Embroidering lingerie and lingerie style fabrics  can, and does, pose particular problems. Lingerie (a term mainly used to describe women’s underwear) is designed to be visually alluring and, as such, is usually made with the more sensual fabrics such as satin, polyester, silk, nylon and lace.

Whilst these fabrics give the garment “the look” they are not amongst the easiest to sew and can be even harder to embroider. Embroidery, as we all know, involves putting a lot of stitches into a small area to develop a pattern or design and, as most fabrics used for this style of garment are woven, this alone can give problems, with the main one being puckering. This is the wrinkled effect that shows around the edge of the embroidery and is one of the most common problems as well as being one of the most difficult to combat. One thing is for sure though, which is that to achieve embroidery you have to use a needle and thread, which is where we will start.

The thread    

Many years ago you would only see silk threads used to decorate this style of garment but, over the years, this became too expensive and, based on cost, would have limited the available markets. It was viscose rayon such as Falc Filoray that came to the rescue with a look and feel that, whilst not equal to silk, came very close. More recently polyester threads like Falc Filopol have taken centre stage for general embroidery but for lingerie rayon still has a couple of advantages. Firstly it has lower elasticity and will therefore reduce the risk of puckering and secondly, because of the way it is dyed, it can have a wider and more varied colour range especially where subtle pastel shades are concerned. Although the new polyester threads are difficult to tell apart from the rayon, the latter still has appeal where this style of embroidery is concerned and the discerning customer can tell the difference.

The pattern    

This is an area that is all too often ignored. Unfortunately too many digitisers and embroiderers think that one pattern fits all jobs. Embroiderers can be partly forgiven for this but digitisers should know better. Different fabrics have different requirements, for instance, where packing stitches are concerned. The more stable the fabric the less packing is needed. Digitisers such as those at YES have this information readily to hand and work to achieve the best quality stitching, but there are other areas of consideration such as stitch length for instance. To get the results you want it is vital that the pattern is digitised with the fabrics in mind but remember that this cannot be done if you don’t tell the digitiser. It is no good moaning about the quality if you did not tell them that the embroidery pattern is for satin. In fact, to ensure the best results it is preferable to send a sample of fabric especially if it is outside of the norm.

The needle    

This is a real sticky problem as most embroiderers only change a needle when they have to, such as when one breaks. In manufacturing this would not be allowed. In fact, one large high street chain used to insist that manufacturers changed the needle twice a day when sewing lingerie. Now although that is not necessary for embroidery, it is important that the needle matches the fabric.

Some garments are made from fabric that will easily damage – a problem that can be alleviated by using the correct needle. The slower speeds in embroidery give more flexibility to the type of needle used but it is still something that embroiderers should pay attention to. The quality, size and the type of point are the three critical areas. It is not possible to give individual guidance here as the finish and weight of the fabric makes a difference to your choice but be sure to give it some attention. Using the correct needle can save you a lot of headaches.

The backing or topping  

This is a difficult one as, depending on the type of garment, you may not be able to use it because it will show on the finished garment. The good news is that woven fabrics have less need for support, but the bad news is that lightweight wovens do. With a few exceptions lingerie tends to be double sided, meaning that you can see both sides of the fabric. This is apart from the fact that many of the fabrics are sheer so the back of the embroidery can be easily seen. If the style means that you cannot use a standard backing then consider a water soluble one. Apart from being difficult to see, it will disappear during the first wash. It may of course be impossible to embroider some fabrics without a standard backing and your customer may have to compromise. If you do have to use one think about how you will remove it. Lingerie fabrics tend to be lightweight and may therefore distort or even rip if you simply tear the backing away.

There’s no question that lingerie is not easy to embroider but the fact remains that it has been successfully decorated for many years. With a little care, quality work can easily be achieved, resulting in a satisfied customer and, hopefully, a repeat order. Remember, lingerie is designed to be visually alluring so the embroidery must act in a complimentary way not just in design but also in execution.

For more information contact Your Embroidery Services Ltd on 01623 863343 or e-mail sales@yesltd.co.uk

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