Embroidery Foam By Pauline Richards

Great Heights

Puff embroidery is created by satin stitching over thin, flexible foam. The machine needle penetrates the foam as the satin stitches cover and encase a precise shape. This raises the design, completely hiding the base fabric and making the embroidered areas stand out. The excess foam is gently torn away when the design is completed. Embroidery/craft foam, available in 1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm and 4mm thicknesses--with 2mm being the easiest to work with--is made of ethylene vinyl acetate. This flammable material disintegrates when subjected to drycleaning solvents, but is machine washable and dryable, nontoxic and can withstand the heat of a medium-hot iron.

Perfect Puffing Pointers While thick foam raises a design more than thin foam, it also increases thread and needle breakage and usually requires the use of 30-weight thread for proper coverage. Thicker foam also will stiffen the base fabric more than thin foam and requires the stability of heavy fabric, such as denim. Use an 80/12 embroidery or ballpoint needle. Although an embroidery needle is ideal when using rayon thread, a ballpoint needle will perforate the foam more completely, so experiment with both. Thread and foam colors should match. Fewer stitches can be used to cover the foam without it showing through. Choose a simple design with mostly satin stitching--large logos, shapes or symbols are ideal. A "fill" area can be stitched with foam underneath, but the fill stitch will compress the foam and you may not have a pleasing effect after the foam is removed. Because foam naturally adds stiffness to an embroidery design area, select the placement carefully. Foam usually isn't recommended for use on lightweight fabrics; however, it can be used in the yoke or neckline area of form-fitting garments. Prevent fabric distortion or stretch on mediumweight fabrics by applying lightweight fusible tricot interfacing to the fabric wrong side before embroidering.

When a design has both fill and satin stitched areas, stitch the fill parts as normal, stop the machine and insert the foam just before stitching the satin stitches. Achieve the most pleasing results by puffing design segments rather than the entire design. Placing the foam in closely spaced design areas will create a three-dimensional look. Remove the excess foam from each completed puffed area before straight stitching or sewing another color puffed area. For example, in the photo at right, the flower was stitched over 3mm foam, the excess foam was removed, then the flower center was stitched without foam. Note: Straight stitches aren't recommended for use on the foam, as the stitch length makes it difficult to tear away the foam and unsightly thread loops will remain, rather than consistent flat, straight stitches. When puffing a design where satin stitching columns end as a wide satin stitch, such as the design on the jacket sleeve below, the foam must be cut instead of torn away from the stitching because there isn't stitching at the column end to perforate the foam. If unsightly thread ends remain, stitch over the design again to encase them. Practice this technique, modifying these guidelines to suit your individual project, machine, motif and fabric. Always make a sample before stitching on a garment. Consider puffing designs, monograms and satin stitching columns on garments, hats, bags, wall hangings and decorative quilts.

Steps to Perfect Puffing Hoop and stabilize your project as usual. Drop the feed dogs on your sewing machine. Cut the foam slightly larger than the design area to be puffed by determining the foam size and position from a design template. The foam shouldn't extend over the hoop edges. Attach a quilting/darning foot to your machine. Designed for free-motion stitching, this foot doesn't fit close to the throatplate and allows room for the foam. The embroidery foot naturally fits closely to the throatplate to prevent the hoop from bouncing during stitching and may drag against the foam, distorting the design. Adjust the presser foot pressure for sewing on thick fabric. Keep the upper tension light to prevent flattening the foam. A lighter tension setting gives a nice finished appearance when stitching on foam, just as it does on conventional embroidery. The setting should be similar to that used when applying a buttonhole. Note: The presser foot up/down sensor on some machines may falsely signal the presser foot is up when it's actually down when using 3mm- and 4mm-thick foam. If this happens, use 1.5mm- or 2mm-thick foam.

Resources and Sources Resource Total Embellishment News, by Pauline Richards, Dept. SN, 142 Braewick Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84103, features ideas and how-tos for machine embroidery, applique, novelty thread uses and more. Write to the address above for subscription information or visit the Total Embellishment News website Sources Husqvarna Viking, Dept. SN-Puff, 11760 Berea Road, Cleveland, OH 44111-1601, is offering free instructions for the rose quilt featured above. To receive the instructions, send a business-size, self-addressed, stamped envelope with 55 cents postage to the address above. Speed Stitch, Dept. SN, 3113 Broadpoint Drive, Harbor Heights, FL 33983, phone (800) 874-4115, carries 2mm and 3mm Sulky of America Puffy Foam in 12 colors. Write, call or visit www.speedstitch.com for ordering information.

To view a jpeg image of the entire quilt, click the quilt corner above. Then use the back button on your browser to return to this page.

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