Embroidery Terms
Below you will find terms and definitions used in the embroidery
business.
| Accordion Spacing | Stitch spacing that gradually changes between dense and open fill, producing effects similar to halftones and color mix. Used for shading, color effects, layering, and interleaving several colors. |
| Anti-Pilling | A treatment applied to the garment to prevent pilling, or the formation of little balls of fabric due to wear. |
| Appliqué | A separate pre-cut piece of decorated or plain fabric that is applied on top of another piece of fabric. Appliqués are frequently used to reduce overall embroidery stitch counts, difficult tone work and, substrates difficult to embroider directly. |
| Automatic Centering | Connecting the first and last stitch of the design to its geometric center. |
| Backing | Typically non-woven material, applied beneath material to be sewn to increase stability and support stitches. Available in few forms: tear-aways, cut-aways, dissolve-away. These come in various weights and thickness. Backings are generally hooped or framed together with fabric or otherwise positioned between fabric and embroidery machine throat plate prior to stitching |
| Bean Stitch | see triple run |
| Birdnest | Collection of thread between the material being sewn and the needle plate, resembling a bird's nest. Formation of a bird's nest prevents free movement of goods and may be caused by: inadequate tensioning of the top thread; top thread not through take-up lever; top thread not following thread path correctly; or flagging of goods |
| Blatt Stitch | Schiffli term meaning to feed more yarn, therefore producing a long zig-zag stitch with threads laying close together. Adapted for multi-head use: See Satin Stitch. |
| Bobbin | Spool or reel that holds the bottom thread (underthread), in the bobbin case. Usually in white and together with the top embroidery thread forms the required stitches. |
| Bore | Sharp pointed instrument attached to machine used to pierce holes to make openings on the fabric. |
| Boring | Hole opening onto fabric and stitches made around the opening to stop fraying. |
| Bouncing | Up and down motion of goods under action of needle, named after the motion of a waving flag. Often caused by improper framing of goods, flagging may result in poor registration, unsatisfactory stitch formation and "birdnesting". Commonly referred to as Flagging. |
| Bridge Machine | Embroidery machine with sewing heads suspended on a cross beam across the whole machine, allowing a larger sewing field, having twin shafts, one for the upper sewing head and the other for the bobbin assembly beneath. |
| Buckram or Buckram Backing | Heavy woven interlining material, usually stiffened. Commonly found at the inside crown of the baseball caps to give body and form. |
| Bullion | Also called bullion wire badges, these are hand sewn with either silver or gold wires (made like springs). Generally from India or Pakistan. |
| Cap Frames | Devices found on specialized machines to do embroidery on a finished cap. Some are wide angle or 270 degree. The later will embroider an area much further around a cap all the way to the sides |
| Cartooon | Finished artwork of embroidery design ready for digitizing, usually 4-6 times larger than actual size. |
| Center Run / Central Underlay | Run stitches put beneath columns/satin stitches of 1.5-3mm width |
| Chain Stitch | Stitch that is linked and form in a chain like manner. |
| Chenille / Chenilling | Have the look of loops on towels and is created on specialized embroidery machines using heavy yarn or threads. e.g. athletic letters and alphabets. |
| Coiling | A decorative effect using 3 yarns (a coiling thread wrapped around a core thread that is sewn to the garment with the third thread). |
| Column | Typically used to form borders around fill areas and for rendering text, the column stitch consists of closely spaced satin stitches. |
| Complex Fill | Similar to standard fill except that the fill areas have ‘knock out portions creating openings or negative areas to form background design. |
| Cording | A technique that employs a single cord that's laid down on fabric and attached with transparent zigzag stitches. These are relatively simple, low-stitch-count designs featuring lots of swirls and curves. Different widths of cording are available to provide a wide range of looks. A special attachment is required for the embroidery machine. |
| Cordlock | A stopper on a draw cord that will keeps the cord from retracting into a garment. Cover Stitching: Using two needles to overlap threads underneath, covering the over-edged seams with smooth-seamed layers of threads. |
