Fabric is caught under the hoop! How can that be fixed?

This is the fifth lesson in our series - Common Embroidery Flops, Causes & Solutions!

What do you do when you remove your hoop from the machine and discover the fabric is caught in the stitching underneath the hoop? Perhaps it is only a small corner, but sometime it ends up being a huge chunk. Yes, I admit, it has happened to me also. I finish a design and find out a corner of my fabric was caught underneath the hoop. As the design was being stitched, the fabric underneath was stitched through also, making it caught in the hoop. How can you fix this or prevent it from happening in the future?

Cause: The fabric you are stitching is caught underneath the hoop between the hoop and the feed dogs. When the design is stitched, the stitches are going right through all the layers. This will often happen if you are stitching on a large piece of fabric. A corner slips underneath the hoop without your knowledge. If you are stitching on garments, especially baby or kids clothes which are small and hard to get in the hoop, it is easy to get the hem or a sleeve caught underneath the hoop without you knowing it. If the fabric underneath the hoop creates a lot of bulk, you may hear your machine make a noise that will alert you to the problem, but many times, you won't discover what happened until the design is finished.

Solution: If you notice what happened in the early stages of the design, you may be able to rip out a few stitches and get the extra fabric out from the bottom of the hoop. Then back up in the design to restitch the stitches that you ripped out. If lots of stitches are holding the fabric in place, carefully trim the fabric so it is released from the bottom of the hoop. Finish stitching the design. The earlier you catch it, the easier it will be to repair.

But there will be times that the design will finish and you won't know what happened until you take the hoop out of the machine. If that happens, carefully cut around the fabric around the design on the back to release it from the hoop. If just a little piece is cut out, you may still be able to selvage the design and project. If it is a large chunk, you may need to be a little more creative in fixing it!

A garment is so easy to get caught! If the hem or sleeve has been eaten by the machine, consider hemming the garment shorter or add a fabric panel or ruffle. You can add many decorative elements to a garment that will hide the fact that it was caught in the hoop.

Many times with squares of fabric, a corner will unintentionally get caught. If your fabric block has a bite taken out of it, first measure it and see if the fabric is large enough that the eaten corner will be cut off. If the eaten part will be inside your measurements, consider straightening the edge and adding a fabric border to make the correct size you need. If the bite is too big, cut out the design and applique it onto a new block of fabric.

Prevention: The first thing you should always do when starting to stitch a design is check to see that you can see the hem, sleeves and fabric corners of your project. Fabric corners and garment hems and sleeves tend to hide underneath the hoop without your knowledge until the design is finished. Check each and every time, because it can happen no matter how many designs you have stitched in the past.

If you are stitching on a piece of fabric, cut the fabric larger than you need. This gives you a little room for mistakes and eaten corners. It is always easier to cut off a little extra than add on a piece.

Be sure that there is nothing caught between the underneath side of the hoop and the feed dogs as you start stitching. While the machine is stopped, slightly tip the hoop up to make sure there is not fabric lurking underneath. Pin the corners of your block toward the center of the block, so they will not slip underneath. Pin sleeves and hems to the top of the hoop, so you can see them and are sure they will not get caught. Just be sure your pins won't interfere with the needle stitching the design on top of the hoop.

Don't panic if this happens to you. I can tell you right now that it will happen and not just once! From time to time, I still discover a corner caught after a design is finished stitching. I just calmly cut and release the caught fabric and determine from there what my next step should be. Be creative with your ways to repair this problem and you will discover some new ideas!!

See some examples below:

The corner of this block was
caught underneath the hoop.

This shirt looks ok from the front,
but take a closer look...



Part of the sleeve was caught between the
hoop and feed dogs of the machine.



A huge chunk of the bottom of the shirt
was caught and had to be cut out to free
it from the back of the hoop.



Can you see the extra fabric stuck to the back
of the design? I had to trim around the design
to release the fabric from the hoop.



I straightened and shortened the hem and
sleeves and added a matching fabric ruffle.
It makes for a cute shirt and no one would
ever know the reason for the change!

MarJen for Error - new quilt block #1

I've been doodling in fabric and thread and have come up with, I think, a color combination for the new embroidered quilt I am working on. I've decided to use the Passion for Pansies collection in some of the yellow and purple shades. The colors really blend well together and create a stunning effect.

