How to Embroider On Satin Ribbon- Easy Step By Step Guide

Embroidery work, know How to Embroider On Satin Ribbon Satin is an excellent fabric to work with, especially when you are creating patterns. It is smooth, glossy, and lustrous and does an excellent job making garments such as lingerie, blouses, and evening gowns. However, the material is not very forgiving to mistakes, causing many people to wonder How to Embroider On Satin Ribbon without ruining it.

Whether you are embroidering using your hand or a machine, ensure that you have a cut-away stabilizer. It would help if you also sprayed a stabilizer to enhance stability during sewing. The next step is to position the ribbon at the stabilizer’s center and embroider using your preferred tool.

You cannot hoop the ribbon sides, and it causes a wavy look on the final result. It may not resemble what you were hoping for, but it can be a perfect way to make your work unique. Also, consider avoiding ribbons with a wire on their sides as they may damage your needles.

Step by Step Guide On How To Embroider On Satin Ribbon

Embroidered ribbons are perfect for decorating hair bows, throw pillows, and dresses and a fantastic way to spend the afternoon in a creative mode. Additionally, embroidering ribbon is also a perfect family activity as it is engaging and fun for both adults and sewing. Just make sure that you lookout for the needles and pins.

You don’t need to worry whether you are an amateur or a pro, the craft is manageable, and if you are committed to learning, a few shots and you are good to go.

However, allow me to say that embroidering a satin ribbon can be both easy and challenging at the same time, depending on your experience and your preferred technique.

The two primary styles that you can pick from are embroidery on satin ribbon by hand and embroidery by using a machine. Therefore, we will briefly discuss the different satin ribbons embroidery styles to help you get started as soon as possible.

Embroidery On Satin Ribbon By Hand

The first step is to cut an excellent cut-away stabilizer that is a bit larger than your hoop.
Next, ensure the ribbon ends can be moved and spray a stabilizer to keep it from slipping or moving during sewing.
Hoop the ribbon and the backing, and position it at the center for accuracy and precision.
Then, pick your preferred embroidery thread and needle and sew the pattern. Ensure that you make firm stitches since you are sewing both the ribbon and stabilizer.
After you have the desired pattern, cut the excess stabilizer to make your work neat.

Embroider Satin Ribbon By Embroidery Machine

The first few steps of preparing the ribbon and the stabilizer are similar to what you do before embroidering. However, here you use a machine to create the stitches and the pattern.

So,

After ensuring that you gently attach the ribbon to the stabilizer, place the hoop through the machine and embroider.
Once you get enough seams, remove the hoop from the machine. Turn the stabilizer fr0m the back and cut appropriately to remove the excess piece.

You may also want to wash the ribbon embroidery after some time. However, experts recommend that you prewash the ribbons before you create your patterns. Let me explain how you go about it.

Soak the ribbons in salt water for about 30 minutes. If they are of different colors, ensure that you separate them as the purpose of this step is to set the ribbon color.
Rinse with clean water and wash gently with a mild soap.
Drip dry the ribbons.
Press them before embroidery.

For a finished project, consider the following:

Use a mosquito net cloth and create a stitched bag.
Put your project in the bag to keep the embroidery from spoiling.
Gently wash by hand or a machine using a mild soap.
Drip dry by hanging or flat drying.
After drying, spread the embroidered ribbon face down on a terry cloth and iron gently around the pattern. Please do not exert pressure or press the embroidered area.

How Do You Embroider Silk Ribbon?

A silk ribbon is a narrow fabric piece that needs you to be extra careful as you embroider. Always ensure that you never forget to use a spray fabric adhesive to attach the ribbon to the stabilizer.

This step helps it to be firm and not slide during weaving. If you don’t fancy a spray fabric adhesive, you have the option of clamping the two fabric ends together with the backing already in the embroidery frame.

How Do I Embroider On Small Pieces of Fabric?

Sometimes you have to work on smaller pieces of fabric that cannot fit in the embroidery frame. In these cases, use a fabric spray adhesive to reinforce the material to the stabilizer or backing. Ensure that you first hoop the stabilizer on the embroidery frame to make work easier and faster. Also, for fabrics that don’t use the spray adhesive, you consider basting them to the backing.

The corner of the fabric is a sensitive part during embroidering, and it becomes a big deal if you are working on a small material. However, the process is the same for different fabric sizes, so this is helpful information for different project sizes.

Begin by carefully embroidering the fabric corner. Next, hoop the stabilizer in the embroidery frame and attach it to the fabric corner after spraying a fabric adhesive. Finally, you can hem the fabric to the stabilizer. Don’t limit your creativity if you don’t have a spray fabric adhesive.

What Is a Satin Stitch Used For?

