Embroidery problems and how to fix them

Keep calm and… remove the stitches!

Please, don’t underestimate this great advice. Don’t forget that you’re dealing with an electric machine with needles. It is important to remain calm so that you can analyze the situation and make the right decisions. The embroidery machine only seems to give problems when we are embroidering a very valuable garment, or we have a very tight delivery date. Usually the problem exists because we are working in a hurry, and then the situation becomes even more complicated. But you should never try to fix the error in a hurry because the result can be even worse. If you have embroidered something incorrectly and try to undo the stitches, you may end up piercing the fabric. The key is to remain calm and patient while fixing the error, and this will give you a better result. In addition, if we are in a hurry, it is possible that we will make mistakes again.

Keep the garment in the hoop

When you detect an embroidery error, the first thing you should do is: (repeat it with me) DON’T remove the garment from the frame. This is a very simple recommendation, as the first reaction to an error is to remove the garment from the frame and remove it.

If you remove the garment from the hoop, it will be nearly impossible to hoop it back in exactly the same position. Whereas if you keep it in the hoop after correcting the mistake, you could proceed with the embroidery. All you have to do is find the correct stitch and start the embroidery machine again without having to readjust the machine. At least you will have a reference to restart the embroidery. When you discover an embroidery problem that you need to correct, take note of the exact point in the design where the error occurred. And when it comes to repair, you should always write down the stitch where the embroidery machine stopped.

Sometimes you can even write it down on the stabilizer used on the back of the garment. The problem will generally have occurred before that stitch, but at least you have a point of reference within the design. And later you can return to that point (or slightly before that stitch), when you have already corrected the error.

And why is it important to note where the error occurred in the picking point? Although the easy thing would be to leave the machine stopped until the error is resolved and the embroidery can be resumed, this is totally unproductive and the most efficient thing is to continue embroidering another garment unless the error repair is very simple. If you need 20 to 30 minutes to undo the stitches, you could use this time to embroider another 3-4 designs. It is advisable to have a spare frame (one or two of each size), to be able to remove the frame with the garment in which you have made a mistake and continue with your production with all the information about the error written down, to use it later.

How to undo stitches

In most cases, repairing an embroidery error requires undoing the stitches. It is preferable to undo only the part of the design that is incorrectly embroidered in order to embroider it correctly. Try to undo the minimum number of stitches, and not the entire design.

A little trick is to frame the design on a piece of paper or lining to mark the error on it and use it as a reference for the previous stitches. This way, you can use your point of origin (the starting point of the design) as a reference as well. Instead of starting the design in the center, you can start at a point in the previously embroidered design. After loading the stitches, you can find that point and align it with the embroidery machine.

Try to undo an entire part of the design, and not just the section that needs to be repeated. For example, if when embroidering a name we have made a mistake only in one letter, it will  be easier to align it if you undo all the letters before or after the error, instead of undoing only the incorrect letter and trying to align and repeat the embroidery of that single letter.

Embroider on top

Repair holes

Minimize wasted time