| Creeding Stitch | see fill stitch. |
| Cross-Stitch | Regular bean stitch movements forming x's in rows or within a box shape to form geometric designs. Creates a handmade appearance. |
| Cylinder Arm type Machine | Embroidery machine with a post feature extending from table top. Suitable for cap attachment, sleeves and sewn up tee-shirts. |
| Debossing | Depressed imprint created by a machine pressing a dye into the surface of fabric or material. Popular in leather decoration. |
| Density | Number of stitches in a specific area. Determines the total thread coverage in a design. |
| Digitizing | The art of taking a digital (scanned, image, vector art) image and converting it to a embroidery machine format. The digitizing process is the most critical part of the whole process and using this propriety software skill and experience is of utmost importance. |
| Denier | Unit of weight used to measure the fineness of thread. Equal to weight in grams of 9000 meters of thread. Deniers are represented by the weight of the strands of thread, a slash, and the number of strands per thread, 120/2 Den. |
| E-stitch | Similar to satin stitch but is formed like a comb, as they are all joined only on one side of the column, used mainly for holding appliqué pieces down in its tacking process. |
| Edge Run Underlay | For supporting wider columns, the run stitches are placed alongside the edges of the column. |
| Editing | Modifying existing designs for a better finish. Examples include moving individual stitches in blocks, scaling, adding text, re-positioning or re-sequence elements, adding or deleting parts of the designs, etc. |
| Emblem | Also known as insignia, crest, patch and badge. Usually characterized by a stitched or merrowed border, sometimes finished with back adhesive. |
| Embroidery | Decorative sewing onto fabric or other substrates that incorporates design elements, text and motifs. Generally involves non-lettered designs but can also include lettering and/or monograms. Evidence of embroidery exists during the reign of Egyptian pharaohs, in the writings of Homer from the Crusaders of the 12th century. Evolved from handwork to manual sewing machines and from handlooms and schiffli machines with hundreds of needles to high-speed, computerized multi-head machines. |
| Empty stitch | Needle penetrations without any frame movement, used mainly for tie ins at the beginning of stitching. |
| Eyelet | A hole bored into a fabric with reinforced stitching around its edges. |
| Facing/Stabilizer/Topping | Material hooped or placed on top of items to be embroidered that have a definable nap or surface texture, such as corduroy and terry cloth. The facing compacts the wale or nap and holds the stitches above it. Includes a variety of substances such as water soluble plastic "foil", and open weave fabric which is chemically treated to disintegrate with the application of heat. Also referred to as Topping. May be referred to as Solvy which is a brand name for water soluble material manufactured by Gunold & Stickma. |
| Feather Stitch | A type of stitch in which short stitches project at right angles from a main line of stitching. |
| Fill Stitch | Series of parallel running stitches commonly used to cover large areas. Different fill patterns can be created by altering the angle, length, and repeat sequence of the stitches. Also referred to as Tatami (looks like the Japanese tatami straw mats). |
| Finishing | Any of a number of procedures of thread trimming, removal of excess backing, topping, oil spots, soil removal, steaming to remove hoop marks, labeling, bagging and packing. |
| Flagging | As needle penetrates, fabric may also move up and down against the machine throat plate (like a flying flag) causing bird-nesting and poor registration; typically due to poor presser foot adjustment or improper hooping. Sometimes referred to as Bouncing. |
| Float Function | Command of machine to move to desired position of design without needle penetrations or needle drop. |
| Fox Test | Method of testing thread tension and timing of machine. Sewing the word FOX in one inch satin block letters. Check underthread tension after sewing to examine for skipped stitches and the two-third, one-third ratio of top to bottom thread. FOX requires the pantograph to move in all directions to check both belt timing and function. |
| Frame | See hoop |
| French Knots | A stitch featuring a raised, knotted center |
| Fringe | Threads that are cut and hang loosely from the edge of a design. |
| Guide Stitch | A series of running stitches to guide pasting or alignment of fabic. |
