Role & Application Of Topping In Embroidery

• Topping stabilizers are placed over the design to prevent stitching from ‘sinking’ into the fabric.

• Toppings are used in embroidery to ensure clear and neat stitches, hence improves embroidery quality.

• Topping is used with fabrics that are more ‘stitch absorbent’ or textured, such as terry cloth or wool fabrics.

Two Types Of Toppings:

Water Soluble and Heat Away are available.

Aqua-top/water soluble topping is a water-soluble plastic film used on the top of an embroidery design either hooped or secured with pins, particularly helpful for embroidering fleece.

This type dissolves when washed with water, typically used for achieving clarity in embroidery. Ideal for small lettering on thick fabrics like caps.

Heat and gone topping is a good choice for fabrics that you prefer not to make wet such as velvet, wool, satin, etc. Also its workable for high pile fabrics such as towels and terry cloth. Remember to use a low to medium setting on your iron to remove the residues, as high temperature will dissolve the product and make it melt back into the stitching.

Washaway Vs Heataway Toppings

• The heat away topping maintains better clarity and detail after washing compared to the water-soluble one.

• Water-soluble topping might suffice for less frequent washing or fabrics that don’t require as much durability in the stitches.

• Heat away, as the name suggests, is a product that will disappear when you apply heat, we use it as a topping typically on things like towels.

• We often use water soluble topping on towels or anywhere where you want the stitches to not disappear into the fabric or you’ve got a heavy nap or a pile like a towel.

• We can use any of the topping whenever doing small lettering or anything that’s quite intricate even on a woven shirt.

• The main thing with the heataway topping is that you don’t have to wet the garment so you don’t have to immerse it in water or spray on it and for some fabrics that’s the last thing you want to do because you might end up with a bit of a water stain.

• Water soluble topping dissolves in cold water. If it’s a humid day u might see that your water soluble topping has gone pretty soft. But if its a really bad humid day, then they’re kind of difficult to work with. However, heataways doesn’t suffer any issues with humidity.

• To remove heataway toppings, quickly run hot iron over the embroidery. Do not stop moving the iron, otherwise there is a possibility of burning the design.

Uses Of Water Soluble Topping

Wash-away topper is a thin piece of plastic-looking material, ideally used as a topping for fabrics with a pile, like terrycloth or velour, loosely knit pique, sweaters, corduroy, fleece, and velvet, keeping the embroidery crisp. Used for temporary support on delicate, mesh-like, and difficult-to-mark fabrics. Ideal for small lettering on thick fabrics like caps.

Applying water-soluble stabilizer on top, prevents the fabric loops from showing through the stitches. Water-soluble topping on top of non-stretchy fabrics can elevate the appearance of stitches, giving them a more professional finish. Also prevent hoop burns on the fabric.

Water-soluble topping is crucial for creating quality embroidery designs and can rectify designs that lack the desired quality. It smoothens embroidery on fabrics with raised or rough textures, ensuring a polished appearance by helping the thread remain on top of the garment.

While some digitizers can design to reduce the need for soluble film, many do not possess this skill, making the use of topping essential.

Use Topping To Help Small Text Embroider Smoothly On Top Of Fill Stitches

Small text on rough textured fill stitches can cause letters to sink and disappear. Placing a topping over the fill area before embroidering text resolves this issue.

Shortening the fill stitch length might help keep letters on the surface, but it’s complex for non-digitizers. The topping trick effectively solves sinking text without additional adjustments.

Adapting a design meant for light denim to heavy canvas without editing can lead to poor results. Adding topping before embroidering on the canvas improved the appearance significantly. The customer will be pleased with the final embroidered product on the heavy canvas bag.

Hooping:

Hooping the topping is not recommended, but it needs to be secured. Cut a piece slightly larger than the embroidery design and secure it. Moisten the water-soluble topper, pin it, or tape it in the corners.

How To Remove Water Soluble Topping:

After embroidery, tear away the excess topping. Water-soluble topping tears away easily and vanishes when wet. Use a light mist of water to dissolve any remaining residue.

How To Remove Heataway Toppings:

Heat-away topping also tears away easily but requires direct heat to disappear. Heat away is preferred due to its easier removal process. To remove heataway toppings, quickly run hot iron over the embroidery and do not stop moving the iron. If there is over heating, either the threads will burn or they will get a sheen

Small design areas (e.g., letters like o, b, or d) can be challenging for heat pressing. Use the tip of an iron set on a silk setting to make the topping disappear in small design areas.

Storage Of Water Soluble Topping:

Proper storage for water soluble toppings is essential to prevent heat and humidity from ruining it.

Store water soluble topping in a ziplock bag or airtight container helps maintain its integrity and prevents it from becoming brittle due to small traces of moisture.