Embroidery on Towelling
Towelling varies in weight from velour, to heavy weight to stretch towelling. Each of these need to be handled differently to compensate for the varying piles of the fabric.
Digitizing
Firstly a suitable design must be selected. It should have few or no outline stitches, as they will disappear into the pile of the fabric. If a design requires an outline stitch to define it, it is best to use a satin stitch.
It is a good idea to use appliqué for large areas, it should be backed so that it will not pucker.
Underlay
Extra underlay will need to be applied to prevent loops from showing through your top stitching.
Backing
It is preferable to use wash-away or melt-away backings as they leave little if any residue.
Topping
To get the best finish you should use a topping to control any difficult to manage loops that try to pop up between stitches. If a water soluble topping is used then once the article has been washed and the topping disappears loops will poke through the stitches. For this reason it is best to use either a vanishing muslin or dry cleaner bags.
Framing
When framing velour the nap should run up so that the colour appears darker and the towelling richer when it is rubbed downward.
If any marks remain on the fabric when it is taken out of the frame then they can be removed using a hand held steamer, this will also remove the topping.
Stitching
All thread types can be used on towelling but polyester is probably the best all rounder. It is strong and has a high colourfastness, this is important for heavily laundered items, such as towels.
Remember when working with darker towelling that the colour may bleed on to light coloured embroidery threads, it is a good idea to wash the fabric before embroidering it.

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