Spent the week between Christmas and New Years 2011 in Tulsa, OK. While there I had the great pleasure of training Kim and Wyatt on Tuesday and Wednesday and on Thursday and Friday I was at Bixby High School.
Wyatt and Kim of "Loving the Game" have a screen printing business and added a Bravo machine so they could control the quality of the items they give to their customers, but also so they control the lead time and hit the due dates that they promise to their customers.
The Bixby FFA department purchased an AMAYA machine several years ago, but it has been sitting idle for the past few years. I got Mr. Nettles and a couple of moms up to speed on operating the machine with the goal of teaching the kids to use the machine while making some money for the club. I'm thinking the Booster Clubs will be throwing some money in their direction!
So, you are probably wondering why I titled this blog "Center of the Universe"... there is an interesting spot in downtown Tulsa called the Center of the Universe and if you stand in the proper spot you can hear your echo, but take one step out of the circle, and nothing. Weird phenomenon! Check it out if you are ever in Tulsa!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Another Video
If you are interested in the BRAVO embroidery machine, here is a video highlighting the machine. If you have any questions about the machine, please give me a call and I would love to talk to you about it!
http://www.youtube.com/BRAVOembroidery
http://www.youtube.com/BRAVOembroidery
Short Video
It has been a long time since I've blogged, but I have returned. As a comeback... I'd like to share with you a video that I made a while back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZe7oe1QFhw
Iris Thread comes from EnMart and it is a great thread at an even better price. If you would like a coupon code to use when opening your account, please give me a call and I will give you one.
If you you a machine from Melco I would recommend ordering the king spools of thread!
Iris Thread comes from EnMart and it is a great thread at an even better price. If you would like a coupon code to use when opening your account, please give me a call and I will give you one.
If you you a machine from Melco I would recommend ordering the king spools of thread!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Embroidery Placements
Shirts:
Shirt with no pocket - Left chest or right chest position
If you are putting the person's name and logo on two sides, the name should go on the right, and the logo should go on the left. Rationale: When you shake hands, your eye naturally falls to the other person's right shoulder/chest area. If the name is on the right, you're more likely to remember it.
Click to learn more about the BRAVO
Shirt with no pocket - Left chest or right chest position
- Find a horizontal line at the center of the armholes, from armpit to shoulder, and then find a vertical line from the neck/shoulder seam. Where the two points meet would be the center of the design. If you place this line too low, the design may go across a woman's breast area.
- Another option is to use the horizontal line at the level of the second button or snap.
- On a v-neck shirt, use the horizontal line even with the bottom of the v as a guide.
- Center of design should go where lines intersect.
- A general guideline is:
- Women's: 7-8" down, 4 to 6" from center of placket
- Men's: 7.5 to 9" down, 4 to 6" from center of placket
If you are putting the person's name and logo on two sides, the name should go on the right, and the logo should go on the left. Rationale: When you shake hands, your eye naturally falls to the other person's right shoulder/chest area. If the name is on the right, you're more likely to remember it.
Click to learn more about the BRAVO
Monday, June 13, 2011
Iris Thread from Enmart
Back in May I had a booth at the DAX show in Chicago. I had the great pleasure of working next to the Enmart booth and getting to meet Tom, Tom and Kristine. Follow this link to watch a short video of the BRAVO running in my booth featuring Iris Thread. Don't forget to set up an account with Enmart while you are there and order some thread - you won't be sorry!
myenmart.com
myenmart.com
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Price Change
As of April 1, 2011 the price of the BRAVO machine is increasing to $8295. For the month of April, I am going to offer free shipping to anyone who purchases a machine. Give me a call when you are ready to order your new machine!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Embroidering on Knit Caps
Many embroiderers avoid knit beanies altogether because they don't know the best way to work with them. The loose knit and nappy surface makes them nervous — which is unfortunate because they are simple to embroider and, especially during this time of year, they sell like hotcakes.
Beanies can boost sales for any embroiderer whose shop is located in cooler climates. They are good “throw-in” items that can be used to generate additional sales after the first order. Just stitch a customer’s logo on a beanie and include it as a freebie with their order. The investment is small, but the payoff can be big. The loose knit leaves a textured surface, so you may want to use a piece of water-soluble topping. Also, because they are knit, beanies require heavy stabilization. Normally on goods this stretchy, you should use a cutaway stabilizer. Because of the nature of beanies, however, you must use heavy tearaway stabilizer.