This is the floral design that is in the center of 8 of the blocks. I stitched a couple before I came up with the right colors that fit well together.

As always, it is hard to see the full effect of the stitches on a computer screen, but here is a closer view of the stitches. The design stitched out very well, better actually than I anticipated. The designer and digitizer, Jenny Haskins, did a great job digitizing this collection from what I have stitched out so far. It has some shading on the flower, which really adds to the detail in the design. I basically used three colors of purple several times and like the results.

This is the block I have been playing with, trying to decide what to do with the fans that are in the corners. The embroidered design is in the center and then there are 4 cut fans from the purple fabric in each corner. I sewed the 4 fan pieces together and then fused them to the fabric with wonderunder.

You can see I've been playing with different decorative stitches and thread colors to see what looks the best on the fabric. The decorative stitch needs to be one that will curve easily around the top of the fan. It is a fairly sharp curve as you are stitching, so that eliminates several stitches.



I also tried fussy cutting the purple fans on three of the corners and then did not duffy cut the upper left corner. You can see the difference and the fussy cutting really helps to enhance the fabric, but it doesn't look terrible if the fans aren't fussy cut either.



This is one of the corner fans where the fabric is fussy cut:

This is the corner fan where I did not fussy cut the fabric:

I was at a stumbling block, so I consulted a friend for a second opinion and here is the block with the correct colors in the center embroidery design and fussy cut fans. It doesn't have the bright yellow centers in the fans yet or decoratives around the fans, but the block itself is figured out!

How can I fix that hole in my embroidery design?

This is the fourth lesson in our series - Common Embroidery Flops, Causes & Solutions!

You are watching your machine as it is stitching the design. The design looks fantastic and it is almost finished! You turn your head away and then suddenly hear a strange sound! As your head whips around, you stare in disbelief at the design that now has a hole right in the middle of it. Why does this happen? How can a hole in your design appear in just a few seconds? Just because a hole appears does not mean your design is destined for the trash! Read on to see what causes this, how to fix it and ways to prevent it in the future.

Cause: Most of the time a hole in the fabric and/or design is caused by a broken needle that keeps stitching. The blunt tip of the needle keeps penetrating the fabric, creating a hole. Even though the broken thread sensor on your machine will in most cases go off and stop the machine, the machine will still take 4-6 stitches before the sensor is alerted and beeps to alert you. If the upper thread beeper is turned off, the machine will continue to stitch until you stop it. You can just imagine what your fabric will look like if the machine is stitching a design with a broken needle.

If you are stitching a dense design on a lightweight fabric, the fabric may not hold the stitches and can create a tear in the fabric. Don't try to stitch designs loaded with stitches on a lightweight fabric. An example is a design with 40,000 stitches on chiffon. The fabric is not tightly woven enough or does not have the thread count to hold the stitches. This will commonly happen with sheer fabric such as chiffon and organza.

Solution: If the design is covered with holes, that may be a sign that there is no hope for repair and it's time to start over. But don't despair, most of the time a little hole can be repaired very easily using one of several methods. If you just noticed the hole starting to form, stop the machine as soon as you discover it. If the hole is small and you haven't stitched far, you may be able to repair it with the fabric still in the machine.

Place a small piece of the same fabric on which you are stitching, on the hole, on top of the design. It needs to be slightly larger than the hole. Take the hoop off the machine, spray a scrap of stabilizer with 505 and stick it to the bottom of the hoop on the area that has the hole. This will help to add stability as the design is stitched again. Go back in the design and stitch over the fabric covering the tear. After the design is finished, carefully trim away the excess fabric from the top of the design. This may not work for all kinds of holes. If a hole is created while stitching the final outline, it won't work because the extra fabric laid on top will show after the design is finished. The hole needs to be in an area where it will be covered with stitches.

If the fabric added will not cover the hole, fuse on a small piece of interfacing and mend the hole with a small mending stitch on your machine after the design is finished. This will also work when you are unable to see the hole until you take the fabric out of the hoop and then you are unable to fix it by stitching over it with the design.

