Tips for trouble free production

Garment decoration and personalisation on children’s clothing and babywear is as popular as ever in the embroidery sector. Darcie Mullins and Natalie Greetham of Madeira UK offer some top tips for production.

The garments children and babies wear can be small and are often made from soft, stretchy fabrics to ensure they are comfortable to wear but not always easy to embroider.

Here are our top tips for trouble free production…

Select the correct backing

With so many different backings available it can be tricky to choose the right one.

When embroidering stretchy items, puckering can be one of the main problems you will want to avoid, puckering not only wastes time but will hold up production. Small stretchy items like a baby onesie, will need extra stability during the embroidery process, so we would recommend a soft cutaway backing.

Either a ‘no show’ backing, such as Weblon or a soft 80g, both will provide the stability required, help reduce the chance of puckering and avoid design distortion which could occur when a tear away is removed.

Finishing

Once the embroidery is complete, to stop stitches potentially irritating delicate skin and to ensure the comfort of the garment is not compromised, we recommend adding a layer of soft fabric. This can be adhered to the reverse of the embroidery creating beautifully soft finish.

Alternatively try appliqué

Minimise stitches on the inside of the garment and while covering larger areas with colourful, fun designs that kids are bound to love.

Available in glittery, velvet and leather effect finishes, these fabrics are ideal for kids clothing. Using an appliqué technique can also reduce costs and increase output as fewer stitches equals less time on the machine.

Safety is paramount

When it comes to protecting our little ones from harmful chemicals. As an embroiderer, it is your responsibility to confirm that the products you are using are safe and free from any harmful chemicals.

To guarantee peace of mind for your customers, look out for, and only use Oeko-Tex certified products. Our viscose, polyester, wool blend and CR metallic threads all have Class I certification, guaranteeing they are safe for babies.

With the variations of embroidery thread on the market at the moment, mixing textures of threads will give the design a more unique and multi-dimensional look. For example, mix metallic thread with a matt thread, or viscose thread with a wool blend, easily creating fun, vibrant designs that will last the life-time of the garment.