Use Water-Soluble Topping When Embroidering Nappy Items

December 07, 2009
By Steven Batts, Contributing Writer

It’s that time of year again, when the weather gets colder and people start to want fuzzy things embroidered. Sweaters, fleece blankets, polar fleece jackets and Christmas stockings all have a nappy surface and are popular for embroidery. They aren’t the only items that have nap; so do towels, which are popular year round. Winter items, however, make up the bulk of this category of items with nap.

The conventional embroidery method involves placing a piece of water-soluble topping on top of the item. While being embroidered, the topping creates a barrier between the fabric surface and the stitches preventing the nap of the fabric from sticking up between the threads. Surprisingly, there's much confusion over how and when to use a water-soluble topping.

How to Use Water-Soluble Topping
Technically, topping doesn’t have to be framed with the item. Unlike backing, water-soluble topping doesn’t really offer any stabilization. With that said, sometimes it works better when it is framed with the item. If it's not, it tends to get bunched up as the design is sewn. Sometimes instead of framing, I just hold the edges of the topping down or tape them to the hoop. Other times, it is easier to just frame it in with the garment.

Then there is the matter of removing the topping. Most of it should easily tear away when the design is done. The rest has to be picked out by a method of your choice. I prefer to use a piece of duct tape and pat the area with the adhesive side of the tape. Another way is to gather all the pieces of topping that were torn off and form them into a ball. Then, moisten the ball just a bit, which will make it sticky. As with the duct tape method, pat the area with the ball. The little pieces of topping will be pulled off and will stick to the ball.

When to Use Water-Soluble Topping
Water-soluble topping is for surfaces with nap. What constitutes nap is a matter of opinion. Many people use topping on things such as piqué or standard fleece. While this will make the design look marginally better, it doesn’t improve it enough to warrant the extra time it takes to remove the topping once the material has been embroidered.

I only use topping on really nappy surfaces, such as polar fleece and stockings. Even then, you must remember that it will go away completely after the first washing (hence the term “water-soluble”). Taking a few precautions with a design before sewing it onto a nappy surface will really help the design stand out regardless of whether you use topping.

First of all, keep design elements like letters as large as possible. Small, skinny letters will disappear into the nap. Try to make letters and satin columns wider than normal to ensure they will be seen. In cases where the letters must be small, consider stitching a fill pattern behind the letters. You can either use a contrasting color or, to be more subtle about it, make the fill block the same color as the fabric. This will really make the letters pop and act as a permanent topping.

Secondly, use a heavy underlay. On larger elements of the design, use a double zigzag underlay. This will create a hold-down net to prevent the nap from popping through, even after the topping has washed away.

If the underlay and density are heavy enough, you may be able to skip the topping altogether. That is a trade off you have to consider: Is the time you will spend removing the excess topping equal to or less than the extra time the machine will take to sew the design? I would rather have the extra time spent on the machine rather than have to deal with the topping.

At least now you know the options for dealing with items that have a nappy surface. Dealing with these items the right way will leave you and your customer feeling warm and fuzzy.

Steven Batts, a consultant with 17 years experience in the embroidery industry, owns Righteous Threads, Greensboro, N.C., which offers digitizing, embroidery and machine maintenance services. Steven regularly leads seminars at ISS shows and is an industry speaker and consultant. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Steven at righteousthreads@gmail.com.

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