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There is any way to save my poloshirt

2467 Views 17 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  SunEmbroidery, 
edward1210
Hello all!!!!!!!
I'm still learning how to use my happy voyager machine,
I have a question there is any way how to save my poloshirt when the sewing is not good(stitches)
how can I remove the thread from the polo?

Thank you
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AndTees
You probably should have a "Peggy's Stitch Remover" - it's a small trimmer, like a hair trimmer.

You trim off the bobbin thread and the pattern falls out of the front. Sometimes I can save garment, most of the time you end up doing some damage anyway.

Plan on waste in your pricing.
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EXTouch
Sometimes, an exacto knife or a small razor does the trick even better than the Peggy's tool. I can get more detailed and really focus in on what I'm trying to undo.

But like Frank said, ometimes, the shirt is just done. I've actually "eaten" holes right through a shirt. Or you can do just as much damage trying to remove the stitches as the stitches did to the shirt. And some designs can't be taken out. :(
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ecampbell
If you have completely "eaten" through your shirt, consider repairing it with an applique design. If you have access to digitizing software you may at least be able to save the body of the shirt by creating an applique design larger than the damaged area. I've made some cool reverse-applique rough-cut designs just for this purpose.
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vgary
Invest in a good seam ripper too. I use one that is curved and is very sharp. It will get under those satin stitches and saw through them. There's a lot of pickiing to be done, but I find it better than the Peggy trimmer. You can find an assortment of seam rippers at your local Wally world in the sewing department.
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ecampbell
Those curved hook-blade rippers are great, but be careful, unless you want to lose the shirt to a bloodstain. Not that I have the scars to prove it or anything. ;)
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vgary
ecampbell said:
Those curved hook-blade rippers are great, but be careful, unless you want to lose the shirt to a bloodstain. Not that I have the scars to prove it or anything. ;)
Click to expand...
LOL! I have the scars to prove it too!:D
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EXTouch
LOL...Yeah I've gotten myself pretty good with a seam ripper too. Was on a roll ripping out a design and SLICE. Owwwwww. LOL.

@ecampbell...my business specializes in applique designs so I know I can cover it up or even just with a patch. I just usually don't care that much. LOL.
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ecampbell
I can imagine. I usually don't worry about it, but I've had occasion to help out non-profits with donations made from incorrectly run shirts. (Not to mention I've made a nice reject into something cool for yours truly every once in a while. . .)
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binki
seam ripper, peggys stitch eraser, magifying headset, and exacto knife.

For items like polos there will be damage but sometimes you can save them. The real question is 'is it worth the time or is it easier to get another polo?'
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ecampbell
That's the real test, isn't it. You have to figure the return on your investment of time and effort in order to save said damaged polo.
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lizziemaxine
When I first started in this business I tried to save all my mistakes. It took me about a year to realize it wasn't worth my time taking out stitches. In my scrap bag I still have some pieces from the first year that are waiting on me to take out the stitches and reuse the item. It's been 8 years so I'm thinking I'm never going to get around to doing that.
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ecampbell
We rarely save them for use on the original order, but we do very often cut them up and use them to run samples. We go through our old sample shirts at a pretty fast clip, though. I'm a stickler for sampling with identical color/texture materials for a job if I can get a chance at all,s o I am always running out of basic pique swatches. :) That said, I've made some cool logowear pieces for the staff gratis using damaged goods. At least they give us the materials to play with when we are developing something new or someone wants a donation.
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Buechee
Take a razor and shave the back stitches.
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SunEmbroidery
I agree, it generally isn't worth the time and effort to save a shirt although it can be especially frustrating when you have to pay for the shirt plus shipping. If you have a hole that needs to be repaired thee is a product made by Dritz (find at fabric store) called Stitch Witchery that will allow you to bind a scrap of the same fabric to the area. You"ll need an iron to do this but it works pretty well and can "save" a shirt.
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C
If you're new to embroidery, you probably should practice going through the stitch removal process. If you stitch on pieces your customers bring in, there will be times that you have to remove stitches and re-do, rather than throwing the piece away.

I use little curved blade nippers and clip the stitches from the top. I try to clip the entire top, before I start pulling out threads, and I flip to the back and use tweezers to pull the clipped threads. If you put a layer of solvy on top (before embroidery), it makes clipping even easier-and you're not as likely to cut the fabric.

One more thing-keep your hoop pressed to a flat surface while you're clipping, so you minimize the stretch and pull on the garment. If you're going to re-stitch, you want to try to go right over your previous stitch holes.
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D
Reading this thread with interest..... I have 3 polos that need to be redone -- the name/title (on rt. chest) was wrong. I'm just putting it off for right now.

Is it worth the damage to remove the entire name thing and restitch a whole new name on it? It's a cheaper, jersey knit 50/50 polo, if that makes any difference.
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SunEmbroidery
I wouldn't bother. Most likely you'll damage at least one of the shirts. Why put yourself through the aggrevation? If you made the mistake chalk it up to experience and save the misembroidered shirts for test material. Even if you don't have other jobs to embroider your time would be better spent marketing or doing something else.
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