Solving Piquè Problems Embroidery Project

This article was originally published in the quarterly newsletter of The Embroidery Store, April 2005. If you’d like to receive your free copy, go to www.embstore.com. Reprinted with permission.

Due to their overwhelming popularity, all embroiderers are eventually faced with the challenge of sewing on a piquè placket shirt. Piquè may look weighty due to the bubbly texture of the fabric, but in fact, it is much lighter than a woven and provides very little stability or support. Its textured surface also is not ideal for producing crisp, smooth embroidery.

Because the weave of the knit is loose, stitches have a tendency to sink into the fabric and disappear. This is especially true with small lettering and narrow columns. Highly detailed designs with lots of stitches also cause problems because the needle is penetrating the same spot over and over again, which often creates a hole. This hole may grow as the fabric is stretched. Another common occurrence with high-density designs is the needle splits the yarn causing it to fray. Done enough times, it creates a hole that may start to unravel.

There are a number of solutions to try with the first being trying to persuade your customer to use bigger lettering, thicken columns, or take some of the detail out of the design, thus decreasing the stitch count. However, in some cases, this is not possible without significantly affecting the integrity of the design. When altering is not an option, your next step, in the case of small lettering and narrow columns, is to use an underlay. An underlay will provide more support for the top stitches allowing these threads to lie on top of the fabric instead of sinking in.

Another trick is to reduce the stitch density. You want to avoid taking out so many stitches that it does not provide adequate coverage, but the more stitches you delete, the less stress on the fabric, which helps keep stitches from sinking in.

Problems caused by highly detailed, high stitch count designs also can be lessened by eliminating some of the details or by using a topping along with your stabilizer. This provides more support for closely packed stitches. You also can try reducing the number of stitches in the fill pattern if there is one.

Every job is unique and therefore, embroiderers often have to be creative in finding ways to make a design work. Hopefully these tips provide a starting point in your search to finding ways to sew sharp, clean embroidery on piquè.