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Get Smart
By: Cindy Cox Wilson
Issue: 2007oct

We live in an exciting, rapidly changing, high-tech world. Often, the “next generation” products are available before we even get comfortable with the “latest version.” Electronic devices are practically obsolete before the warranty expires. Each upgrade introduces even more advantages, and this is not limited to computers and cars. These days, even clothing is smarter.

Fashion and technology have teamed up to create clothing that is beautiful, innovative and functional. New fabrics are continually developed to accommodate both comfort and purpose. Today, designers address the needs of human activities in every environment.

Tech Affects In Promotional Apparel
We have evolved from the traditional uniform shirt decorated with the company logo to a multitude of logoed apparel products that are worn and used everywhere—from working to playing and socializing. The emergence of embroidered, fun-to-wear, fashion-statement products are soft marketing for companies in extraordinary ways. The market for apparel with embroidered brands and logos is growing and thriving on these unprecedented opportunities.

Yet opportunities often present challenges, and this is no exception. Many clients order new shirts to be embellished with an old embroidery design. The client may have been using the same design on cotton polo shirts for several years with good results. Now he is perplexed to learn that his old design is quite likely to lose some of its integrity on the new, high-tech, breathable, moisture-wicking shirt. The old embroidery design may cause the new fabric to pucker and warp. This makes a very good case for a pre-production sample.

Producing a sample before beginning full production is always prudent to ensure the client’s satisfaction with the garment as well as the logo size, color, placement and overall quality.

A challenge is always a call to creativity. It is imperative that embellishments complement the garment or product—after all, embroidery is the hallmark of quality and should always add value. Because there are so many variations of high-tech fabrics, one embroidery tape may not fit all. It shouldn’t be a surprise when an embroidery professional must create several versions of the same design to adapt to each target garment.

Fabric Facts
Some fabrics are woven with air pockets for wicking moisture, some are for maintaining body temperature; some are light and silky—requiring light stitching, while others are fluffy and require more dense stitching in both the foundation and the topstitching. Some fabrics are coated on one or both sides, engineering them to resist stains, repel water, be fire-retardant, resist mildew and bacteria, and act as a sunscreen. Because different fabric coatings create varying texture or drag on the surface of the garment, your decorator can adjust the thread tension to avoid looping or pulling.

Engineered fabrics will stretch horizontally, vertically, diagonally or in more than one direction. The area to be embroidered must be stabilized as much as possible during the embroidery process (the smallest frame should be used to accommodate the logo and reduce stretch and vibration) and the digitizing of the embroidery should adapt to the directional stretch of the fabric. An embroidery design programmed for a specific fabric should always produce round circles and perfectly registered design details.

Embroidery must move with the fabric, therefore stitch density should be kept minimal. This requires just the right foundation (underlay) stitching to support the visible stitches in the design. Your decorator can add a little extra width to satin stitches as effective compensation for the “spongy” or “springy” quality of the fabric.

Creating an embroidered logo to be proud of requires a perfect foundation—underlay stitching that stabilizes the target material and supports the embroidery stitching. Since most new fabrics are soft and lightweight, they typically won’t tolerate heavy embroidery or traditional cut-away backing because they are too rigid for soft fabrics. Instead, there are several alternatives available, such as the no-show cut-away backing that provides the most stability and the softest hand. There are a variety of products for use with different fabrics and applications, so ask your decorator which one works best for you.

But remember, just like a photograph taken on a mobile phone will not produce a beautiful billboard, an embroidery design programmed for a hat or jacket may not produce a favorable result on a wicking fabric. The embroidered rendition of any logo on any fabric can never be better than the custom digitized stitch file. The embroidery tape will be used on several, if not thousands, of products and is well worth the initial investment to custom digitize the design for the fabric on which the design will be used. Poor quality embroidery will not bring re-orders, so quality should always win over costs.

Cindy Cox Wilson is the founder and president of Kernersville, North Carolina-based supplier Artwear Embroidery, Inc. (UPIC: ARTWEAR), a high-volume, contract-only decorator founded in 1993.
800-749-6863
cindy@artwearinc.com



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