Basics for Beginners
There's a bit of a conundrum in the sewing world. Beginning sewers generally have basic machines and learn all they can of the traditional rules of sewing. After a few years, many will graduate up to a larger machine with more bells ‘n whistles, maybe even including a machine embroidery module. At the same time, they discard almost all of the basic rules of sewing that they have learned! The conundrum is that basic stitchers seem to know more than advanced stitchers with the embroidery machines!
The first new rule I heard when starting machine embroidery was that it was necessary to use a much thinner bobbin thread, which only comes in white or black. I have many issues with this rule. First, even my husband remembers in his 7th grade Cooks and Tailors class that the bobbin thread is wound off the spool of thread used for the project. It is the same weight and same color, making for the most optimal physical and visual impact. If the bobbin thread at 60-wt. is that much thinner than the machine embroidery thread at 40-wt. the embroidery machine has to be severely adjusted for tension, even if the machine has the ability for self-adjustment. The difference in weight throws off the entire embroidered piece. And, if a different color is used for the bobbin, any glitch in the stitching shows up at the top in glaring detail.
When stitching out free-standing lace embroidery designs, many stitchers are not happy with the finished item. Many of them fall apart instead of holding together properly, and many of them look scraggly instead of like beautiful lace. Almost 100% off the time the culprit for these issues is the use of bobbin-weight thread in the bobbin. Once a stitcher tries the same thread in the bobbin and the top, they are perfectly happy with their machine embroidery efforts.
Two other stitches also require the same bobbin thread in the bobbin. The first is the satin stitch. Thinner bobbins thread both pulls too much of the top thread to the back of the piece and has a tendency to show at the edges of the satin stitching. If white or black bobbin thread is used under a different color satin stitch, the finished embroidery design looks horrible. The second stitch type that requires the same top and bottom thread is redwork. Redwork embroidery is very close to the regular sewing stitch used to create seams and hems. The first thing we are taught in sewing is to make sure that we use the same thread top and bottom!
Another subject that bothers me in the world of machine embroidery is the insistence that only those supplies specifically marketed for machine embroidery can be used. For instance, take embroidery stabilizers vs. sewing interfacing. Yes, they are called by different names, but it is the same exact stuff. The major difference is that interfacing comes in a much wider variety and costs a lot less. Embroidery stabilizer comes in smaller quantities and costs a lot more. Of course, there are some specialty types, like water-soluble stabilizer used for free-standing lace, but all of the others can be inexpensively purchased from the interfacing rack instead of the embroidery aisle.
There are many reasons (excuses) by those who insist that bobbin thread and embroidery only stabilizers should be used. But, what they forget is that machine embroidery is just another form of sewing and that all basic sewing rules and supplies should be used as much as possible! Throwing out basic wisdom will not help achieve perfect machine embroidery designs! So, instead of limiting ourselves to always and nevers, let's remember the basics, try new techniques and remember that our options are endless and in all price ranges!
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