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QuestionWashing embroidered clothes tips
Some time ago I bought an embroidery kit to practice different types of stiches (I had very little experience prior to that). Turned out embroidery is not that hard and now I want to start embroidering my clothes - to mend tiny holes with daisies or to simply decorate sleeves of my shirts. Since I haven't got much experience with embroidery I do not know how embroidered clothes behave during laundry. Our laundry routine is so far simple - put dirty clothes straight into the washing machine and when it's full - wash all the clothes. We don't separate clothes into separate piles. The only clothes we wash seperately is sports gear as it requires a lower temperature. So question: if I embroider, say, a pocket of my trousers, should I keep putting my trousers in the everything-mix or should I chose a more delicate mode, like for sports gear? Will hot water affect the colours? Will a longer cycle damage stitches?
Which thread do you use? I use high quality cotton which says it is washable at 95°C, and while the first towels I embroidered look rather ratty by now ... the embroidery part is still beautifully intact! (Only cross stitch - if you do something more delicate, durability might differ.)
Though 30°C and one of those bags to protect the item of clothing would probably make it last even longer - occasionally, something is ripped in the washing machine, not sure if it is by the washing machine itself or the metal buttons on other items of clothing. ( An old pillowcase might be used instead of a special bag, I guess.)
So far I only used the thread that was in the kit. I don't know if it's good quality or not. I mean I embroidered a picture with flowers and going to hang it on the wall without washing.
Great idea with a laundry bag! We do have one - was a present and we haven't used it so far. But now, I guess, it can find its purpose.
Depends on the embroidery thread you use. Regular cotton thread will fade over time, and the stitches can get pulled. One thing you can do is wash the clothes inside out to protect the stitching. For really fancy work I use gentle soaps (eg Woolite) and lukewarm water. For patches etc - into the regular wash.
Thank you! I am a beginner at embroidery, so nothing fancy yet. Great tip with washing clothes inside out!
I would suggest washing inside out like the other comment. aside from that, it could also depend on how well you embroidered things, like if your knots were secure enough.
Follow up question: is it better to knot or to just weave the end into stitches? I have seen so many tutorials where they do.not knot, but I am scared the weaving is less reliable.
if you're going to machine wash it, I would say knotting is more secure. just weaving it in seems way more likely to unravel in that case, but might be okay for a purely decorative piece that's going to be hung on a wall. you could possibly try to do a combo of both? weave in, then also knot after weaving it in.
I did the combo for my decorative piece as I couldn't decide which was better 😂
I’m going to weigh in from an extreme standpoint. Adjust accordingly to your situation. Assuming you’ve got delicate thread, ribbon, and/or beading,
After finishing embroidery, line the back with a protective cloth to protect the back from the friction of pulling clothes on.
When washing, wash inside out. Gentle cycle. To increase the laundering power of your detergent, presoak 1-12 hours. That’s what you do when you want to avoid being aggressive with the fabric.
Wash separately from items with hardware, like zippers. (This is also how I prolong the life of my more delicate items like knits and jersey). My t shirts last a long time.
Temperature depends entirely on fiber composition and dyes used. If unsure and not worried about dye leaking out, I dunk the item into a narrow white bin of hot water and see if the water changes colours after 40 min.
Thanks! All of these sound reasonable!