Please can someone help with this question? I am having t-shirts embroidered for the first time with Dakota Collectibles designs. I did not know they use a backing or stabilizer on the inside of the t-shirt. It feels kind of rough, is this normal? Won't customers complain once they feel this material?
Are there any options?
Also, should I ask for a specific type of thread to be used, which is better? Is it normal to also see some longer threads in the back of the t-shirt, not tightly cut? Thanks.
Embroidery designs MUST have backing--especially knits. If backing was not used, the embroidery design would be completely unacceptable.
The stiffness will soften after the first washing. If you have employed a professional embroidery shop, chances are they have used a backing in the appropriate weight for your design.
The longer threads on the back of the design is where the machine ties off on the color change.
Depends on the type of stablizer that was used as to how it will feel, but a stablizer must be used.
Be careful with what Dakota Collectibles designs you use on anything for resale. They have many licensed designs that are only for personal use and you can't use them on resale items.
Some permanent backings are softer than others. Many stock designs are very stitch-intensive. A stitch-intensive design can contribute to a general "rough" feeling. Embroidered designs should be hand trimmed but many embroiderers leave a "tail'. I wouldn't ask for a specific type of thead unless you need a certain PMS color. Generally rayon thread has more sheen but If your embroiderer runs poly expect to pay for your thread and shipping cost. Personally if someone requested that I use a particular embroidery thread brand that would be a signal to me that I don't want them as a customer.
Anything that is embroidered needs to have a stabilizer laid behind the design. There are different stabilizers and some can be quite tough. You may want to ask the vendor doing them to use a soft tear if it is not too late. There are different weights of stabilizer so you have to look at that also.
I use softtear and and sometimes an additional stabilizer behind that that will be removed after the stitching.
The thread should be a Poly or Rayon 40wt thread. And no, there should not be long threads hanging out of it. The person sewing them needs to trim them, but I am surprised at the thread being there like that. Dakota patterns should not do that. Did you perhaps resize the designs?
The size is the original size, not resized. THe threads in the back are not super long, but long enough to notice them. I guess I had not noticed the back of embroidery before, so did not know there was this somewhat tough white material with the threads.
About the prices for the license the previous points mentioned in above posts are good points to consider, but noticed that in their website Dakota offers discounts when buying even more than 4 or 6 designs. It would be nice if these discounts were also available at the embroidery shops. And I guess if I ever decide to change embroidery shops, I have to start at zero buying the same licenses again?
When you do final inspection of stuff you get and there are some strands hanging like mentioned you can take a lighter and just burn the small strands . . .ONLY the strands not the design.
There was a product that you could iron-on over the back of completed embroideries to eliminate that rough feeling. I think Gunold marketed it under the name Cover-The-Back. I'm not sure if anyone else produces a backing like it and I've never used it, but I did research it for a client with the same concerns.
Lots of companies carry the iron-on covering/backing, and of course they each call it something different. There is a thread here on TSF about it. Seems like there is a non-embroidery-specific use for this material - I think someone in the thread mentioned that the generic equivalent is available at most fabric shops.
Most embroidery shops put this backing on the back of baby items; many put it on the backs of t-shirts; and some of us put it on the back of nearly everything we stitch. This backing has many benefits - for your application: it is soft and it protects the skin from the irritating threads you've mentioned. It is applied with a heat press or with a home iron.
As for your threads, it's been pretty well covered above. Clipping or burning the tails will take care of them, but the back of the embroidery will still be rough. Covering it is your best bet - in my opinion.
Fusible tricot interfacing is the same as the specialty backing used for embroidery, and it is available at fabric stores or online. It comes in wider bolts/rolls than the Cloud Cover or Cover the Back or whatever, so you always have to cut width as well as length, but well worth the extra snip in my opinion, as it is a fraction of the cost (I genereally pay around $1.00 a yard, 60" width). I use it on all my tees.
There is a backing called poly mesh that is designed for fabrics like polos and t-shirts. It is lighter weight and doesn't show through the material and is softer.
I should clarify: by "backing" in my earlier post I meant the stuff that is used to cover the back of a finished design, not stabilizer backing. Tricot interfacing would make a poor stabilizer :-)
There was an article in Stitches magazine about this that I just got on Friday ... page 28 ... called Tame Your Tees. Maybe you can look it up on their website.
They used a polymesh cut-away stabilizer - it is light weight and looks like it has a waffle pattern (kind of looks like quilted toilet paper) - They didn't give a brand name for it - so maybe try a google search. Then after sewing and cutting the excess backing off they pressed on the Gunold Cover the Back.
It looks soft and comfy in the pictures.
Good Luck!
Question about embroidery on t-shirts 