| Hand | The way the fabric feels when it's touched. Terms like softness, crispness, and silkiness are all used to describe the hand of the fabric. |
| Hook | Holds the bobbin case in the machine and plays a vital role in stitch formation. Making two complete rotations for each stitch, its point meets a loop of top thread at a precisely timed moment and distance (gap) to form a stitch. |
| Hoop | Device made from wood, plastic or steel with which fabric is gripped tightly between an inner ring and an outer ring. It attaches to the machine's pantograph. Machine hoops are designed to push the fabric to the bottom of the inner ring and hold it against the machine bed for embroidering. |
| Hoop Burn | Permanent marks that remain on a fabric after the embroidery hoop has been removed. Unlike, hoop marks, hoop burn cannot be removed. It is the result of crushed fibers caused by a hoop that is too tight. |
| Hoop Mark | The temporary marks that remain on the fabric after the embroidery hoop has been removed. Also referred to as a Hoop Ring. Such marks can typically be removed using steam or Magic Sizing spray. |
| Hooping Press or Hooping Station | Device used to help in the hooping process, generally to quicken and assist in accuracy and consistency of hooping |
| Insignia | Term for military patch, badges and emblems. |
| I Test | A thread tension test in which one 1 inch capital letter I is stitched out in each of the color threads available on the machine, after which all I's are compared for consistent and correct tension. See also FOX Test and Thirds Test. |
| Interlock Stitch | Two or more rows of overlapping satin stitches. The point of overlapping can be straight or curved. Also known as thread blending or random stitch. |
| Jacquard | Named after Joseph M. Jacquard, inventor of the jacquard loom. It uses a punched card to instruct the loom to weave a pattern in cloth. |
| Jersey Knit | A type of fabric with a defined smooth outside, and a more textured inside. Almost all T-shirts are constructed of jersey knit material. |
| Jump Stitch | Movement of the pantograph and rotation of the sewing head without the needle going down. Used to move from one point in a design to another or to create stitches that are longer than the machine would normally allow. |
| Lip Hooping | This technique is useful for hooping smooth slicky fabrics or bulky items such as insulated jackets. The inner ring is pushed past the edge of the out ring so that the outer ring is higher up than the inner ring, forming a lip. This prevents slipping during sewing and prevents flagging. Also called recessed hooping. |
| Lettering Styles | Commonly called fonts or typefaces, come in many styles and sizes such as Helvetica, Century, Arial, Old English, etc. |
| Lock Stitch | Commonly referred to as a lock-down or tack-down stitch, a lock stitch is formed by three or four consecutive stitches of at least a 10-point movement. It should be used at the end of any element in your design where jump stitches will follow, such as color change or the end of a design. May be stitched in a triangle, star or in a straight line. Also the name of the type of stitch formed by the hook and needle of home sewing machines, as well as computerized embroidery machines |
| Logo | Name, symbol or trademark of a company or organization. Short for logotype. |
| Looping | Erratic stitch construction on the surface of embroidery often due to improper top thread tension, or using different types of thread (polyester, rayon or metallics). |
| Merrow | Type and name of machine to stitch overlock edges of emblems. |
| Microfiber | A fine polyester fiber that woven into a lightweight, washable and breathable fabric that holds shape extremely well. The finished result is a smooth, soft, almost suede-like feel. The tight weave allows the fabric to be water resistant while still remaining light and breathable. |
| Monogram | Embroidery of stylized lettering, typically three or fewer letters representing the initial(s) of a person’s name or organization. |
| Moss Stitch | A looped stitch formed as a chenille stitch, but with finer thread to achieve a more elegant decorative stitch. |
| Motif Run | A decorative outline stitch type, Using Motif run, one can repeat a selected motif along a digitized line. |
| Name Drop | Refers to using a list of names to personalize different items. Common example is a sports team requiring player names on different uniforms |
| Needle | Round slender piece of steel in very smooth finishing with one end thicker for attaching to the machine and the other either in taper point, ball end and sharp. Just before the pointed end there is a hole (eye) for the thread to pass through. |
