Tips for Improving Embroidery Productivity

Modern stabilizers and hooping systems aren't necessarily time-saving, profit-boosting conveniences. Sometimes, conventional practices yield the greatest results.
Sept 15, 2008

By Steven Batts, Contributing Writer

As we continue to look at the differences between a home hobbyist and a commercial embroiderer, let me reiterate that the difference between the two is not just a matter of location. I am a commercial embroiderer who works from home. The difference is mainly a matter of mindset. We can get technical and try to classify embroiders by their equipment, but the reality is that a commercial embroiderer is in business for profit and the other in it for fun.

When you are embroidering for profit, the number of pieces you produce each day becomes critical. You must continually look for ways to make your operation as efficient as possible. Last time, we looked at unnecessary practices that take away from productivity. This time, we'll focus on techniques that can boost your productivity.

Backing, or stabilizer, is an essential part of embroidery. Stabilizing fabric lessens the distortion during the sewing process. Choosing the right backing type and placement is a mystery to many embroiderers, particularly those transitioning from hobbyist to "for profit."

I keep it simple: medium-weight cutaway on knits, heavy tearaway on wovens. Garments make from knitted fabrics -- such as polos, T-shirts and sweat shirts -- get one piece of medium-weight cutaway backing placed behind the design. Woven garments such as oxford shirts, windbreakers and denim shirts get a single piece of heavy tearaway.

I don't keep a lot of different weights and backing types in my shop. When it isn't practical to use a cutaway backing, I use two pieces of tearaway instead. Two layers of tearaway give roughly the same stability as a single layer of cutaway.

Conventional Hooping
There are some wonderful gadgets and hooping devices on the market today. However, for speed and quality, it is still hard to beat conventional hoops.

In the hobby world, "sticky backing" framing systems are a godsend. They allow for easier framing on machines to which it is hard to attach regular frames. There are, however, a couple of drawbacks to using this framing system every day.

One problem with "sticky backing" systems is that you must use tearaway backing. Think about it. When you're done, you tear the piece off the frame. Otherwise, it would be hard to get it off. The problem arises with knit goods, which require cutaway backing. Adhesive tearaway is more stable than regular tearaway because it is adhered to the garment, but it is not adequate stabilization for most knits.

Unless you have two of every size of this system's frames, I can blow your doors off in production.

Conventional framing is faster because you will have numerous frames in the shop and can be hooping the next item while the machine is running. Using "sticky backing" frames -- or even clamps -- require you to frame on the machine. This means the framing will be done between runs, which is a major loss of time in production.

Don't get me wrong, I think these framing systems are great for what they were originally intended: framing difficult items. They opened up doors to embroider things that were simply turned away before.

Design Efficiency
When you have a large order, making sure the design sews efficiently is one of the best ways to save time. Minimizing the number of trims is key. Jumping over at a narrow point or hiding a connecting thread under another color are some techniques to minimize trims.

If a design is well laid out, it can shave minutes off your production time. Let's look at the numbers. A trim cut takes about 7 seconds to execute. If a machine sews roughly 850 stitches per minute, one trim takes up 100 stitches. If you can eliminate 10 trims in a design, that is more than a minute of production saved. This doesn't even take into consideration the fact that the more the machine trims, the more likely it will malfunction, causing more downtime to correct the problem.

Of course digitizing is another topic in itself. Stayed tuned for an examination of the differences in commercial digitizing and home hobbyist software systems.

Steven Batts, a 14-year veteran of the embroidery industry, is a regular speaker at the Imprinted Sportswear Shows. He owns Righteous Threads Embroidery, Greensboro, NC, which offers digitizing, embroidery, machine maintenance and repair, and consulting. Call him at (336) 37999380, e-mail righteousthreads@gmail.com or hear him speak at ISS Ft. Worth. Oct. 3-5, on the following topics:

* Embroidery Fixes and Garment-Saving Repairs (NEW)
* Digitizing Basics: Creating Designs That Work (NEW)
* Conquering Caps: Tips and Techniques for Embroidering Conventional Specialty Caps
* Keyboard Magic: Mastering Lettering (NEW)