The Embroidery Store Offers
Daily Specials On Web Site

Are you a bargain hunter? Stop by our Web site, www.embstore.com, to check out our wonderful closeouts section. You'll want to come back often to see what's new because specials may change at a moment's notice.

In order to keep our inventory balanced, we often give customers a special break on items. Our closeout specials are featured in the left column under “categories” on the home page. All closeouts are offered for a limited time only. Front and center on the home page is our monthly special. Don't miss your chance to save money on all the supplies and accessories you use on a daily basis.

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One of the biggest challenges at The Embroidery Store is keeping customers up to date on all the supplies and accessories we add on a regular basis. For this reason, we maintain our online catalog, which we update often, and you have access to 24/7. Do a search online or print it out in pdf. format to have at your fingertips. We're also happy to mail you a catalog if you prefer. E-mail info@embstore.com and we'll get you a copy in the mail asap!

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Products of the Month

No Show Mesh Backing
Is Designed For Light Fabrics

Minimize show-through on lightweight and light-colored fabrics with No Show mesh backing manufactured by John Solomon and distributed by The Embroidery Store. This soft, translucent backing provides the support you need without the heavy hand or ugly appearance that can result from using a heavier backing. Embossed and nylon reinforced for greater stability, No Show needs only a single layer for most applications.

For additional support, a tearaway can be used behind the No Show. After sewing, the tearaway can be removed and excess No Show trimmed for a nice, neat appearance. The 1.5-ounce mesh comes two types: fusible and nonfusible. The fusible eliminates the need for basting or adhesive sprays. Just iron it on between 250 to 260 degrees for a secure hold.

No Show Mesh also is ideal to cover the back of finished embroidery for a nicer appearance and to avoid having the scratchy feeling of heavier backing against the skin. The Embroidery Store carries a full line of supplies and accessories for the commercial and home embroiderer. You may contact the company at its new toll-free number (800) 504-9757; e-mail info@embstore.com; or visit www.embstore.com.

Hydro-Stick Offers Solutions
For Hard-To-Hoop Jobs

For those tough-to-hoop jobs such as baby socks, neck ties, or bags, Hydro-Stick comes to your rescue. This nontoxic embroidery backing is designed to embroider on items that are irregularly shaped, slippery, or run the risk of getting hoop burn.

Hydro-Stick is simple to use. Choose a hoop larger than your substrate. Secure Hydro-Stick backing in the hoop, moisten the adhesive surface, and apply your item. Your item is secured and ready to be embroidered.

Hydro-Stick replaces peel-and-stick backings or adhesive sprays for most applications. It comes in three weights: light, soft, and firm in a tearaway or a cutaway. It eliminates the problem of gummy residue buildup on needles and machine parts that can occur with adhesives. An item can easily be repositioned on the backing by remoistening the surface. It is ideal for velvets, napped materials, silks, knits, vinyl, leather, and any material requiring a better hold.

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Technical Tip

Backing Up Your Work

The type of embroidery stabilizer or backing you choose can have a major impact on the final appearance of your embroidery. Any embroidery looks good when it leaves the shop; the real test is after it’s been through the washer a few times.

Backing comes in three choices: cutaway, tearaway, and specialty. It also is offered in a range of weights. There are many factors that go into choosing the best backings for a specific job including the design’s stitch count, the stitch density, the fabric weight, and the stretchiness of the fabric. But here are some general guidelines to use when deciding what type and weight of backing to use with specific types of apparel.

T-Shirts, Golf Shirts, Lightweight Fabrics, Light-Colored Knits

Design: Low- to medium-stitch count (2,000 to 7,000 stitches, which approximates most left-chest size designs)

Backing: 1.5-ounce No Show mesh if the backing may show through the shirt or 2-ounce, lightweight cutaway if the backing is not going to show through the shirt.

Design: High stitch count with more density (7,000 stitches and above)

Backing:  2.5-ounce, medium-weight cutaway or 3-ounce, heavy cutaway or if the backing may show through the shirt, make a sandwich using  1.3-ounce, light tearaway with the 1.5-ounce No Show mesh. The tearaway gives added stability to support more stitches but can be torn off after the design is finished.

To choose the best backing for the job, you must consider the stitch count, stitch density, and type of fabric.

Terrycloth and Fleece Fabrics

Design: Low- to medium-density small design (Up to 7,000 stitches)

Backing: 2-ounce, lightweight cutaway or 2.5-ounce, medium-weight cutaway

Design: Full fronts and large designs (Ranging between 10,000 to 50,000 stitches)

Backing: 3-ounce, heavyweight cutaway

Towels

Design: Most applications

Backing: 1.5-ounce, medium-weight tearaway or tearaway Hydro-Stick

Caps

Cap Type: Firm front

Backing: 1.8-ounce, heavy tearaway cap backing

Cap Type: Soft front

Type: 3-ounce, tearaway cap backing

Jackets

Jacket Type: Stable nylons

Backing: 1.5-ounce, medium tearaway or 1.8-ounce, heavy tearaway or 2-ounce, lightweight cutaway

Design: Higher stitch count and less stable fabric

Backing: 3-ounce, heavyweight cutaway

 

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My Proudest Piece

An Order in the Hand
Is Worth Two In The Bush

Some orders you just can’t forget. Even if you really, really want to.