| Nippers | Small scissors for thread trimming. |
| Objects | A design is made up of a series of objects (also known as blocks) of different types , e.g. satin, fill, border, run stitches etc. |
| Overstitching | When the frame moves further than the pattern directs. |
| Pantograph | The metal frame between the needle and table. Use for moving the fabric and other fixtures attached to it for the sole purpose of creating the required designs. |
| Patch | Made from twill fabric, patches have a merrowed edge and can have an adhesive back. |
| Pellon | Pellon is a brand name. However it is commonly used to refer to woven and non-woven material used underneath the item or fabric being embroidered to provide support and stability. Can be hooped with the item, or placed between the machine throat plate and the hooped garment. Available in various weights and in two basic types: cutaway and tearaway. Also referred to as Stabilizer or Backing. |
| Pile | Fabric with a surface of upright yarns or fibers, cut or looped, i.e. corduroy, velvets and terry towels. |
| Pitch | Slope or angle of stitches in a relation to a base line |
| Presser foot | L-shaped mechanical lever with a large opening in the base through which the needle must pass when sewing. For each stitch penetration, the presser foot comes down and pushes the fabric flat against the machine table, holding it steady for the needle to penetrate. After the needle raises back up, the presser foot rises as well, allowing the pantograph to move the garment to the next stitch point. |
| Program Split | (see Complex fill) used as a decorative stitch type, tatami with needle penetrations that form patterns e.g. tile or wave patterns. |
| Pigment dyed | A dying process that gives fabric a desirable soft distressed look, as if it had been washed and worn. |
| Pique | A class of double-cloth fabrics made in both carded and combed yarn qualities in a variety of patterns. Piques are often made from cotton but sometimes rayon material and used for golf or placket shirts. |
| Placket | A vertical slit extending from the front of a shirt's collar, often reinforced at the base to prevent tearing. Two or three buttons are usually placed within this placket area. |
| Proof | Sample sew-out of a new design to make sure the pattern is correct. |
| Pucker | Gathering of fabric in a wave like manner due to embroidery tension, inappropriate backing and wrong hooping. |
| Pull Compensation | Deliberate distortion digitized into design to compensate for the natural pull inherent in sewing. For example, a 10mm column may finish as 9 or 9.5mm because of materials, the pull of thread, etc. In this case a pull compensation of 5 to 10 percent will reduce the distortion of the block. |
| Puff Embroidery | A technique popular in the early '90s, and seems to he gaining popularity again. A special thick backing is placed in the hoop under the substrate. |
| Registration | Proper relationship and alignment of all colors, stitches, sequence and processes. |
| Running Stitch | Consists of one stitch between two points. Used for outlining and fine detail. Also known as walk stitch. There are various forms of running stitches, including the bean, the half bean, two-ply and programmed. |
| SPM | Stitches-Per-Minute measurement used to rate the embroidery machine operation speed. |
| Satin Stitch | Formed by closely arranged zig-zag stitches. Can be laid down at an angle with varying stitch length. Adapted from the blatt stitch used in schiffli embroidery. See Blatt Stitch. Also known as a column stitch. |
| Scaling | Proportionate enlarging and reducing the whole digitized design. |
| Scallop Stitch | Decorative edge stitching that forms a series of curves. |
| Schiffli Machine | A commercial embroidery machine that utilizes the combination of needle and shuttle to form a stitch. Massive in size and excellent for emblem production, the creation of lace, embroidery production on oversized items and production orders of extremely large quantities. |
| Selvage | Outer edges of piece goods, usually crimped in some manner to retard fraying. |
| Short-Stitch Filter | Feature in newer digitizing software that eliminates stitches shorter than a pre-determined length to reduce thread breaks. |
| Short Stitches | Deliberate shorten stitches around corners and in letterings incorporated so as there will not be clustering and thread breaks. |
| Special Fill | A function in the newer digitizing software that incorporates special patterns and textures at the fill areas. |
| Stitch Editing / Editing | Alteration of one or more stitches in an embroidery design or function changes e.g.. trims, stops, color changes and re-sizing. |
