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Stop That Sinking Feeling

 

Does your embroidery look like it is disappearing or sinking into the fabric?

When embroidering on high pile fabrics—polar fleece, sweaters, towels—your design may bene­fit from Knockdown Stitches.

Read on for answers from our experts on the top 7 questions we get about Knockdown Stitches:
 

1.     What is a Knockdown Stitch?

A Knockdown Stitch is a layer of stitching that we add beneath an embroidery design that holds down fluffy fabric, making your embroidered text or embroidery design more visible.
 

2.     Do Knockdown Stitches add much to our stitch count?

Knockdowns are made with an open stitch, so they do NOT add a lot of stitches. In most cases, a knockdown layer only adds about 800 to 1,500 stitches to the overall stitch count.

 

3.     Must the Knockdown Stitch layer be the same shape as our embroidered design?

The shape of the knockdown layer can be box shaped or it can be more organic, where it follows the general shape and perimeter of your lettering design.  (See both examples below)


TOP:  Organic shapes follow the perimeter of the lettering that will be embroidered.
BOTTOM:  Box-shaped knockdown layers frame lettering evenly on the top and bottom.

 

4.     What sort of fabrics work best with a Knockdown Stitches?

Knockdown Stitches work best on fabric with pile or high pile.

When ordering embroidery digitizing for lettering, monograms or embroidered text, be sure to let us know your fabric type. Why? Because some designs and most lettering have more of a chance to “sink” or to be covered by high pile fabric. 

Remember that lettering can disappear into the surrounding fabric and may not be as visible as you may like when you're embroidering on polar fleece or heavy knits. This is where Knockdown Stitches can help!



Above example shows embroidered lettering on pile fabric with NO knockdown layer.  

The following fabric types benefi­t most from Knockdown Stitches:

·       Polar fleece

·       Heavy knits

·       Beanies and towels
 

5.     Will I need a stabilizer or topping if I use Knockdown Stitches?

Using Knockdown Stitches keeps you from needing to handle and utilize toppings, like Solvy™ to make lettering stand out and be more readable on high pile fabrics.
 

6.  Must the Knockdown Stitch layer be the same color as the fabric?

You don't want the knockdown to be a different color because then the fabric will show through the Knockdown Stitch and just look like poor embroidery. 😊

 

7.  What shape is best for the Knockdown Stitch layer?

At Ignition Drawing, we do Knockdown Stitches in two styles:  Organic or Box-shaped. Be sure to choose the style that will work for your needs and let us know when you order your embroidery digitizing. The choice is yours based on your style preference and aesthetic.  
(See available Knockdown Stitch layer shapes below)

TOP:  Organic shapes follow the perimeter of the lettering that will be embroidered.
BOTTOM:  Box-shaped knockdown layers frame lettering evenly on the top and bottom.

 


 

If you have embroidery questions you’d like us to answer in our blog, please let us know!

DIGITIZING CUSTOMER SERVICE
Phone: 253 284 0733 Ext. 2
Email: digitizing@ignitiondrawing.com

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10 comments on article "Stop That Sinking Feeling"

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Driveway

Hey, that is a pretty neat trick - Dawn Driveway


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Julianna

I love these stitches! I wanted to have my and my husband's names on our sweaters, but the price was $70 per sweater! That's way too much money, considering the sweater alone costs $30..and stitches $70, making it $100 in total..



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Flappy Bird

Knockdowns are made with an open stitch, so they do NOT add a lot of stitches. In most cases, a knockdown layer only adds about 800 to 1,500 stitches to the overall stitch count.



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Spinner Man

Very nice, indeed.

Spinner Tools



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splatoon 3

When it comes to stitch count, Knockdown Stitches typically do not contribute significantly to the overall count. They are created using an open stitch, which means they do not require a large number of stitches. In most cases, a knockdown layer will only add approximately 800 to 1,500 stitches to the total stitch count of the embroidery design.


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Super Mario

Hello, could you please share with me more documents concerning lactic threshold? I sincerely appreciate it.


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Stop That Sinking Feeling

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Do you fi­nd your embroidery looks like it is disappearing or sinking into the fabric? When embroidering on high pile fabrics such as polar fleece, sweaters, or towels, your design may bene­fit from Knockdown Stitches, which flatten that pile—letting your embroidery stand out!

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