A satin stitch is also the damask stitch and combines a series of flat stitches to cover the background fabric. You can have narrow rows of a satin stitch on a sewing machine using a unique satin stitch foot or a zig-zag stitch, which will help attach and outline appliques to the ground fabric.

Also, if you want to maintain a smooth edge, you can trace the shapes with a chain, split or backstitch before you cover the entire piece with a satin stitch.

The required threads for a satin stitch depend on your preference and the expected pattern. For example, we have individuals that prefer using two strands of floss, whereas some designs may require one or three threads. However, you can consider using two because they give a neat finish and provide fewer tangles and a unique stitching experience.

Please remember the following tips whenever you are making a satin stitch:

Mark or identify the shape that you intend to stitch. This move helps you adhere to the pattern during sewing, and you don’t stray from the stitch line.
Backstitch the outline of the identified shape with preferably two floss strands.
Since you have a stitching guide now, use your needle to go through the outside of the backstitches.
Hold the threat and take it straight down and weave it back through outside the existing backstitches.
Bring your needle through at the top close to the previous stitch ensuring you are weaving outside the backstitches. Also, adhere to the shape of the pattern to get a neat piece of art.
Bring the seam straight down and ensure it lines up with the first satin stitch. Then, thread it through the back once more outside the backstitches.
Continue with the process as you follow your shape, and be careful not to pull the threads too tight to ensure that you can stitch outside the backstitches.

NB: The satin shape should always be the same as the backstitch one, as the backstitches reinforce the satin hem to give it an extra definition.

How Do You Stabilize Satin Fabric?

Using the sticky-back tear-away stabilizer is the perfect way to stabilize the satin fabric before sewing. However, if you can get it, a tear-away stabilizer with a bit of temporary spray adhesive can also give you desirable results.

Place the sticky side of the stabilizer on the satin’s backside and smooth it gently. Then, hoop the fabric and the stabilizer and proceed with the weaving process.

Why Are My Stitches Puckering?

In most cases, stitches pucker because of too much tension that causes the thread to stretch. This stretch later gathers up the seam and causes the pucker when the thread relaxes and tries to regain its original length. However, you may not see this action immediately after sewing, and therefore, you should be careful to use low tension to avoid later puckerings.

A tension pucker is easy to identify as you can carefully cut the bottom and top threads without distorting the thread loops, and if the gather relaxes, you know it was a result of thread tensions.

Some precautions to take to avoid the pucker are as follows:

Reduce the tension on the thread as you wound it into the lockstitch bobbin.
Ensure that you lightly set the needle thread tension to achieve a balanced stitch. This exercise will improve sewability and reduce puckering when the thread stretches.
Invest in a high-quality sewing thread featuring a low-friction lubricant and an even unwinding tension.

Let us look at other puckering types that you are likely to encounter in your sewing projects.

Seam puckering

Many sewists acknowledge that this is a persistent problem when making fine seams in knitted or woven fabrics. Puckering is a result of factors such as seam construction, feeding problems, fabric structure, and thread or needle size. These problems are both operator and mechanically induced, and thus one needs to be careful to minimize as many risks as possible.

Inherent Pucker

After weaving a fabric, it may have insufficient space to accommodate sewing a thread without ruining the already twisted yarns. This situation causes an inherent pucker that occurs when you stitch along the fabric yarn and cause stresses. Another name for the pucker is structural jamming as it comes about because the woven structure cannot accommodate a sewin thread without distortion.

You can quickly identify the pucker by removing the stitches in a short seam length. If the seam faces revert smoothly, the piece has experienced a structural jam.

NB: You can only check for this pucker after testing for the tension pucker.

Some guidelines to help avoid or deal with this pucker include:

Sew at a narrow-angle and allow the needle to displace various wrap sets and weft yarns, which reduces puckering chances.
Use finer thread and needle sizes.
Ensure that you lower the stitch density, which will help to reduce the chances of displacing the thread on the stitch line by reducing the pressure.
Consider an over edge or chain stitch to produce less structural jamming.
Avoid having multiple stitching rows that cause multiple puckers because the tension is cumulative.

Pucker Caused by Thread and Fabric Instability

The pucker’s name tells you all you need to know and focuses your attention on the thread and fabric changes that cause distortions. These changes are usually a result of inevitable activities such as washing or post-sewing treatments.

An excellent example to help you understand is the cotton threads that shorten in length and increase in diameter during washing due to absorbed moisture. As a result, even though the fabric returns to its original measurements when dry, it can remain puckered.

You may not quickly identify this pucker, especially if you are just beginning, but you train your eye to spot it with a simple visual check as you work with various fabrics. However, the pucker appears on the material after washing or treatment, so ensure you wait for it to relax.

