Hello Cuties! Need some help from our "towel" experts. I am having a problem where the front side is all shrunk down and the back side is nice and flat. This happens on the "fluff" of the towel and even on the band (where it is flatter). I think it is probably a tension issue but I am not sure which way to go with it. I have a Brother Quattro 6000D.

I agree that it is probably a stabilizing problem. You may have to experiment a little to get the right combination for the look you want. I try to just use wss stabilizers too, but if the design is as dense as yours looks to be, it needs a little heavier stabilization. When I have this problem, I use a leave-in tearaway on the back. On the top I put a layer of tulle and a layer of wss on top of it. The tulle will just tear away after you stitch it and keeps the pokies from popping up. This gives me better stabilization without being to heavy.

1 comment

by pcteddyb 23 Feb 2014

Thanks for your feedback.

I think you may have under stabilized as the top and bottom should be equal even if it was a digitizing problem. I always press (not iron) the nap of my towels down in whatever direction the loop is lying (top and bottom). For this much embroidery, I would have used a tear away underneath that I hooped with the towel. I would also have put the WSS on top as you did, but then, I would have floated another piece of tear away underneath.

1 comment

by pcteddyb 18 Feb 2014

Thanks for your reply. I HATE picking out stabilizer so that is why I went with wash-away.... May have to go that way.....

Could be the design you are using is too dense. You may need to double the stabilizer top and bottom also. A while back I had problems with letters on a T-shirt so I used foam under it, you may also want to talk to the digitizer also. Good luck!

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by pcteddyb 18 Feb 2014

Thanks for your reply.

When I embroidered towels I have successfully used tight meshed tulle instead of WSS as a topper.

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by pcteddyb 18 Feb 2014

Thanks, I will try this next.

Don't know if I'm any help, but. Did you wash the towel before embroidering on it? Did you use WSS topper on the fluffy side? What kind of stablizer on the back? Prewash, WSS topper & I use tear away stablizer, but cut away is also good.

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by pcteddyb edited 17 Feb 2014

Towel was washed and dried before stitching. I used wash-away sticky on the back and wash-away topper on the top.

Thanks for your reply.

I'm no towel expert but I'm sure there will be one along soon to advise you. It may be a tension issue as you have suggested but I also wonder if you had used a wash-away over the embroidered area prior to machining? Sorry that I cannot be of any more help.

1 comment

by pcteddyb edited 17 Feb 2014

The towel was washed before embroidery. I used wash-away sticky on the back and wash-away topper on the top.

Thanks for your reply - and glad you are back!