by sanjoy51 20 Dec 2007

I read Fredia's question on towels I would like to know if using shirleys idea with the tear away top and bottom would this do away with the solvy and the hardness on the towel after washing.

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by sanjoy51 09 Jan 2008

Thank you to everyone who has help me with my question. I have taken it all in and I have learn't a lot and I have managed to be happy with my latest try with it by hooping the wss to the top and the bottom,and tear away as much as I can and do the pick out and it works great, no white bits from the tear away. I will try the heat and gone as well. Thank you to all.

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by ddunn01 04 Jan 2008

I think the Heat n Gone is the best thing since bread and butter. It doesn't leave your towel stiff or anything. I have also learned to use iron on tear away on the back of the towel and then stick the towel to the sticky tear away. The iron on will help to tear it away from the towel and you don't have to hoop the towel. I hope this is clear. In other words, I use the sticky on the hoop, iron-on directly on back of towel and the heat n gone on the top. It works beautiful.

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by marjialexa Moderator 04 Jan 2008

Sanjoy, you asked in your comment if Floriani's Heat n Gone doesn't mess up the iron. It's a miracle, but no, it does not. The first time I tried it I used my old iron, not my Rowenta, because I was sure there was going to be goo, like melted saran wrap. But there was NO MESS. When it says 'gone', it means gone. Touch the hot iron right to the plastic, and it disappears. I pull away as much as I can, because it acts like a tearaway, but just iron right over it. I usually touch the tip of the iron to the little places that are left, not iron it hard as if you were pressing. Beauty is, wherre the actual heat from the iron doesn't touch, it stays, and keeps those stray loops under the embroidery, even after washing, because it is not a wss. Hope I explained this right. Don't be afraid of Floriani products, they really live up to their name. My dealer is going to them exclusively, even carrying the thread, which is to die for. Marji

1 comment
marjialexa by marjialexa 04 Jan 2008

That link on dealer just showed up, I didn't put it there, it has nothing to do with my Janome dealer, Super Stitch in North Ease, PA. I don't know where that link came from, I am not endorsing anything, I think the website did it.

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by dizzydolly 04 Jan 2008

sanjoy I`ve found using wss on top and backside while sewing the designs out I kind of use my fingers to press the wss down and when done & I run warm med. tap water over it and pour fabric soften over it then throw in dryer for a fews ,help retain the softness & designs still look great!P.S. I do this with fleeces and velcro ect,, keep the softness

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by cutiepie 21 Dec 2007

Using tearaway on the top and bottom would be ok, although it will add a bit of bulk to your project. The Solvy doesn't wash out so very easily by hand (the hotter the water you use, the better it disolves), but it comes out just fine if you use the washer. It isn't always possible if the towels are a gift, but I recommend that you always prewash your towels before you embroider on them. I have had towels shrink after I did the work on them, and it was very disappointing.

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by marjialexa Moderator 21 Dec 2007

My dealer started carrying Floriani products, had a seminar, great towel idea. They have a product called Heat N Gone, dissolves with your iron. She used that as a topper for towels, heat dissolves any that shows, but part covered with the stitches stays put, holding the pile down & stitches in place. Her samples looked good. What stabilizer do you use on the bottom that gives best results on loopy towels? Tearaway or cutaway? Is it different for denser designs that for like the Firebird monogram? Thanks, Marji

4 comments
freida by freida 21 Dec 2007

I use sticky stabilizer on the bottom in the hoop. I do very dense cross stitch most of the time. It is a little work to pick it off the bottom. I use tweesers for the small spots that peak out. The stabilizer is paper based. The little bits I couldn't pick off usually disappears in one or two washings. I am going to try floating a piece of tear away (the way jrob recommended) under the hoop on my next project. Cutiepie had some great recommendations on this on one of my other questions,too. I am going to try a lot of things until I am happy with the results. Merry Christmas! Freida

