if I don't want to waste good fabric. Good luck in solving your problem.

3 comments

by pennyhal2 28 Jul 2014

If you are going to re-stitch, you need to make sure that it is perfectly lined up in the hoop. It is best to do this before you remove the fabric from the hoop.

by clawton 30 Jul 2014

Thanks for reminding her to not take out of the hoop if re-stitching.

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

Hi! Yes I have found that some designs are made better than others. I primarily purchase my designs from Emblibrary or Urban Threads. I've never had any issues with the stitching on those patterns. As for the black, I'm finding that it does indeed seem to need more attention that other colors. What exactly do you mean by re-stitching? Is it just doing that one step a second time in my pattern?

Hi and welcome to Cute. I have stitched the first cat design that you have show but not the other. This is one of those times that it would be useful to me to stand and watch you hoop up and see the machine sewing. Which is of no help at all to you. Just wondering if you are prepared to say where abouts you are as there just might be another Cutie nearby. So I have to say I think its caused by hooping. Hope someone else replies who waffle less

1 comment

by FLKat 01 Aug 2014

I don't mind. I live in Boca Raton, Florida (it's on the southeast coast). I would LOVE to find others who can help me. As I mentioned, I am VERY new to all of this have no one to show me the ropes. Everything I've learned so far has just been by reading various tutorials online. But I'm sure there are a ton of things I'm still doing wrong, so I welcome any assistance. :-)