The best way to avoid this pucker is to:

Use synthetic threads that have low wet shrinkage qualities.

Ensure all garment components are compatible because if a lining shrinks more than the base fabric, you will have a pucker along with the stitch.

Feed pucker

The feed pucker results from uneven feeding when the pressure foot is too high, or there is too much friction on the top ply. The stitches try to hold these variations until they pucker because of the pressure.

When you want to test for this pucker, cut twice across the seam and remove the sewing threads between the cuts. If you find that one ply is shorter than the other, then unequal feeding is why the pucker.

Get rid of the feed pucker by doing the following:

Adjust the presser foot to ensure optimum pressure and retain positive and even fabric feeding.
Observe the correct timing when using a machine with both bottom and top feeders.
Check for hanging fabric in the folders in use.
Raise the feed dog’s back to create a pulling effect from the needle.
Use a low presser foot.
Match up the foot and feed.
Ensure that the operator does not hold back on either the bottom or top ply.

You may also want to know how to avoid thread-related puckering because it leads and enhances most puckering types. Therefore, when shopping for a thread, get one that has:

A smaller size, with a finer needle
Lower shrinkage attributes
Low sewing tension
Controlled elongation qualities.

How Do You Stop Satin from Puckering?

To stop satin from puckering, hold the fabric taut when feeding it into the machine and use a short length stitch. You can also cut pattern pieces on the bias as it helps reduce any tensions.

However, you can also consider the following tips that ensure that your satin is in good shape before, during, and after sewing.

Storing

Please store the material while rolled up to avoid creases that will demand iron use. Iron heat causes the material to glaze, and therefore taking some minutes to roll up the fabric is worth it. “Does it mean I cannot iron satin?” Well, you can, but just press it when necessary. It should not be a practice as it may ruin the fabric.

Cutting

The most apparent bit about cutting is that you need very sharp scissors. If you have to sharpen the scissors before the sewing project, please do it. The few minutes you spend preparing for the cut will not compare to the time wasted when you encounter pulled threads and fraying edges that ruin the fabric.

It would be helpful also to consider cutting the patterns on the bias, as it alleviates some fraying possibilities that are inevitable as you sew satin. Additionally, give the material a rest break before you sew to ensure that it does not remain in a stretched position that may lead to fit issues in the future.

Aligning

Carefully have all the fabric pieces going in a similar direction whether you are laying them on the bias or not. This careful placement will help you avoid a noticeable nap if the parts are not in the same direction. Additionally, satin has some shine on it, and mistakes of this nature compromise its lovely appearance.

Marking

An air-soluble pen or a tailor’s chalk make excellent marking tools for satin when you want to highlight pattern details such as arrows and darts. They are easy to remove and keep your fabric in good shape and color, unlike marking options that require water to remove. However, satin is susceptible to water stains, and you need to be mindful of what you use.

Also, ensure that you mark the fabric’s wrong side and test the marker on a scrap piece before proceeding.

If you are using a pin, be sure to pin the seam or hem allowance area to avoid holes in your material.

Sewing

When sewing satin, use a good quality thread and a new, suitable size sewing machine needle. Hold the fabric taut when feeding it through the machine and use a short length stitch. This exercise will prevent seam puckers.

In addition to that, take time to hand-sew the seams together, especially if you are working with curved ones. Satin is a slippery material, and therefore, you need to keep everything in its proper place as you feed it through the machine.

Pressing

Please follow basic guidelines when pressing satin, such as pressing from the wrong side, and if you must press the fabric on the right side, use a pressing cloth. Also, avoid the seam feature on the iron to prevent water stains.

You can also consider placing paper under the hems to avoid creasing the right side of the fabric.

Finishing

Since satin frays easily, you must finish your seams. The good news is that there are multiple finishing options such as serging, pinking, and zig-zag stitches, leaving you with no excuse! These alternatives are also lightweight and won’t alter the garment’s right side.

Under no circumstances should you use a seam-ripper on satin as it causes holes. Therefore if you are unsatisfied with the fit or construction you want to sew, make a muslin before you begin.

Finally, consider underlining the garment to reduce strains on the hems and to enhance a smooth appearance when one wears it.

The above process may appear tedious, but it is worth it. Satin is very delicate and trickier to work with compared with most fabrics. However, with some patience, you will be amazed by what patterns and results it will deliver.

Here’s how to stop puckering:

Conclusion

Embroidering satin ribbons require creativity and a light touch when sewing. They are soft and delicate fabrics, which requires you to be very careful during the weaving process. However, practice will help you get better, and you do not have to fear messing up a few times before getting the desired outcome. You will also avoid a few pitfalls if you consider the above tips on