problems with twill

By bfleetwood on Dec. 18, 2009
Forums: 
Embroidery and Digitizing

I am running some applique. I am using tackle twill on fleece. The problem is that the final stitch, in this case steil, is causing the twill underneath of it to fray which is showing up between the steil stiches. This only happens on the top and bottom of the applique piece, in line with the "grain" of the twill.

I have to say that I have troubles getting the tackdown stitch to fall "inside" the border of the qpplique piece. Getting everything to line up perfectly is always challenging.

I have tried making the steil wider, but I still get the fraying.

Any ideas?

Location: 
United States
Attachment: 
Image icon 6699img0463-6699.jpg
Submitted by Flint54 on Tue, 12/22/2009 - 14:18

;) Another approach is to use a bit heavier underlay, something like a zig zag, with an inset contour on top. This along with a solvy/topping will keep the fraying down. ;)

Submitted by DandyLion on Tue, 12/22/2009 - 15:07

I've been told to do 80/20 and it helps.... 80% of the stitch on the twill and 20% off

Submitted by Eric on Fri, 12/18/2009 - 19:52

Are you using ball point needles?

We ran into this a while back, and someone had accidentally replaced a ballpoint needle for a sharp, and it was catching the twill on the return.

You can always try replacing the needle anyway, perhaps its got a bur or something.

Also as a "poor man's fix" you can always throw a piece of solvy on the twill to help keep the fray down.

Hope this helps
-- Eric

Submitted by bfleetwood on Sat, 12/19/2009 - 11:03

Thanks Eric. I will check my needles. Help me though on what "solvy" is. I'm still learning.

Submitted by bfleetwood on Sat, 12/19/2009 - 11:04

tshirt outlet wrote:
iam not sure are cutting the twill your self

Yes, I cut the twill myself - I use an Ioline 300.
Submitted by dalecuz on Sat, 12/19/2009 - 13:55

How about changing the direction of the satin stitch in that section... ie hit the twill on a 45deg angle.. are you using the ioline software? we have the same cutter... the tack down files are great from ioline... but tough to control settings for the satin stitch.

Submitted by tshirt outlet on Sat, 12/19/2009 - 20:05

i think twill runs in grain . iam not sure what iam trying to say . grain runs diff so it could be the way its cut out .does everyone what iam trying to get at

Submitted by Eric on Mon, 12/21/2009 - 10:08

Solvy is a water based film that dissolves when wet. Its used to hold down the "nap" on terrycloth or other high-pile fabrics.

Submitted by ahyder on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 17:25

I found the solution!
I have been wrestling with this same issue for some time now with no results. The last couple of days I have really been trying everything possible to dial in a job. After about 10 different variations and 2 phone calls to twill manufacturers, I finally figured out what the probelm is. There is too much density of the stitching.

Here is what I tested and didn't work;
-using smaller needles and larger needles.
- heat pressing the twill before cutting, after cutting and both
- adding a zig zag underlay, running stitch underlay or double layers of underlay.
- widening the satin stitch and increasing the percentage of coverage into the twill the satin stitch is.
-changing the direction of the twill on the cutter.

This last test, I pulled back on the density a fair amount and it came out beautiful. not one frayed edge.
If the density is too tight it will cut the fibers of the twill and cause it to fray. I hope this helps a lot of people from the headache I have had to deal with!
Happy Tackle Twill-ing!

Submitted by flyinneedle on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 22:27

It appears that you must be cutting your own twill; if that is the case you do need to add a zig zag underlay to tack down the twill. It also appears by the picture that your steil stitch may not be wide enough to cover the edge. That may be why the twill is coming up through the stitches.

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