Embroidery Questions

1:23 am - 01/31/2009
So I have some quick questions for all of my embroidery grrls out there
My idea is this: I see those fake tattoo sleeves, and I think they are so cool. I am not ballsy (nor rich) enough to actually get a sleeve or even half sleeve done in real ink on my arm. But the fake sleeves also seem a little ... flat. So, when I stumbled across Urban Threads, it hit me: embroider a long sleeve (or half sleeved) shirt with various beautiful patterns from her website! Brilliant! However, I know that some floss has the tendancy to bleed. I looked up on a website that said to soak the thread in a mixture of water and vinegar, and then towel dry, so that it won't bleed into the fabric. (This is important as my shirt will more than likely be white.) So, which brings me (FINALLY) to my question. Has anyone ever tried this? If so, how well does it work? Will I have to soak all of my dark threads (I'll more than likely use DMC floss) or should I just soak black and red? I'll be using the rainbow of colors, but the darker colors will be used a lot, as these are my favorite (black, red, deep purple, blue and green.) Also, I read on the Sublime Stitching webpage that it's kind of crappy to embroider on t-shirt fabric. Would it be better on a thermal top like a cotton/polyester  blend? Or would that make it even worse than t-shirt fabric? Sorry about all of the questions, TIA for any feedback!
P.S. - I have checked the memories, along with the websites there, and also done several Google searches. If this is still a stupid post, I will delete ASAP. Thanks! 
mcb397 31st-Jan-2009 01:03 pm (UTC)
I've never soaked my embroidery thread, but then I've never really done anything that needed to be washed on a regular basis either.
I do know t-shirt material is hard to embroider on because of how easily it rips apart, although stabilizer like you use on sheer fabrics could help. As far as how well it would hold up.... no idea here, never done it before. I'd get an old t-shirt, try out a few stitches and see how well it holds up before taking on something as extensive as what you're talking about.
wenchfaery 31st-Jan-2009 04:47 pm (UTC)
I've never soaked my floss, but I'm a knitter as well, and you definitely soak yarn in vinegar to stop it from bleeding everywhere, so it's worth a shot. Also, in my experience, regular t-shirt material is a BITCH to embroider on because it's so stretchy - everything starts looking distorted after a while. Maybe try something with a little less give? :)

Hope I helped!
sylvercatt 31st-Jan-2009 05:39 pm (UTC)
Ugh, I tried stitching on tshirt type material yesterday, and even with freezer paper to stabilize, I gave up. My stitches were crap because I couldn't see clearly enough, but without it, the fabric stretches out of shape.
puzzleoflight 31st-Jan-2009 08:09 pm (UTC)
Unfortunately, I have to add to the chorus of people saying t-shirt material is probably too loosely-woven/stretchy to embroider easily. I know it can be done, but it would probably take a lot of time or patience. I'd also imagine that, though something like a thermal knit would be a little more stable due to thickness, it would still be stretchy, which is the main problem. Instead of embroidery, you might try screen printing?
listenesmerelda 1st-Feb-2009 07:22 pm (UTC)
No idea about the floss soaking, but personally I embroider on t-shirts all the time and never have problems. I find it helps to use a t-shirt that a little bit more... dense I guess? Sturdy? Less stretchy and not one of those super thin ones. Also I use waste canvas for the backing (I'm not sure if this is more used for cross stitch than embroidery, but it's what I use) which helps keep it from stretching too much and I also use this technique (scroll down below the onesies) to get my designs on which also helps a bit with stabilizing/stretching. However, I pretty much only do simple line designs in back stitch, so I have no idea how other kids of more elaborate stitching would work.
megan_a_mess 2nd-Feb-2009 01:19 am (UTC)
Thanks to everyone who posted!
I read the entry on Craftster that you posted, it's awesome! Just one question about using the Press n' Seal with the stabilizer. Do you put the stabilizer inside the shirt, and then put the Press n' Seal on? Or do you put the stabilizer on the outside of the shirt, and then add the Press n' Seal? Thank you so much!
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