This article will help you to do embroidery on fleece. Fleece has become very popular in my shop and I'm sure you all have been asked to create beautiful designs on it. Here are some tips for making the task a little easier and with a professional end result.

I think it's important to take the time to practice embroidering on different types of fabrics. A trip to the local fabric store will give you a strong indication of current, as well as upcoming, trends in the garment industry. Start by buying yourself some sample yardage to play with. If you are digitizing, use fabrics similar to the finished garment for your sew-outs. By practicing, you can be prepared for even the toughest jobs. If you have not tried fleece, now is the time. Before you know it, you will be ready to tackle this popular outerwear item.

Underlay stitching is especially important for stabilizing this type of fabric. Supplying accurate information on fabric type to your digitizer will result in better embroideries and increased productivity for the embroidery machines. Digitizers need as much information as possible before they begin creating the design. Once a design is digitized, using the proper combination of backing, topping, thread and needle will enhance a properly digitized design and give you fantastic embroidery results.

With a properly digitized design, one to two pieces of medium to lightweight cutaway backing should be sufficient for most types of fleece. Cutaway backing in conjunction with adequate underlay will stabilize the fabric and maintain proper registration throughout the design. If you find yourself placing more than two layers of backing under a design to get it to sew properly, chances are the design needs to go back to the digitizing department. Two layers - and in most cases one - is all you should need for proper registration.

A topping is a layer of water-soluble material placed on the top side of the fabric being stitched. Topping helps to stabilize, cover and hold down the nap of the fabric and prevent stitches from sinking in. This becomes especially important with textured fleece. There are many different types of toppings available so be sure to check with your supplier to see what the company offers. Toppings can be either water-soluble (which means it will dissolve when the garment is washed) or permanent in nature.

Fleece has a loft to it that can be crushed in the framing process. It is important to remember that proper tension on the frame can eliminate hoop burn. Emphasis should be placed on how taut the fabric is in the hoop, not how tight the hoop is. There is a balance of tightness and tautness that ideally supports the fabric without creating hoop burn. Place the bottom section of the hoop behind the fabric to be embroidered and place the backing on top of the back hoop. Now smooth out the fabric to be embroidered and place the top of the top hoop into the back hoop, smooth the fabric again with the other hand and press the two hoops together. Ideally you should feel a slight 'POP' when they connect. The taut fabric should resemble the top of a drum. Perfect!

After your fleece has been embroidered clipped and cleaned, you may notice hoop marks on the darker colors. This is caused by the fibers in the fabric being pinched. I just mist the area lightly with water and rub lightly with my fingers to help the fibers return to normal and eliminate the hoop mark. Even if there are no hoop marks, you still want to present the customer's goods to them with a professional appearance. Finishing plays an important role in repeat business.

When stitching fleece, the most important tip to remember is experiment until you find the right combination of backing, topping, hooping technique, thread and needles to give you the best finished designs. By paying close attention to quality, you're sure to have many repeat orders from your fleece customers.