[amayausers] Re: Backing Suppliers & Hooping
- From: "E. Orantes" <e3m@xxxxxxx>
- To: <amayausers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2004 12:49:44 -0500
John,
Between Tear-Away and Cut-Away...
It was once told to me,.. if it touches the skin, use cut-away (it's
softer, especially after washing) otherwise, use tear-away (hats, bags,...)
Use your best judgment knowing that tear-away is easier but cut-away is
stronger.
I think the wife uses "threadetc.com" when purchasing such supplies. The
quality is good and prices are about average. I wouldn't want this to be an
area where I'd skimp on cost as backing can be very important to the final
product depending on (and not limited to) the garment, design, and the
machine your stitching on.
Now, More Importantly...
Keep in mind that the Amaya, with it's "tensionless thread feed system",
significantly reduces the amount of backing needed. Remember that backing
is a fabric stabilizer. Stabilizing is necessary because of all the tension
put on the thread from the tension knobs (and bobbin case) on the machine -
especially if the knobs are set way too tight (very common). In this area,
more is definitely not better. Too much thread tension, if the thread
doesn't break, will be cause for "puckering" and possibly bobbin showing on
the topside of garment.
Imagine for a moment that you are hand embroidering a simple design on a
Kleenex tissue. You've got your needle and thread and after every stitch,
how tight are you going to pull on that thread before you start to make that
next stitch? Only tight enough to take out the slack and so that the thread
lays smoothly on the tissue (garment). If you don't pull all the slack out
between stitches, you would have "looping". If you pull excessively on the
thread (too much tension), one or more of three things could happen: you'll
either squeeze the fluff out of the delicate tissue (puckering), tear the
tissue, or the thread will break.
With that said, fabric that is very flimsy or stretchy, or if held up to the
light and the light can be seen through the garment, will probably always
need to have some form of stability (backing). Otherwise, the Amaya, if the
material thickness is set correctly (oh so very important), will present the
necessary amount of thread between each stitch so that the thread lays
smooth on the garment with the only tension being in the bobbin area simply
there to regulate any inconsistencies with the thread or design. Please
consider this:
Material Thickness set:
Too low...
-thread breaks and possibly pull outs
-puckering
-premature wear/cutting of thread feed wheels
-bobbin showing on top side of garment
-needle breaks
Too high...
-looping - most probably "false thread breaks" before looping begins to
show
-thread breaks - or maybe we should call these "thread cuts" because the
thread is cut by the rotary hook (rotates around the bobbin)
If you ask me, it's better to start with a higher material thickness and
work your way down. The "HELP" button in the material thickness window is a
good guide of where to start.
When I do a test sew out on one piece of cut-away backing, I prefer a
material thickness of 4 or 5 as opposed to the default setting of 3.
KEEP IN MIND that although you can run a lot of garments successfully on a
lower material thickness setting (say 2 or 3), you may be sacrificing your
thread feed rollers and not even know it. If the garment calls for more
thread than what is being delivered, and the thread doesn't break, then the
necessary thread will simply be "pulled" through the rubber/plastic wheels
and a "flossing effect" will take place cutting tiny grooves in the rubber
wheel. Over a period of time the wheels won't function as they were
designed to and you'll wonder "what's wrong with my machine"?
This can also be the case if you like to run the machine with the bobbin too
tight. If the bobbin's too tight, it will pull more thread to the underside
of the garment. And bobbin tension can increase over time due to lint and
wax build up in the tension spring. Be sure to clean your bobbin case well
and perform the "yo-yo" test with every new bobbin spool. DO NOT scratch
the bobbin case (say with a tiny screw driver)as it is supposed to be highly
polished and smooth. Some people use the corner of a business card and
others like edge of a small piece of paper folded in half to "dig out"
debris from the tension spring.
I'll get off the soap box now but good luck to you John.
Ed Orantes
Amaya Technician/Owner
New Orleans, La.
cell: 504-258-6260
shop: 504-EMBROIDery
emservice@xxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of John Yaglenski
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 10:43 PM
To: amayausers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [amayausers] Backing Suppliers & Hooping
It's time to restock the ship with backing and I'd thought I'd post before I
order.
We do a lot of polos and tshirts. The more I have gotten into the business,
the more I look at the way others do things. I have noticed on Pique and
T-shirts most everything is double backed. We even embroidered some names
on sweatshirts today that had been done by someone else and even they were
double backed.
So, my questions...
When do you double back things (if you do) and what kind and weight backing
do you use? Tear Away, Cut Away?
Who is the best Supplier for backing. We need some Cut Away, Solvy and
Sticky Backing for the fast frames we got with the amaya? Who has the best
product (most important) at the most reasonable prices?
On the Hooping front... My wife and I just cant get used to the round hoops.
Seems we are always getting sew outs slightly slanted. Our brother machine
had square hoops which were easy to line up on polos. Is there some trick
someone has, or will a hooping device solve the issue?
Thanks as always for the great advice. I am learning a ton.
- - - - - - - -
John Yaglenski
Levelbest Embroidery
I: www.levelbestembroidery.com
P: 240.422.1321
F: 781.998.6473
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