Some holes can be covered up with different embellishments such as crystals or buttons. Or even 3D lace or other embroidery designs. If you do not want to try covering up the hole with fabric and more stitches, then add a little decoration after the design is complete. Another idea would be to embroider a small design over the area with the hole. For example, if there is a hole in the bear's paw, embroider a small butterfly over his paw to make it look like he's reaching for it. Not only can this add to the design, but it also covers the mistake!

If worse comes to worse and there are multiple holes or you can't find anything to cover up the hole(s), it may be time to throw it away. But before you do, try to be creative and see if there is some way to selvage it!

Prevention: You will have this happen at one time or another, so don't panic. Sometime things happen and there is no way to prevent it, no matter how careful you are. But there are a few things you can keep in mind that may help from preventing too many holes in your design.

Keep an eye on your machine as it is stitching. This doesn’t mean that you have to sit and watch every stitch, but be aware and listen as it is stitching. Some designs may need babysitting, but most will allow you to be doing something else between thread colors. If you need to wander out of the room, out of ear distance, consider using a baby monitor. That way you can wander farther away and still be alert when your machine is ready for a new color, hear the beep when the thread breaks or hear any noises that don’t sound normal. It will be an obvious different sound when the needle breaks and the blunt end is penetrating the fabric; you will hear the difference and know something is wrong.

We are all guilty of not changing our needles when we should. When the needle breaks is not the only time to change it. Titanium needles should be replaced every 10-12 hours of stitching or approximately 400,000 stitches. If you see the needle causing thread breakage or thread pulls in the fabric, change it before something worse happens like a broken needle and a hole in your fabric. With changing your needle frequently, you will be able to prevent some needle breakage, among many other problems.

Make sure the needle will not hit any buttons on garments or straight pins stuck in the fabric. It is easy to be stitching a design and think that the needle is clear of an object and then all of a sudden hear a clunk! Don't panic the next time you discover a hole in your design; just imagine how many possible ways it can be fixed!

Last week of FabShop Hop Sale!!!

The July FabShop Hop is almost over!! Don't miss out on the exciting savings now to the end of the month! Plus don't forget to "hop" from site to site looking for the purple bunny and win more great prizes plus a Bernina sewing machine!!

Check out the Blowout Savings! for great prices on quilting books, fun fabrics and other notions! Save up to 50% off the retail price! Don't miss out on some great savings!!

Eliminating Puckers Around Designs

This is the third lesson in our series - Common Embroidery Flops, Causes & Solutions!

We have all had it happen to designs we have stitched. After the design is finished, there are puckers or wrinkles in the fabric around the design. Sometime it is so bad that the fabric will be tucked in small areas underneath the stitches. Other times there will just be slight ripple here and there and not be that noticeable. What causes these puckers and how can you get rid of them?

Why are puckers in the fabric so common around embroidery designs? The simple answer is that's just the way it works. But maybe this longer answer will help you to understand why puckers so frequently happen. The needle is constantly going down into the fabric and coming back up. Think about it a second - how many times does the needle penetrate through the fabric when stitching a design? If the design has 20,000 stitches, the needle has to go down and come back up 20,000 times. Every time the needle penetrates the fabric, it pulls up the woven threads ever so slightly. By the end of your design, the fabric has been pulled ever so slightly 20,000 times. It is easy to see why puckers or wrinkles tend to develop.

Cause: Puckers or wrinkles around your design can be caused by several things. One of the most common causes is using the incorrect stabilizer for the design you are stitching. If you are using spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the stabilizer instead of hooping it, there may be a not enough adhesive sprayed to properly hold the fabric down as the machine is stitching. Another factor to consider is the density of the design for the fabric. Some fabrics have more "give" to them than others and work better for dense designs.

Solution: If your design is already stitched and you have puckers or wrinkles, there are some ways to eliminate or at least get rid of a few of them. The first thing to do is carefully press the design from the wrong side. This will often make the design look much better and take care of many wrinkles. Spray starch to the fabric wrong side and see if it will eliminate some of the wrinkles. Starch stiffens the fabric which helps to iron out the puckers. Another option is to put batting behind the design and stipple or quilt around the designs edges. This will give the project texture as well as make the ripples disappear.

