SIMPLE 10K Conference Tote Bag

Bob Jenkins, known as Bob The Teacher placed an order for 60 Essential Tote bags for his SIMPLE 10K Internet Marketing Conference that will be starting tomorrow.  These tote bags  will be used to hold a large binder and other tools that the conference attendees will be using during the conference.

I digitized his Simple 10K Conference logo that I embroidered on the front of the bag and the signatures of his guest speakers were embroidered on the back of the bag.  Each design was 8 inches in width.  When I came up with the idea to put the signatures on the back he thought that it would be a really nice addition to the bag and a total surprise for the speakers.  When he received the bags he thought that they were totally “Awesome!”

Why as I telling you this?  I just wanted to share with you how I digitized and embroidered these bags and show you what can be accomplished in a short time and yet bring in some real dollars!   I only had a few days to get this together.  I ordered the bags and they were shipped out the same day and I had them in my hands in 2 days.

To begin  with; Bob created the logo in Corel Draw so I had good clean lines to start with.  The lettering at the top of the logo was very small, but the remainder was a good size and easy to work with.  It was very hard trying to get the signatures from the speakers without them knowing what he was going to do with their signature.  Digitizing the signatures was a lot easier than trying to get them!

The fabric for the Essential Tote Bag is  a rough textured 600 Denier Polyester, so I  used a Contour or Edge Run underlay along with 2 lines of perpendicular underlay to create a good smooth surface to make it easy to embroider the top stitching.  I also used a .20 millimeters Pull Compensation and a total of 72 stitches per inch for the density.  I hooped the bag with a 12 inch square hoop with a firm 1.5 oz tear away backing. The bags really did turn out great.

Front and Back of SIMPLE Conference Tote Bag with Signatures

Bob Jenkins wanted his signature to appear backwards.  This is how his signature appears on some of his websites!  He loved it!!   The pictures definitely do not do the bags justice, but I wanted you to see that this was an easy job that was very profitable!

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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Sunday, February 28th we get on the ship for our Embroidery Cruise.  This is such a busy an exciting time for me, preparing the lessons for the cruise and, finalizing my book and getting it to the printers, just in time for the cruise!  I am busy preparing the lessons that I will be teaching on the Embroidery cruise and  I am really looking forward to sharing what I know with my students.  Some of the embroiderers will be new to me and I am so anxious to meet them.   My daughter Kathleen will be joining me for this spectacular event!  7 days of fun, relaxing, sharing with my daughter, networking with other embroiderers and teaching my favorite subject!  Life does not get any better than that!

I will be teaching the following courses:

• How To Work With Stock Designs
• How To Save Time In Design Creation
• How To Work With Small Lettering
• How To Create  Pricing Structure That Will Create A Profit For Your Embroidery Business
• How To Market Your Embroidery Business -Including Marketing Your Business On -Line

I finished writing my book and I will have some copies  with me on the cruise.  My books will arrive just in time for me to leave!  The title of my book is “The Truth About Embroidery Business Success”  and the sub title is “7 Elements To A Profitable Home Based Embroidery Business”.  I have been working on this book for several months but it is finally finished.  As soon as I am back from the cruise, I will be creating a website for my book and I have some exciting plans for the future that I will be sharing with you shortly!

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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Brenda Adams, one of my students, won a “Monogram Wizard” contest for a pillow that she entered.  This pillow is being featured on the back cover of “Designs In Machine Embroidery” magazine.  Brenda stated that she learned a lot from my Underlay class and applied those skills to designing and sewing out this pillow.

Brenda also took my “How To Create Monograms” class and was very creative in putting this monogram design together for this pillow.  She did a beautiful job and I am so proud of Brenda; this is a huge accomplishment.

The picture on the lower right of the dark gold pillow is Brenda’s.  She was in a fabric store shopping and picked up the magazine and saw her pillow on the back and was extremely surprised and excited.  I cannot even imagine the feelings that she went through when she saw her picture on the back cover of that magazine.

If it had been me, I am sure that everyone in the store would have know about it at the time, but Brenda is not like me, she is a bit more quiet!

I just wanted to share this with everyone. What a way to start off the New Year!   Brenda definitely needs to be congratulated on her accomplishment!

Thank you Brenda for sharing your win with all of us!

Joyce Jagger
Your Embroidery Coach

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The big question that I get a lot is What Golf, Polo, or Knit shirts can I order for my embroidery customers that will not shrink?  I ordered from Sanmar and the shirts that I ordered shrank after I washed them.  Who should I order from?

