Preventing Puckered Embroidery

Presented on the Brother Live show Tuesday June 8th, 2021. 

My friend and fellow Brother Ambassador Angela Wolf, hosts the twice weekly Brother live shows and invited me to share tips for preventing embroidery puckers on this recent show. Below, you'll find an outline of the tips presented. I went into a lot more detail and showed lots of samples during the show.

1. ​Compatibility is key – match design density and fabric weight.
2. Carefully consider placement.
3. Use bonded backing on thin or stretchy fabrics.
4. Add interfacing or batting, then float tear-away underneath the hoop.
5. Stitch on a separate piece and then add to project.
6. Stiffen fabric with a liquid, wash-out stabilizer or starch.
7. Match hoop to design size for a snug fit.
8. Preset hoop tension.
9. Consider planned puckers with pre-quilted fabric.
10. Combine light weight layers of stabilizer.

Angela and I enjoyed having a lively conversation. As usual, comments coming in from viewers always spark good sewing conversation and lots of clever questions. 

During the show, I happened to mention the benefit of embroidering on pre-quilted fabric. I shared one of my favorite projects for single faced pre-quilted material, a custom hanger cover. Many asked for instructions so I'm including a link to the download HERE. You'll also find a 2 minute coordinating video showing a variety of hanger cover samples. These are quick and easy to make for your self or to give as a welcome gift. 

Back to the theme of the show, preventing puckers. Click below and you can watch the entire one hour and  six minute video to learn some of my all-time favorite tips for keeping puckers from spoiling your pretty embroidery projects.

Looking for even more in-depth information of preventing puckered embroidery? Many of my tips were included in a recent It's Sew Easy TV show. CLICK HERE to watch Preventing Puckers on It's Sew Easy TV show 2012-3. You'll find a detailed tip sheet I wrote to coordinate with this 7 minute show.

I'd love to hear about your embroidery experiences, with or without puckers. Please leave your comments below!