advice on embroidery for jackets

Kuberoom.com

Hi All,

Bear with me, I am new to the business (infact my website is currently with the host but will be up soon) and this is also the first time I have used this site. I have a customer who needs jackets embroidered with a chest logo and I can not see a way of hooping the jacket to make it stable with the lining still in (outershell and then cotton lining), do I need to unpick lining or can I embrioder straight onto the jacket with the outshell and lining hooped together. Please help!!

Marc

Welcome to the forums
Do you have a home or commercial machine?

If you have a commercial machine, what do you mean by not being stable? Is the jacket too thick that it makes the hoop separate or is there something in the way that prevents proper hooping? Invest in double-height wooden/plastic hoops or clamping system.
It's normal to embroider the outer shell and lining together. It's really not practical to have to take the seam apart unless you're an experienced seamster/seamstress and are willing to charge a lot more for the extra service. Customers hate extra charges. In fact, they may interpret it as some sort of hidden charge and go elsewhere.

There are jackets especially made for the embroidery industry that provide easy access for hooping and prevents the wrong side/reverse side of the embroidered design from showing on the jacket lining by implementing hidden openings/flaps. Unfortunately, these types of jackets are not as common as we would like them to be and your average customers are not really thinking of the technical aspect of embroidering while shopping around for jackets.

You should let your customer know ahead of time that the wrong/reverse side of the design will be visible on the lining and that it's completely normal before you do the order. Mention that the embroidered jackets they see at department stores are created in the thousands and that the designs are embroidered on the outer shell material before the jackets are assembled.

Kuberoom.com

Hi Marc

I have a single head Happy Machine (Industrial). By 'Stable' I mean that there is a skin like surface in the hooped area to ensure that the design is accurate and no pull or sinking occurs. Because I am hooping 2 layers of material, I was concerned that this would alter the outcome of the design.

Marc

Are you referring to a water-soluble film (topping) by "skin like surface in the hooped area"? Toppings are used for fabrics that have raised fibers to even the surface, loft the design, and prevent the fibers from getting between the stitches. If the outer shell material of the jacket is smooth, you really don't need a topping. The only issue I've ever had with thick jackets is the possibility of the hoop separating while the machine is stitching. This can be easily solved with double-height wooden/plastic hoops or clamping system, or converting the machine from tubular to flat.
If the design is digitized properly for its intended application, you should not have a problem. If the jacket is really thick, instead of having underlay in segments, it could be applied to the entire design first to secure the outer shell, middle stuffing, and lining together.

Marc

The last part should be: "...outer shell, middle stuffing, lining, and backing together."

Kuberoom.com

Hi Marc

Thanks for that, I used a fusiable cutaway for the jackets and it turned out OK - thank goodness - I suppose its just a matter of my increasing my confidence, it was so good to be able to get some advice from someone who knows! Have a good day.