Actually Sanmar is about the best out there that I know of.  They are very easy to deal with and offer a huge variety of products and quality.  What brand did you order?  That is what you are going to have to pay attention to, not the supplier.  All of the knit shirts are going to shrink a little bit.  This is something that is totally unavoidable.  Knit shrinks no matter what, especially when it is put in the dryer.  I do not care how expensive the shirt it, there will be a small amount of shrinkage.  Some are a lot worse than others.

“Order 3 Different Golf, Polo Or Knit Shirts In 3 Different Qualities And Test For Shrinkage”

Try ordering 3 different shirts, 3 different qualities, all well known brands and test from there and see how you make out.  How are you testing the shrinkage?  Lay the shirt out on a piece of backing,  I mean from a large roll and trace around it.  Wash and dry it and then lay the shirt back on your drawing again and compare that way.  This is how I used to test my shirts.

I always offered 3 different qualities to my customers and I told them in advance about the shrinkage.  If they were more interested in price, that was their issue, not mine, they were told.  Sometimes they just order the next size larger to compensate for the shrinkage.  Not only does this work, but it also covers your butt, so to speak.

Good luck, and remember no matter what shirt or how much shrinkage, the shirt will always need a little press to look great!  The embroidery will always pucker or cup under a little after washing and drying when you have a lot of fill stitches in the design.  A little press takes care of this issue.  So many embroiderers think that it is the design when this happens, but that is not necessarily true.

If this tip helps you please leave a comment and let me know!  I would really appreciate it.  Sometime I do not know if my information is getting to you or know.  If you let me know, then that will help me to deliver the kind of information that you are looking for.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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Applying the proper settings and using the correct backings or stabilizers are extremely important when you are creating an embroidery design to be sewn onto the soft stretchy wicking shirts.

I have had many requests from embroiderers wanting to know how to embroider on these soft stretchy wicking shirts.  The main issue is trying to keep the embroidery from puckering and pulling.   These shirts should be treated like any other knit shirt, using a small ballpoint needle.  I never use more than a 70/10 needle for this application.  If the lettering is tiny, I will use a 65/10 ballpoint needle and if this is the case, I also use the 60 weight thread.

Adding Embroidery Underlay And Pull Comp Settings

Your underlay settings are going to depend on your design, such as the size of the lettering or the segments within the design.  I have found that if I am creating a design with lettering that if over 1.5 millimeters in column width, I will use an edge run or contour stitch along with a zig zag stitch for my underlay.  The pull comp will vary, depending on how stretchy or fine the fabric actually is.  This is something that you must experiment with.

If the letter is less than 1.5 millimeters in width, I have found that it is best to use one pass of a center run or perpendicular underlay.   Sometimes the zig zag underlay is also necessary and sometimes not, again it all depends on the fabric itself.  Trial and error is the only way to find this our for sure.

Keep Embroidery Density Light

Keeping your embroidery stitch density on the light side is also very important.  It is actually better to use more underlay and less top stitching than little underlay and heavy density.  You do not want to take a chance on creating any holes in this fabric.  It runs and snags very easily!

Use Correct Embroidery Backings Or Stabilizers

The proper backings technique that I have found that works ideally every time is 2 layers of No Show cutaway backing along with 1 layer of a crisp medium weight tearaway.  The tearaway is placed next to the skin so that it can be ripped away.  This layer of tearaway helps to hold the lettering and keep it crisp and clean while the no show backing or stabilizer will keep it soft and pliable.  I also use a topping for these shirts.  Not only does it help to keep the thread on top of the garment, it also acts as a lubricant as it is sewing through this troublesome fabric.  I have embroidererd these soft stretchy wicking shirts many times using these settings and backing techniques with great success!

I hope that this answers the questions that I have been receiving from many embroiderers.  Are you having any issues embroidering on these shirts?  Have you found any other tips that work great for this application, please share them.  Please click on the link that says No Comments and leave your comment or question.  I really would appreciate it.  It will help many other embroiderers!

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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When I think of High-End apparel or high-end apparel decoration, I think of high-end as expensive or exclusive.  In today’s economy, one might that this would not be easy to market, but if someone is looking for an exclusive product or something that is totally different, then they will be looking at a high-end product.  Even though there is a lot of talk about how our economy is in such a slump, there are many people that are more than willing to pay for high-end service.

You must convey to the customer why your product or service is so different and why it is so specialized.  Most often this type of customer will be looking for one of a kind items or designs.  I personally am a fan of one of a kind designs.  I do not want to walk around wearing something that someone else may also be wearing.  That goes for the designs on my clothing as well as the selection of my clothing.