| Stitch Processing | The calculation of stitch information by means of specialized software, allowing scaling of expanded format designs with density compensation. |
| Stitch Rate | The amount being paid for per 1000 stitches. |
| Stock Designs | Similar to clip art, generic embroidery designs available in digital format from design houses at a lower cost than a custom ordered design. |
| Stump | Threads that are not trimmed properly leaving a small end of thread. |
| Swatch | A piece of fabric, embroidery or yarn. |
| Swing | Frame movement caused by the command in the program. |
| Tacking Iron | Device used to fuse heat-sealable items such as appliqués, emblems and letters to fabric, similar to small heating iron. |
| Tackle Twill | Text characters cut from twill fabric with an adhesive backing, typically used for athletic applications, usually used as an appliqué. |
| Tatami | See Fill Stitch |
| Tension | Two or more strand of filaments twisted together for strength and other characteristics. Generally, comes in rayon, polyester, cotton and metallics. |
| Tie-ins and Tie-offs | The lock stitches in the beginning and end of a sewing sequence. |
| Thirds Test | Method of testing thread tension and soundness of timing. Sew the word FOX in 1 inch satin block letters with each needle, then examine the reverse side for skipped stitches and correctly balanced ratio of top thread to bobbin thread. The correct balance is generally considered to be a one-third ratio of bobbin to two-thirds top thread. These letters are used because they require the movement of the pantograph in all directions, increasing the likelihood that the beginnings of timing irregularities will be discovered. Also referred to as the FOX Test. NOTE: The same test methodology can be performed using different combinations of letters besides FOX. Another common version is the "I" Test which utilizes only the letter I. |
| Thread | Fine cord of natural or synthetic fibers, made of two or 'note filaments twisted together, and used for stitching. Embroidery threads are available in a variety of types, including rayon, polyester, cotton, acrylic and metallics |
| Thread Count | The actual number of warp ends and filling picks per inch in a woven cloth. In knitted fabric, thread count implies the number of wales or ribs. |
| Thread cutting | The removal of floats and unwanted thread jumps by hand or machine. |
| Through Miss | A mistake in design or punching where a part of the design was left out. |
| Topping | Material placed on top of fabric while embroidering, used to neutralize fabric surface characteristics such as towel, fleece, corduroy and velvets. |
| Trapunto | Stitching technique in which a design, outlined on one side of fabric, is padded on the opposite side, creating a dimensional accent |
| Travel Run | see Walk Stitch |
| Trimmers | Devices found on most machines manufactured after 1990. They trim the threads between color changes, jump stitches, between block lettering, and at the end of the design |
| Trimming | Operation in the finishing process that involves trimming the reverse and top sides of the embroidery, including jump stitches and backing. |
| Triple Run | Similar to running stitch but that this runs 3 layers (forward, backward & forward) used for borders around fill stitches. Thickness is between running and satin stitching. |
| Tubular Frames | Frames or hoops that are especially designed to sew on garments that are manufactured in a tubular fashion i.e.: tee-shirts, sweat shirts, golf shirts. It also works well with jackets. The opposite side of the garment hangs below a cylinder arm and is out of the way of the garments on the other heads. |
| Tulle | A fine net of acetate, nylon, rayon or silk used for the embroidery of laces. |
| Underlay | Stitches applied prior to other design elements for neutralizing fabric, stabilizing design and to create special effects such as depth and dimensionality. |
| Walk Stitch | Stitches generated automatically for the connecting of segments within the design. Also see running stitch. |
| Weight | When referring to T-shirts, the three standard weight divisions are mid-weight/value, heavyweight/premium, and super heavyweight. Mid-weight/value items are generally less than 4.9 ounces; heavyweight/premium shirts range from 5.0 to 6.4 ounces; and super heavyweights are 6.5 ounces or higher. |
| Zigzag | Stitches that progress in an alternating angle (zigzag manner), used for tacking down appliqués and tackle twill. |
| Zigzag Underlay | Run stitches under wide columns fashioned in zigzag manner or double zigzag form for stability and support. |