Tips & Tricks
Raise Your IQ
Think you can emboss with the best of them? Know why hemp is so hip? Need to brush up on how to appliqué denim? Get ready to learn about the quirkier side of fabric and decoration.
By Tonia Cook Kimbrough
Want to increase your fabric and decoration IQ? You might know how to embroider cotton, but how about hemp? Do you really know how to appliqué on denim? We’ve put together a great primer for more advanced decorators to take their imprinting work to the next level.
Age your imprints
When it comes to crisp, clean screen prints, times have certainly changed. "After years of printers and ink manufacturers spending time to create ink that would not crackle or distress, the trends have changed to where customers are now requesting it," says Jeff Henderson, president of Garland, TX-based Pony Xpress Printing Inc. (asi/297068).
To achieve an aged effect, however, you’ll need to consider more than ink. Keep artwork and the color separation/printing process in mind. For an authentic look, Henderson recommends starting with the design itself. "Any artwork can be 'distressed’ to make it look weathered and old," he says. "Experienced artists will use a bunch of different filters to achieve the look of weathered wood, peeled paint, or simply to make the artwork look like your favorite tee from the ’80s that’s been washed 100 times. If the artwork isn’t designed to look vintage, there’s not much an operator can do on the press to make it look authentic."
Once you’ve created your artwork (see the box, "How to Weather a Design"), the next step is color separation. "It’s important to not skimp on the number of colors you use," Henderson says. "Even a one-color distress pattern, such as a white imprint on a green shirt, will look better as a two- to three-color imprint. On a truly old T-shirt, the peeling ink will leave a tonal residue on the shirt, like taking a picture frame off the wall, leaving a distinct outline where the sun bleached the color. So, the one-color might have a darker green print in the background to make the 'peeled’ section look more realistic."
Henderson also warns against using more than 80% in halftones. Back to his example of a green shirt with white imprint: "If the print starts as a solid white, you can’t achieve a 100% graduation with one screen," he says. "The mesh on a screen to print solid white would not have holes small enough for a good-looking halftone on a distress pattern. The result is a very grainy/pixilated print."
Finally, the ink itself comes into play. You can purchase ink bases (sold as "shatter," "crackle" and "brittle" bases) that create a vintage effect. "If the client wants a chunky/peeled look, then a brittle or crackle base works great," Henderson says. "These inks are designed to crack with minimal effort once the ink is printed and cured. If the customer wants a really soft, 'washed 100 times’ feel, then a water-base ink will achieve the 'no hand’ feel to the print. Sometimes, a combination of both is the best: a water-base ink for the bottom layer and a crackle ink on the top."
What's Embossing and debossing?
Confused about embossing and debossing apparel? Don't be. Think of embossed and debossed imprints as the difference between hills and valleys. Embossing pushes an image above the surface of the fabric, creating a hill. Debossing presses an image down into the fabric, resulting in a valley. Both create elegant, 3-D effects on apparel.
Most garments are good candidates for these techniques, providing they have a certain amount of stretch. "Knit fabrics lend themselves to embossing because of the stretch ability of the fabric. Cotton or blends work well," says Marigail Hull, a decorating expert with Bellevue, WA-based Applied Designs. "Woven fabrics such as denim are also good candidates for this decorating method. All types of leather are excellent, as well."
Hull offers several tips for submitting and planning artwork to be embossed or debossed. "In order to make a die etched out with the logo, we need black-and-white artwork," she says. "Bold is better for embossing and debossing. Detail can be held, but it's difficult to hold too much detail, such as very fine lines and letters that are thin and small."
Embossing and debossing can be budget-friendly alternatives to embroidery. "The cost of the dies is a one-time charge," Hull says. "For embossing or debossing, the run charge for a full back and a smaller left-chest is the same cost when doing leather jackets." She adds that a full back or front costs slightly more than a left-chest logo for T-shirts and sweatshirts because backing material is required.
If color is important to your client, consider combining embossing or debossing with screen printing. Hull says this approach works as long as the ink doesn't come in contact with the area that's going to be hit with the die. "The process is a heat, pressure and dwell-time system. The heat from the die would melt the ink from the screen print. The shirt would need to be screen printed first and then embossed or debossed," she says. And, if budget isn't a concern, you can achieve a dramatic imprint by incorporating embroidery into an embossed or debossed image, adding colorful vibrancy to the logo.
Top Appliqué Tips
1. It's best to use actual lettering or appliqué fabric that you can purchase from lettering houses, such as Stahls' (www.transferexpress.com or www.stahlsid.com) or Dalco Athletic (www.dalcoathletic.com). If you don't have this fabric or want to use a different type of fabric, it works best if you adhere a welding or bonding film to the back of the fabric first before applying your pattern. (Go to Stitches.com to watch Joyce Jagger's video, “How to Prepare Appliqué Pieces.")
2. Polyester thread works best for appliqués that are going to be washed a lot, such as on a uniform. On a piece of denim this wouldn't be necessary, but it's extremely important to use it on uniforms.
3. Denim is a coarse fabric, so it's best to use a wide zigzag or satin stitch on denim. A minimum of a 3 mm- to 4 mm-wide stitch is even better, depending on the size of the appliqué piece. If you're using a metallic appliqué fabric, a 4 mm stitch is the minimum because this fabric will ravel very easily.
4. If you're embroidering over top of the heavy seam in the back of a denim jacket, lay a piece of topping (folded up several times) against the jacket's seam edge where the appliqué or embroidery will be going over the seam. This will give the embroidery a smoother transition from the lighter or thinner area to the heavier area. Many times when it's going over several layers of fabric like a heavy seam, it'll skip stitches or even get stuck in one spot. This technique will help prevent that from happening.
5. Make sure that your appliqué is pressed down by heat press or an iron as soon as you finish stitching. This is a must-do step that many embroiderers ignore. It gives it a finished look and helps to prolong the life of the appliqué as well. – JJ
TONIA COOK KIMBROUGH is a contributing writer for Stitches.