Prevention: Use the right combination of stabilizers with the fabrics and designs you are stitching. Follow the guidelines for cut away and tear away stabilizers. Knits, fabrics with stretch and large density designs (30,000+) need cut away stabilizer and possibly aqua film as a topping to prevent puckers and wrinkles. Cottons, denim and lighter weight designs (30,000 or below) can use tear away stabilizer and depending on the fabric, usually won’t require aqua film. If you are hooping the stabilizer and using spray adhesive to adhere the fabric to the stabilizer in the hoop, be sure you have sprayed enough to adequately hold the fabric. Denser designs may need a little more than lighter weight designs.

If the fabric is lightweight, starch it or iron fusible interfacing to the back before stitching. Do the same if the fabric is a cotton/poly blend. The poly does not allow the fabric to stretch and give as it is stitched, therefore allowing it to absorb the puckers. Cotton and flannel have more "give" in the fibers than a polyester blend. You also might want to choose lightweight designs to stitch on poly blends and leave the denser designs for cotton or flannel. If I am stitching a dense design, I have found that starching the fabric or adding fusible interfacing to the back is a great help in eliminating the puckers that tend to appear around the design. Give it a try and you will be amazed at the results!

The fabric around this design is starting to pucker as it is being stitched.
The stabilizer needs more spray adhesive to hold the fabric
to it for stitching the embroidery design.

The fabric is smooth and flat in the hoop as the machine
is stitching this design. It has been stuck down very well to the
stabilizer to hold it for the duration of the design.



This is a design stitched on a poly/cotton blend broadcloth.
You can see the puckers in the fabric around the design.
The poly in the fabric does not allow very much "give".

This is the same design stitched on the same poly/cotton broadcloth,
but So Sheer fusible interfacing was fused on before stitching the design.
The interfacing adds more stability to the fabric to prevent
some of the puckers. There are still a few waves in the fabric,
but not near to the degree as the previous photo.

This is the same design, but it is stitched on 100% cotton fabric
without interfacing on the back. Once it is pressed, the fabric
and design lay smooth and flat. The cotton fabric has absorbed
the puckers in the fabric, making it an easier fabric
to stitch on than a poly/cotton blend.

FabShop Hop Embroidery Sale - July 8-14

Save lots of $$ on embroidery supplies this week - Sunday, July 8th - Saturday, July 14th! Check out the special savings on embroidery designs by Sue Box, Embroiderer's Buddy, Snip-Eze Scissors and much, much more!!

Take at the sale prices on embroidery supplies and designs...

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

505 Spray Adhesive Stains

This is the second lesson in our series - Common Embroidery Flops, Causes & Solutions!

505 Spray Adhesive Stains

505 is a wonderful spray adhesive to use when sticking my fabric to my stabilizer when I am stitching machine embroidery designs. But occasionally some of the adhesive gets sprayed on the fabric. Sometime it is caused by some residue left over from spraying too much on the stabilizer in the hoop. A dark circle appears on your fabric, marking where the 505 has been. The dark circle stain dries and it appears as though it is there to stay.

Cause: Too much spray adhesive or spray adhesive has been sprayed on the fabric instead of the stabilizer. For lightweight designs, only a small amount of spray adhesive is needed. The fabric does not need to stay stuck down as long as a denser design.

Solution: Use 90% rubbing alcohol (not the drinking kind :)) to get 505 out of your fabric or project. The 90% is important; not all stores stock that percentage. The lower percentage bottles will not be as effective as the 90%. Look for this in the pharmacy departments of most stores. If you still cannot get the stain out with the alcohol, try using Ecover Citrus Cleaner & Degreaser. It's an oil based cleaner that can be found in many stores or online.

Prevention: Always spray 505 on the stabilizer, never the fabric. Avoid spraying too much 505 on the hooped stabilizer before sticking the fabric on top of it.

You can see slightly darker areas on this pink baby blanket from
leftover 505 spray adhesive transferred to the fabric.

Right above the gingerbread men, there is a dark spot
of 505 where it was sprayed on the fabric instead of the stabilizer.

Waiting for another scrap to fall...

I have been working with some purple pansy fabric for the new quilt I'm planning to start teaching this Fall. I was fussy cutting the pansies out of the fabric and throwing my scraps onto the floor. Skittles was on the floor, looking up at me, just waiting for another piece of scrap fabric to fall!