Machine Embroidery Applique Products Comparison

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The goal: To provide customers with a t-shirt that can be laundered as usual (wash and tossed into the dryer) without having to iron it afterwards. We did not want to have to pre-shrink the t-shirt and we did not want to pre-shrink the fabric we used for applique. See the results of our product testing below.

Machine Embroidery Applique Products Comparison

The test: We started with 5 t-shirts purchased from www.Monag.com. The shirts are listed as 4.8 - 5.3 oz. 100% Ring spun combed cotton, 30/S Jersey. Fabric is listed as 100% cotton. We did not
preshrink the shirts and we did not pre-shrink the applique fabric.

We used the exact same machine embroidery applique design on all 5 shirts. The t-shirts were all stabilized with a light
weight poly mesh cut away--this is a stabilizer we have excellent results with. We used the DigiStitches hooping method as shown in this video tutorial.

We followed the manufacturer's instructions when applying the fusible web stabilizer to the wrong side of the applique fabric.

All t-shirts were laundered on cold water with laundry detergent. We used one sheet of "Shout Color Catcher" in case the unwashed applique fabric bled **fabric dye. We placed all the t-shirts in the dryer on medium high heat and 5 minute cool down cycle, with a fabric softener sheet, until they were dry. All shirts were immediately removed from the dryer when dry. We lightly "hand pressed/ smoothed them and folded them. The shirts were not ironed after they were laundered.

Notice that the more the applique fabric wrinkles, the more the shirt itself wrinkles. You may be able to see this better by clicking on the thumbnail images above.

Shirt 1: Lite Steam A Seam 2. We used a mini iron to adhere the fabric to the t-shirt after tack down stitch and trimming and prior to the satin stitch. T-shirt was ironed after the t-shirt was unhooped.T-shirt was not ironed after laundering. Hands down the winner!

Shirt 2: Floriani Appli-Kay Wonder. We found this product way too sticky and therefore, it was hard to trim/ remove from small areas. We made the product less sticky by applying baby powder, with
a make up brush, prior to placing it on the t-shirt to applique--it worked GREAT and made absolutely no difference when ironing it to the t-shirt after embroidery was complete. T-shirt was not ironed after laundering.

Shirt 3: Heat n Bond Light (also known as HNBL). We used a mini iron to adhere the fabric to the t-shirt prior t the satin stitch. T-shirt was ironed after the t-shirt was unhooped. T-shirt was not ironed after laundering.

Shirt 4: Pellon Wunder Under. We used a mini iron to adhere the fabric to the t-shirt after tack down stitch and trimming and prior to the satin stitch. T-shirt was ironed after the t-shirt was unhooped. T-shirt was not ironed after laundering.

Shirt 5: No fusible stabilizer was applied to the applique fabric. T-shirt was ironed after the t-shirt was unhooped. T-shirt was not ironed after laundering.

Important note: There are several different kinds of Steam A Seam. We purchased a package of Steam A Seam Light 2 5-9x12 sheets at Joann Fabrics on the notions wall, regular price $3.99. The
SKU# is 53705 05417. The things we didn't like about this product is that it has a waxy paper backing on both sides (as opposed to the other products that have paper backing on one side only) We also thought that the product was pricey as Joanns sells it by a package and not by the yard.

The good news is that Fabric Depot has Lite Steam A Seam (item #5315) with paper backing only on one side--regular price is $3.89. It is available by the yard in both 12 and 24 inch widths. Fabric Depot informed us if you order the entire bolt of 25 yards they discount the product 40% off the regular price. The discount does not show up in the cart, however once you put the order through they stated they will apply the discount to your order prior to your credit card being charged. Here is the link to the Light Steam A Seam we ordered:

http://fabricdepot.com/index.php?page=ProductPage&pageid=128009

Please follow the manufacturers instructions when using this product.

We are not affiliated in any way with the manufacturers of the products or the websites listed.

** We use Shout Color Catchers in the washing machine. Please know that all fabrics perform differently and some colored fabrics, such as red, may need tested and or/ pre-washed prior to its use.

Instant download! You will receive a single zip file that will include all *available* sizes. Formats available are: ART, DST, EXP, JEF, HUS, PCS, PES, SEW, VIP, VP3 & XXX. (Please note that PCS and SEW formats will only include 4x4 files when available for the design)

These are digital machine embroidery designs…NOT a finished product. You must own an embroidery machine & know how to unzip your files and transfer files to your machine.
If you have any questions, please visit our FAQ and TERMS OF USE pages where you may find your answer. If you still need assistance, please CONTACT US and our support staff will assist you.

Our designs are manually digitized and test stitched before release. For best results we recommend stitching our designs unaltered on projects hooped with stabilizer appropriate for the material being used. We cannot guarantee results when our designs have been modified in software or non-traditional hooping methods are used. We highly recommend doing a test stitch on an altered design before putting it on a valuable blank.That being said, we are often asked for a recommendation for embroidery editing software for customizing purposes:

Designs by JuJu recommends the user friendly Embrilliance embroidery editing software to type out fonts in BX format, combine/merge designs, personalize and customize projects and more! Check out their programs Essentials, Enthusiast, StitchArtist , and Thumbnailer to learn more about their other useful, fun and easy features!

Where hoop sizes are mentioned, we are referring to standard hoop sizes:
4x4 (100mm x 100mm)
5x7 (130mm x 180mm)
6x10 (160mm x 260mm)
8x8 (200mm x 200mm)
7x12 (180mm x 300mm)
8x12 (200mm x 300mm)
9.5x14 (240mm x 360mm)
10.5x16 (272mmx460mm)
It is your responsibility to understand your hoop capabilities. Please note that "in the hoop" and "applique" designs can NOT be used with a repositionable / multi positional hoop.
NO REFUNDS per our policies.

Due to the numerous types of embroidery machines and software programs available, we are unable to offer technical support for machine or software questions. Please refer to your machine manufacturer's manual or software's help feature if you have questions.

Legal Notice: Making a copy, by any means, of our artwork or embroidery design files is a violation of copyright law. Our design files are licensed to the original customer only for embroidery use only at one location.

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Machine Embroidery Applique Products Comparison