Preparing Knit Fabric for Embroidery

 Blogger: Ashley Feriante

 Preparing Knit Fabric for Embroidery

Adding hand embroidery is my favorite way to add an extra special detail to a handmade outfit.  One of the most common questions I see about hand embroidering on clothing is always “can I hand embroider on knit fabric?”  and the answer is, “Absolutely!”  With just a little bit of extra consideration and prep work, knit fabrics can be hand embroidered just as successfully as woven fabrics.

To embroidery on knit fabrics you will need:

• An embroidery hoop.  I prefer plastic hoops when using knit fabrics because they tend to be a little more gentle and snag less than wood hoops
• Woven fusible interfacing such as Pellon SF101 or similar

• An embroidery needle.  Sizes 6-8 are a great starting point that are small enough to not damage the knit fabric, yet large enough to fit several strands for larger pieces

The first thing to consider when embroidering on knit fabric is the size and density of your embroidery pattern. Smaller, less dense designs are better suited to knit fabrics. An overly large or dense design can cause puckering in the fabric and can limit the fabric’s stretch too much, which can affect the fit of the final garment. Another important thing to consider is the intended fit of the garment. Relaxed or semi-fitted styles allow the embroidery to lay nicely on the finished garment while a tight-fitting pattern that stretches across the body can distort the finished embroidery.  Once you’ve picked a compatible clothing and embroidery pattern, you’re ready to start prepping your fabric!

The first step is the same for any embroidery project.  Start by cutting a piece of fabric larger than both your pattern piece AND your embroidery hoop. Cutting your pattern piece out before embroidering can cause it to not fit properly in the hoop, which is an important part of preventing puckers in your finished embroidery. 

Next, cut a piece of fusible interfacing larger than your embroidery hoop.  It does not need to cover the entire piece of fabric. The extra interfacing will be trimmed away when the embroidery is finished. This interfacing is what will stabilize your knit fabric during embroidery. 

Place the fusible interfacing on the wrong side of your fabric, and vaguely outline where your embroidery will be. Do not actually transfer your embroidery design to your fabric yet- you still need to fuse the interfacing first! Notice that I have flipped my embroidery design to mark its placement on the wrong side of the fabric so that it will be facing the correct direction on the right side of the fabric. 

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and fuse the interfacing inside of the marked area.  Don’t worry about perfectly fusing it or accidently fusing beyond the pattern outline.  “Good enough” really is good enough for this step.  Perfecting the interfacing will come at the end. Here you can see that the interfacing is fused roughly where the design will be and left unfused around the edges. 

 If you are drawing your design on to your fabric, transfer the design now.  If you are using a sticky stabilizer to transfer your design, that will be done after the fabric is hooped. Now you are ready to hoop your fabric. Start by placing the inner piece of your hoop on a flat surface and place your fabric, right side up, on top.  Center the fabric over the hoop, and make sure that the interfacing extends beyond the edges of the hoop. Gently place the outer piece of the hoop over the inner piece, sandwiching the fabric in between. Take care not to force the outer hoop piece over the inner piece.  This can damage your fabric, especially knit fabrics. 

Tighten the screw on your hoop halfway. Gently pull the fabric and interfacing taught in the hoop. Take a close look at the grainline of your fabric and make sure that it is nice and straight throughout the entire hoop. Be sure to pull the fabric and the interfacing together to prevent stretching the fabric too tightly. Tighten the screw fully to secure the fabric.

Now this part is important. Emphasis on the important. This is where the puckers sneak in. You might have seen or heard that your fabric should be “drum tight” in your embroidery hoop. This is correct if, and only if, you plan on leaving your piece in a hoop for display. Hooping your fabric “drum-tight” stretches the fabric, no matter if it’s woven or knit. When that piece is taken out of the hoop and the tension is released, the fabric relaxes and puckers around the embroidery. On the other hand, if the fabric isn’t hooped tightly enough, your stitches may pull too tightly over the fabric causing, you guessed it, more puckers.  The key to pucker-free embroidery on garments is to hoop your fabric tightly enough that it doesn’t shift around in the hoop, but not so tightly that it distorts the grain.  To test if your fabric tension is correct, gently press a finger into the center of the fabric.  You should see a small dimple that moves only slightly. Tighten or loosen your fabric if necessary.

If you are using a sticky stabilizer to transfer your embroidery pattern, do that now. Follow the embroidery pattern as directed to complete your embroidery taking care not to pull your stitches too tightly. Your stitches should be taught without pulling the fabric. 

Remove your embroidery from the hoop and rinse thoroughly to remove any markings or sticky stabilizer.

While the fabric is still wet, peel the fusible interfacing from the fabric, right to the edges of the embroidery.  Take care not to pull excessively on the stitches. 

Using a removable marking tool, trace an outline on the interfacing ⅛” (0.3 cm) around the outer edges of the embroidery. Carefully cut on the traced outline to remove the excess interfacing. Curved embroidery scissors are helpful to navigate the small curves.  

Carefully re-fuse the edges of the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric. Be sure to use a press cloth when ironing over your embroidery.  Most embroidery floss has polyester content and can melt under high heat from an iron! Press your embroidery from the front and back, using a steam setting if possible. If any pesky puckers form, slightly stretching the fabric while steam pressing can lessen the puckers.  

Now your pattern piece is ready to be cut from your prepared fabric.  Carefully center your embroidery and cut your pattern piece. Now you’re ready to assemble your garment!

If you are embroidering on an unlined pattern piece, a stitch covering such as Cloud Cover or Tender Touch may be used to make the back of the embroidery more comfortable against the wearer’s skin. Place the stitch cover over the back of the embroidery, taking care to place the fusible side of the cover against the wrong side of the pattern piece.  Use a removable marking tool to trace an outline ¼” (0.6 cm) around the outer edges of the embroidery.  

Follow the manufacturer’s directions to fuse the stitch cover to the wrong side of the pattern piece. Now your embroidery is ready to be worn!