Machine Embroidery: Coloring Embroidery
Testing Saves Time
Testing is important and will help you become more confident and knowledgeable about the technique. Using a permanent marker, note on each test piece the colors and techniques used. (Reading the manufacturer's guidelines will provide answers to many of your questions.)
Select natural fibers, such as cotton, linen and silk, because they take dye well. If you use fabrics made from other fibers, test first to determine the final results.
Cut five unwashed fabric pieces large enough to fit in the embroidery hoop. Choose five different embroidery designs with outlines, and stitch one design outline on each piece of fabric.
Try coloring on pretreated and untreated fabric. To pretreat the fabric, wash two pieces with alum (a spice used in canning) to enhance the fabric's ability to accept and hold colors. Put the fabric in a lingerie bag, and wash it with the rest of your clothes, adding 1/4 cup of alum along with the detergent (use a warm wash and cold rinse). Dry in a medium-hot dryer.
Color the embroideries. Notice what happens when you blend two colors. When complete and dry, set aside an untreated colored design--this is your control piece. Around this design, add colors you used on the other samples but didn't include on this sample.
Cut the remaining embroidered fabrics in half down the center of the designs. Make sure all halves are marked "pretreated" or "untreated." Mark "no iron" on two pretreated and two untreated halves, and set them aside. These four pieces won't be washed.
Heat set the remaining four halves with the iron following the manufacturer's guidelines. Before ironing, mix a solution of one tablespoon vinegar to a gallon of water. Dampening the test swatch with this solution may help set the colors. To test the vinegar solution, spray one of the pretreated and one of the untreated fabrics.
Press with a hot iron to heat-set the colors. Mark these two halves as being "ironed with vinegar." Heat set the remaining two halves, without the vinegar solution--mark these as "ironed, no vinegar." Toss these four halves into the washer and dryer as before.
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Evaluate the Tests
After washing and drying, lightly press each test piece to remove any wrinkles. Match up the halves, and evaluate the results. Notice if the washed samples are different from the control sample. Notice if there's a difference between the pretreated pieces and the untreated pieces. In the test pieces shown here, there wasn't any difference, regardless of what method was used for pretreating and heat setting. Fabrics will vary--retest and make adjustments based on your findings.
Finally, it's important to note how the painted fabric feels in your hand. Is it stiff or supple? Some paints will stiffen the fabric; others won't. This will influence your choice of products when considering your projects.
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