Detangling Week

Are you afraid of embroidery problems?
Go from "Oh no!" to "I fixed it!"

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This week Embroidery.com celebrates the problems in embroidery, mostly because there's a solution to every problem! Join us to learn about problems you might face and what to do about them. We will be sharing educational resources, quizzing you, having games, and giving you tips!

• What if my needle breaks? 
  stop everything.  Find the parts of the needle.  Figure out what caused the break (thread not coming freely off spool? birdnesting?).  Fix that. Replace the needle. First loosen the needle screw. Insert the needle it as far as it will go, hold in place, and tighten well.
• What if the bobbin thread starts showing on top?
  stop.  Check the top thread path.  You can back up and stitch over the spot, or use fiber markers to fix small areas.
• What if the thread bunches up under the plate?
  we call that a bird's nest or thread nest.  See the featured video below on how to fix it.  
• What if the outline is off?
  Usually that's fabric pull, from not having the right amount of stabilization.  See the featured stabilizer video below to learn how to choose the right one.
• What if I need to remove stitches?
  So many possibilities here.  An old fashioned seam ripper is a great tool. Tweezers and scissors on hand are also great. Nothing is more therapeutic than removing satin stitches by first cutting the bobbin thread on back and pulling off the top thread.  For fills, it's more complicated.  Razors can be used with care, and there are products marketed as stitch erasers that can help if you're doing large areas out of onecessity.  Each method is tedious and dangerous.

Events:
Featured Film: How Stabilizers save your outline:

If it happens to you a lot that the outlines are always off on one side, the solution to prevent further mishaps of this type is in this video!  

Featured Film: Bird's Nesting
We call it by a cute name, but bird's nesting is not fun.  Your machine keeps moving, your hoop keeps moving, but you notice the fabric in the hoop is trying to stay still, stuck at the same spot where the needle is. So you stop the machine and try to peek under the hoop, which is tightly held against the plate.  If you can access the bobbin area, you'll see lots of thread that doesn't belong there. If you can't, you' might see a thick bunch of thread between the plate and your stabilizer.  You can recover from bird's nesting, but with just a pair of scissors, that can be really tricky.  We recommend a special tool instead.

Featured Film: Thread Shedding

Thread shedding is what we call it when thread strips off of thread; the strands come undone while stitching. Sometimes you'll find half the thread still coming through the needle, and half the thread wrapped around the presser foot.  Not fun!  There are certain conditions that can lead to shedding, and you can learn to preven them.

Popular Items of DIME Nesting Tools

Stitch Ripper

Stitch Ripper™ - Replacement Blades

Birds Nest Tool Kit by DIME

60-Peg Thread Rack

Exquisite® Thread Assortment Bundle - 60pk 1k Meter Spools + Thread Rack