After embroidering 300 scarves for the 2000 Presidential inauguration, that 35,000-stitch design was firmly etched in the minds of the employees at Signature Designs, Chattanooga, Tenn. The scarf order, requested by Tennessee congressman Zack Wamp, featured the Tennessee and Texas state flags, the inauguration’s date (Jan. 20, 2001), the President’s name and title, and the Tennessee Congressional delegation.

“We didn’t realize how long it would take us, so we worked until the wee hours of the morning,” explains Melanie Coakley, owner. “We recruited my mom for help. She trimmed threads and pressed and folded the scarves. She’s in her 70s, and she’s a Democrat. She looked at me and said, ‘When I’m old and [losing my memory], I’ll always remember that George Walker Bush was the 43^rd President.’”

Melanie Coakley, her husband, and her mom worked into the wee hours of the morning to produce 300 scarves for the 2000 Bush Presidential inauguration.

Despite its difficulty, the order was an accomplishment to be proud of for the shop. “It was a challenging job to sew,” Coakley admits. “Each one took a good 35 to 40 minutes, and we ran them on two 12-heads.”

The shop faced a few obstacles in completing 10” x 62” fleece scarves before their deadline. “We had some mechanical difficulties along the way,” Coakley recalls. “One of the machines locked up on us. Anytime you’re in a rush that happens. We even had Steve, my husband, helping me run machines—and, of course, he had never ran a machine before.”

After the scarves were stitched, trimmed, pressed, and folded, they were individually polybagged and overnighted via FedEx. And in the end, the effort was worth it, Coakley says, even leading to an article in the local newspaper. “Through all the headaches, it was very rewarding that our work was for the inauguration,” she says. “Thanks to all the team effort, we pulled it off.”

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Customer Profile: Ashlee's Embroidery

N.C.-based embroiderers build successful shop by catering to local eateries, businesses.

While the national media is filled with gloom and doom about the economy’s ongoing struggles, embroiderers continue to chug along just fine, thank you. Take the case of Ashlee’s Embroidery & Gifts, Salisbury, N.C., a burgeoning business that has grown steadily, even in the face of a tough economy.

Ashlee Smith started the business out of her home in December 1999 with a noncommercial embroidery machine. Frustrated by the limitations of the equipment, which botched nearly one out of every four shirts, Ashlee purchased a commercial unit a few months later, says her husband, Raymond.

The business began modestly with orders for family and friends, but grew quickly thanks to referrals and contacts from Raymond’s full-time job. By October 2000, the Smiths were doing well enough to open a 1,900-square-foot retail store and add a second singlehead machine. Within two more years, they purchased a four-head machine and moved again, this time to a 2,500-square-foot retail store, with plenty of room to dedicate nearly 1,000 square feet to a retail area.

Today, the shop caters to local businesses from throughout their midsize town, including Mexican restaurants. Through their retail shop, which has a separate pricing structure from the wholesale side, the Smiths sell plenty of placket shirts, hats, jackets, and baby items. And although walk-in business only accounts for about 10% of sales, the retail area is key to setting the Smiths apart from competitors. “There are three or four other local embroiderers,” Raymond says, “but we’re the only one with a true store, where you can come in and buy one item.”

Ashlee’s Embroidery & Gifts also does contract work, including hundreds of uniforms, jackets, and blankets each week. “One customer [a promotional products distributor] sells apparel to GMAC Insurance, and we put GMAC’s logo on it.” In fact, nearly 15% of the shop’s customers are promotional products distributors.

Business is doing well enough that the company does little if any advertising anymore. “People have found out about us by word of mouth,” Raymond says. “That seems to be the best advertisement.”

The successful shop handles its busy workflow with four employees; Raymond handles sales and Ashlee focuses on running the shop. Heat transfer numbers and letters are used for sports uniforms. Digitizing is done in-house by Ashlee using a Compucon system. Screen print orders are subcontracted to a local shop.

Raymond does the occasional cold call, although not as often as he’d like, he admits. “Sometimes I’ll just grab a directory and look up some business,” he says. “It seems like the cold call works efficiently. They tend to buy when you’re standing there. And yes, I carry a garment bag of shirt and hat samples. But I’m not one to force it down anyone’s throat. I generally drop off a catalog and a business card.”

Most important to the shop’s success, Raymond says, is his and Ashlee’s concern for their customers. “We genuinely care about people,” he says. “We want to make sure they get what they pay for.”

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Employee Spotlight: Marty Cogswell

Marty's Mission: Get Out
Orders Properly And On Time

And Cogswell, who processes up to 50 orders a day, realizes how important that role is. “I try to get everybody’s order out correctly each day,” he says. “I make sure that everything is in the right location and that things are labeled correctly.”

Cogswell has a long history in the embroidery industry, having started with Meistergram in 1982, crating machines for shipment. About five years later, when Macpherson bought Meistergram, Cogswell was offered a position picking orders. He was with the company as a purchaser until it went out of business. Today, he’s happy to still be a part of the industry with The Embroidery Store. “You stick with things you know,” he says. “And I enjoy working with the people here. I look forward to coming in and working.”

When he’s not working, Cogswell enjoys watching NASCAR and other auto racing series, and he collects tropical fish, which includes angel fish housed in his 125-gallon, 55-gallon and 38-gallon tanks.

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