I cannot afford to go out and purchase one of a kind designer clothing pieces, but If I can take a basic piece of clothing and make it look like a one of a kind designer piece by having an exclusive design created for it; I have then created that one of a kind high-end look!  By doing this, I have significantly raised the value of my garment as well as the overall perceived value of it.

Here are 6 tips that will help you to market high-end apparel decoration.

1. Show your customer how a one of a kind design created for them will raise the value of their product as well as give them the feeling of wearing designer clothing without that high-end apparel price tag.  This can be done using good quality basic clothing pieces and adding a one of a kind design or an exclusive monogram design.
2. Always market your high-end services by appealing to your  customer’s emotion.  When you are marketing high-end apparel decoration, your customers must be made to feel special and extremely important!
3. Insure your customer that their one of a kind design will be kept exclusive.  You must be careful that the design is not repeated for someone else.  This will defeat the purpose and will ruin your reputation.
4. Offer a service that no one else is willing to offer.  Do you have a sequin device?  Even though the stitch count may be very low for a sequin design, the perceived value is much higher than a normal embroidered design and can command a much higher price.  If you can offer an exclusive sequin design for a basic garment such as down the leg of a pair of jeans or on a jean shirt, you can charge accordingly for your time plus the added perceived value of the one of a kind design.
5. Market to Bride’s and the Bridal party and family.  This is a market that likes to have exclusive designs.  You can create a custom monogram for the new bride and groom that can be used on all of their linens.  you can even create a custom one of a kind design for the bridal veil or the skirt of the wedding gown.
6. Market your services to Performers and Show Groups.  They want one of a kind designs and yet you may be able to give them several garments with the same design bringing in more revenue.  This can even bring in repeat orders of the same design for the same customer if you develop a costume or uniform for the performer or show group.

You can build up a following by word of mouth about your exclusive service of one of a kind designs.  I did this with monograms.  I created exclusive one of a kind monograms for my high-end customers and they were very appreciative of the type of service that I provided.  They brought in their friends.  I kept the designs in folders for that customer’s use only, and no one was ever allowed to see or use that design.  Each and every monogram design was a one of a kind.  I created exclusive full monogram sets to be used for their wardrobes or their home decor and linens.

Of course there is a high-end charge for this service, there are many people that will be more than willing to pay for this exclusive service.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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What is Embroidery Push and Pull Compensation? When the  needle penetrates the fabric and the top embroidery thread connects and wraps around the bobbin embroidery thread it locks and creates a pulling in effect.  Most fabrics require that Pull Compensation be added in order to compensate for this push and pull effect brought about when you stitch a design into the fabric.

Do all stitch types require that Pull Compensation be added?  All types of stitches create the push-pull effect, but it is most prominent when you are using Satin Path or Complex fill stitches. This push-pull effect is more prominent in large areas of your design such as your complex or tatami fill areas.
You do not add push or pull compensation to the run stitches that you are using for a border.  If your borders do not stay in registration with your fill area, it is best to make your adjustments to the fill area of your design.

Why do my designs look good on the screen but when I sew them out they have gaps?
Your design is created on a flat surface and if you do not compensate for the push and pull effect of your fabric as your design is being stitched out, it will most likely leave gaps where to areas are supposed to come together.  There is a constant tug of war going on between your fabric, machine and thread and you must learn to understand why this tug of war is taking place and how to create the necessary adjustments to your design in order for it to sew out so that it looks good on the fabric after it is sewn.  After you make your necessary adjustments your design may look very distorted on the screen.

Understanding Push and Pull Compensation and how to apply it to your embroidery designs is not hard. I have created a embroidery video training program on a CD with the same information that I taught during my “Embroidery Webinar of the Month,” “Would You Like To Know How To Apply Pull Compensation To Your Embroidery Designs?” During my webinar I taught the basic Push and Pull Compensation settings to apply to knit fabrics, woven fabrics and terry cloth.

I teach you how to take these basic Pull Comp settings and apply them to your other fabrics and different situations. My simple method of teaching will make it easier for you to learn how to make your adjustments as you are creating or digitizing your embroidery designs and daily embroidery lettering setups.

During my webinar I used the Tajima by Pulse DGML embroidery software but you can take these same settings and apply them to your own embroidery software no matter what brand or level you have. Learning how to apply Push and Pull Compensation to your embroidery designs is critical if you want the type of embroidery designs that will make your embroidery business stand out above the crowd.

This embroidery training video program“Learn The Secrets Of How To Create And Apply Pull Comp To Your Embroidery Designs!“ is now available to you on a CD.

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