sanjoy51 by sanjoy51 21 Dec 2007

Thank you for your help, I usually use tear away on the bottom and the solvey on the top. I saw a tutorial on how to use the solvey and so I pulled all the solvey off and got into the bits and then just sprayed them with water like they did. Then I read that you had to wash it to get rid of the excess so I did that and when it dried the towel around and the design were hard and stiff. I washed it by hand and didn't use softener I will try the machine and softener. I even ran it under the tap before I used the detergent and it was still hard. It is like it doesnt wash out real well. I have a sample of the Floriani heat N gone but doesnt that mess up the iron or do you just hold it above and use the steam

sanjoy51 by sanjoy51 21 Dec 2007

sorry half of this has gone so I am just going to wash it better and see how it goes

cleomisty by cleomisty 22 Dec 2007

Hi, heat and gone is a fabric that melts away .I like the trick film on the top as it stop the design going flat best it is very fine and will tear away easily and you can also use a hot iron it disapears with heat it is a plastic type film .Have a good xmas all

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by jrob Moderator 20 Dec 2007

I can't say I've ever tried this. I would be a little concerned with the tear away being paper like and leaving little "balls" in the loops of the towel after washing. I don't understand what you mean by hardness on the towel? Is your solvy not being washed out completely? Could this just be the density of the design you are stitching? If I wanted to test the tear away theory, I'd try it first on a scrap and be sure to wash it afterward and see what I thought then. Good luck.:)

8 comments
freida by freida 20 Dec 2007

Sorry, It was late and I was tired. Ment to say thickness of the towel. I use sticky stabelizer in the hoop and solvy on top. The towels are dragging and aren't moving well under the foot. Can't figure out how to remedy the problem.

jrob by jrob 20 Dec 2007

Try slipping a piece of tear-away UNDER your sticky to help stop some of the drag. My machine has a wheel that let's me partially raise the foot. I can't say I have ever had that problem, but I DO hoop wss on the top and I do press in the direction of the pile on the towels if they are thick.

jrob by jrob 20 Dec 2007

of the pile. (sorry, don't know what happened.)

freida by freida 21 Dec 2007

I have an innovis 4000 should be able to release some of the pressure on the foot. Need to read the manual. Thanks for the tips....I will try them. Merry Christmas! Freida A

sanjoy51 by sanjoy51 21 Dec 2007

Thanks jrob yes the solvy is not getting out of the towel see above coment as to what happened. About the stablizer I went to the machine store and I learnt that for the towels I needed to use the same thread on the bottom as on the top so it looks the same on both sides and then I came home and thought about how I had a bit of a mess on the back of my project it put on the site with the christmas font and thought how I could stop this problem, so I put two layers of solvey on the bottom and one layer on the top, thought I needed a bigger needle for the thicker towel but it was too big for the solvy so I changed back, then once I got the tension right it was ok, I did the second letter and only put one layer of solvy on the bottom and on the top adjusted the tension better and it sewed out great no problems with the J and I got as much of the solvy out as I could there wasnt much there and I just sprayed it and then rubbed it a little to get the solvy off but will have to wash it in the machine. Apart from the solvy the christmas font was good both top and bottom. I really think the christmas font on a towel is hard work because it has a lot of little bits to try and get the solvy out unless you just do what you can and throw it in the machine, is that what you are suppose to do?. It looks great but I think the napkins and pillow cases are the way to go, for the christmas font you dont need solvy for that and only have one side to pick out.But I love the design if I could just solve the solvy problem. I have to add more to the towel and then I will wash it in the machine and use softener and see what happens.

sanjoy51 by sanjoy51 21 Dec 2007

same on both sides. So I have done this and then thought how I could save having the ugly bits of the tearaway on the back so I used the solvy on the back and the front after getting the tension right it turned out great

sanjoy51 by sanjoy51 21 Dec 2007

only have the proplem of the solvy not coming out of the towel properly. I will put it in the machine instead of washing by hand and use softener and see how it goes. Sorry this is in bits but I lost what I said before.

jrob by jrob 21 Dec 2007

Glad to hear that everything turned out well. Merry Christmas to all!

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by sanjoy51 20 Dec 2007

Sorry spelt Freida's name wrong Sorry.

1 comment
freida by freida 20 Dec 2007

Not a problem...very few people get it right the first time. Thanks for the help! Freida

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