New Embroidery Products Pass Hands-On Test

Bobbin, Feb, 2000 by Connie Smith

A sampling of new embroidery developments, from thread to software, reveals interesting features for saving time and labor and enhancing embroidery designs.

There continues to be astonishing progress in the development of new machinery, software and supplies for the embroidery industry, from automated stitchers and digitizing programs to threads and backings. Just when you think industry suppliers cannot make a faster machine or more comprehensive software tool, they introduce new products that outperform their predecessors.

Automated embroidery machines continue to be the "big ticket" items for embroidery firms that are making capital investments, and every year the industry's machinery suppliers add more features. For the 1999/2000 season, Bridge-water, NJ-based Brother International Inc. has added the BES 1240 BC, a four-head, 12-needle machine, to its line, which previously consisted of one-, three-and six-head machines. While examining the machine at the Bobbin Americas trade show this past September in Atlanta, GA, I was impressed by its quiet operation. The BES 1240 BC also ran smoothly at 1,000 stitches per minute while producing a design with running, satin and fill stitches. The machine has an expandable sewing field, and can be connected to a computer network or run from a machine-attached disk drive.

SWF Ltd., which recently moved to a new facility in Torrance, CA, also has increased its machinery offerings, adding a selection of smaller machines to its lines. The company also offers large units with up to 24 sewing heads. New products include the single-head SWF/A-T1201, for sampling and other small quantity production; the four-head SWF/A-UK120445; and the six-head SWF/A-UK1206-45. The latter two models both have standard embroidery areas of 500 mm by 450 mm.

Also in the machinery area, Hirsch International, with headquarters in Hauppause, NY, has introduced the new "Tech in a Box" program for the TMEXC-1501 embroidery machine. Designed to help new embroiderers get their businesses up and running fast, the program delivers the unit in a specially designed package constructed of light, yet extremely strong material. A door and built-in ramp allow the machine to be easily rolled into a customer's facility, making the unit ready to go right out of the box.

Some other fascinating new embroidery products are software related, whether in the area of graphics, production or digitizing.

While consulting in Europe recently, I had the chance to sample an interesting new software package that is just now hitting the U.S. market. At the Vittorio Veneto, Italy-based corporate offices of GMI, I spent three days learning the firm's new Stilista digitizing program with assistance from a team of GMI technicians and trainers. Using a single-head machine to stitch out my creations, I was able to see firsthand the extensiveness of the software's capabilities.

With Stilista's "auto" feature for digitizing, you simply select a color and stitch direction, and with a click of the mouse, you can automatically digitize a design block. (You also can choose to manually digitize.) I was most interested by the way the fill areas stitched out. Directed by the software, the needle starts in the center of the block to be stitched, and then works its way to the outside. This method pushes the fabric outward as it is being stitched, rather than pushing it in a side-to-side or top-to-bottom manner. This stitching technique makes the outline better fit the design.

Stilista comes with hundreds of fill stitch patterns, or you can make your own using up to three colors of thread. The software has a very interesting function that adds 3-D effects of all kinds to individual blocks or the entire design. In terms of lettering, the program's alphabets stitch out well all the way down to three millimeters. At this tiny size, you need to use a smaller needle, but you can still use a 40-weight thread. The program automatically selects the closest connect method for stitching the letters.

While the software sector may offer an array of dazzling developments, there also are interesting advances being made in equipment for the less-discussed embroidery packing department. I recently visited NEDCO, just outside of Atlanta, GA, and spent most of the day with company founder Jack Dodson, who demonstrated how folding, bagging, tagging and labeling machines are made from the ground up.

For the year 2000, NEDCO has developed a machine that will fold long-sleeved garments without any preliminary manual folding. With previous models, the arms of long-sleeved shirt had to be manually folded under the shirt before the shirt could be placed on the folding machine. Surprisingly, only a little bit of width had to be added to the machine to accommodate this new feature.

In the area of embroidery backings, John Solomon Inc., Somerville, MA, has added a new nonwoven to its 2000 product line. It is a "re-moistenable" backing, and comes in three different weights. I found it great to use with spandex. Just lightly moisten the backing and then hoop the garment. Or as I prefer to do, hoop the backing first, moisten it and then lay the garment on the backing. It takes just a minute for the backing to dry, and hold the fabric securely in place for embroidery without pulling or stretching.