TROUBLESHOOTER Putting framing in the frame
This month are exploring the subject of framing with our embroidery expert, ROY BURTON, managing director of Your Embroidery Services Ltd and his team.
M
any still see framing as one of the mysteries of embroidery when, in truth, with a bit of practice it is an easy and straightforward operation.
It is, however, one of the most important skills in the production arena and one that needs great care if you want to turn out first rate embroidery. It is one of those odd processes that can be described in very few words and, on the face of it, look simple but in practice it is anything but. Donʼt let this worry you though because, like most skills, it can be quickly learnt and, with practice, conquered.
The main purposes of using an embroidery frame are to move the garment around on the machine and, more importantly, to create stability in the fabric that is to be embroidered. The former is obvious as, without the frame, the garment would simply sit in one place so we will leave that one and look at the more significant reason – stability.
Most fabrics are flexible and will distrort across both the ʻxʼ and
ʻyʼ axis with some, such as knitwear, moving and stretching in all directions. This simply cannot happen when embroidery is taking place as it will result in the design going ʻoff-patternʼ. When a design is digitised allowances are made for minor movement within the fabric based on certain criteria such as type of fabric and density of stitches in the design. This makes it very important for the digitiser to know what type of fabric is to be embroidered as it will affect the way the design is stitched.
Knitted fabrics For ʻstretchyʼ fabrics such as knitwear the design will include
ʻpacking stitchesʼ which are used to stabilise the area to be embroidered and the results of this process are determined by how well the garment has been framed. Knitted fabrics need to be framed so that the surface is taut without being stretched. You may often hear the description of the surface being like that of a drum but it can be risky to work strictly to that description as knitwear varies tremendously. For instance, 21 gauge knitwear will not stretch as far or as much as 8 gauge and to frame both to the same tension would result in the 8 gauge version being stretched out of shape. Many embroiderers still prefer to frame by hand and so must learn the skill of achieving the correct tension within the frame. This is not something that can be easily described in print and is best taught on a personal level with the old saying of “practice makes perfect” never being truer.
Whatever you are framing, but especially with knitwear, you are looking to achieve a stable but undistorted surface. With knitwear you can use the ʻribsʼ in the design and if these are distorted or bent then the framing needs to be adjusted. The best advice is to use common sense or, better still, a framing device such as the FF1.
Knitwear still today constitutes the greater proportion of fabrics being embroidered so achieving this framing skill is vital to good quality embroidery.
Other media
There are, however, many other different types of media that are embroidered with some, such as leather, offering a stable structure.
Where these are concerned the ʻtensionʼ side of framing is not so important but, of course, the items still needs to be moved around the stitching area and so must still be framed or held in some other way.
Often with media such as this you can use the ʻlay-onʼ or ʻflop-
onʼ method where the item is laid onto a sticky surface and it is this that holds it in position although care should be taken, when using this method, that the area to be stitched is clear of this
| 82 | January 2013 ABOVE: Boot in clamp frame, with frame inset.
sticky surface. If not then the heat from the needle may cause this surface to stick to the needle causing it to clog which, in turn, will cause the thread to break. Some items, such as football boots, are difficult to frame and need specially developed holders such as Clamp Frames. Items such as this can be framed in other ways but it is always better to use the correct device especially as it will often be your customerʼs boots you are embroidering and you could end up with a big bill if something goes wrong.
C Framing caps
aps are a special area of consideration as the embroidery design often goes around the cap. Although there are ways of framing caps up ʻon-the-flatʼ this is not recommended and we would always advise using the cap frames that come with your machine which allow the cap to move on the ʻxʼ, ʻyʼ and ʻzʼ plains.
Many avoid caps because of the time it takes to change from flat embroidery but there are ways now to speed up this process such as the Quick Change Frames offered by SWF. These will fit onto most embroidery machines and offer a speedy way of switching from flat to caps.
Framing is not easy but it is very important in the embroidery process and so needs to be perfected. It is impossible, in an article such as this, to describe and explain all the different considerations and procedures involved in framing every item that can be embroidered. What we have done here is to offer an insight into what should be achieved and how important this skill is.
There is an old saying in the embroidery world that “if a needle can go through it, then you can embroider it” but you also need to be able to hold it on the machine. Whatever you need to embroider then there will be a way to do this but it may take imagination and innovation to solve the problem or, of course, you could ask us. n For information about the devices that are available to help with framing you can contact YES Ltd on 01623 863343, email
royb@yesltd.co.uk or visit
www.yesltd.co.uk
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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