Most of the care in dealing with beanies is in hooping them.
Because of where the design is placed — typically at the edge of the beanie — the cap will not be hooped completely in the hoop. I hoop beanies about three-quarters of the way in the hoop. The stabilizer, of course, covers the entire hoop. Having it fully framed provides the necessary stability. Once the design begins sewing, the first few underlay stitches secure the cap to the stabilizer and it will not move.
Another thing to watch for when hooping a beanie is how much it is stretched during hooping. If it is overstretched, your embroidery will look as if it sank into the cap. If the beanie is too loose, the design will be distorted as it sews. I try not to worry about the stretch too much while I am hooping. I don’t pull it too tight to make it stretch, nor do I try to keep it from stretching while it is being hooped. The normal amount of stretch that occurs during hooping should be adequate for the design to sew correctly. It usually matches the amount of stretch the beanie will go through when it is put on someone’s head.
Another funny thing about beanies is design placement, which is usually near the edge. What makes this tricky is that there are two general types of knit beanies: cuffed and not cuffed.
Cuffed beanies are longer — typically 12 inches or so — and folded over at the bottom, while short beanies (8-9 inches) are not. The shorter (uncuffed) beanies are sewn upside down as the cap is loaded with the bottom of the beanie toward the back of the machine.
The cuffed beanies are sewn right side up. When hooped, they should be turned inside out because the folded edge that shows (when it is being worn) is actually on the inside of the cap. That end of the beanie should be hooped so that it is loaded with the top edge toward the back of the machine. Though it sounds confusing because the cap is inside out, remember that the edge on this type of beanie is actually the top of your design.
Knit beanies can be easy to work with. If the toughest part about embroidering knit beanies is remembering which way you should turn the design, then they shouldn’t be much of a problem at all — and they have the potential to boost your sales when you add them to your product line.
Beanies can boost sales for any embroiderer whose shop is located in cooler climates. They are good “throw-in” items that can be used to generate additional sales after the first order. Just stitch a customer’s logo on a beanie and include it as a freebie with their order. The investment is small, but the payoff can be big. The loose knit leaves a textured surface, so you may want to use a piece of water-soluble topping. Also, because they are knit, beanies require heavy stabilization. Normally on goods this stretchy, you should use a cutaway stabilizer. Because of the nature of beanies, however, you must use heavy tearaway stabilizer.
Most of the care in dealing with beanies is in hooping them.
Because of where the design is placed — typically at the edge of the beanie — the cap will not be hooped completely in the hoop. I hoop beanies about three-quarters of the way in the hoop. The stabilizer, of course, covers the entire hoop. Having it fully framed provides the necessary stability. Once the design begins sewing, the first few underlay stitches secure the cap to the stabilizer and it will not move.
Another thing to watch for when hooping a beanie is how much it is stretched during hooping. If it is overstretched, your embroidery will look as if it sank into the cap. If the beanie is too loose, the design will be distorted as it sews. I try not to worry about the stretch too much while I am hooping. I don’t pull it too tight to make it stretch, nor do I try to keep it from stretching while it is being hooped. The normal amount of stretch that occurs during hooping should be adequate for the design to sew correctly. It usually matches the amount of stretch the beanie will go through when it is put on someone’s head.
Another funny thing about beanies is design placement, which is usually near the edge. What makes this tricky is that there are two general types of knit beanies: cuffed and not cuffed.
Cuffed beanies are longer — typically 12 inches or so — and folded over at the bottom, while short beanies (8-9 inches) are not. The shorter (uncuffed) beanies are sewn upside down as the cap is loaded with the bottom of the beanie toward the back of the machine.
The cuffed beanies are sewn right side up. When hooped, they should be turned inside out because the folded edge that shows (when it is being worn) is actually on the inside of the cap. That end of the beanie should be hooped so that it is loaded with the top edge toward the back of the machine. Though it sounds confusing because the cap is inside out, remember that the edge on this type of beanie is actually the top of your design.
Knit beanies can be easy to work with. If the toughest part about embroidering knit beanies is remembering which way you should turn the design, then they shouldn’t be much of a problem at all — and they have the potential to boost your sales when you add them to your product line.
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