Either you have an older or new version of the cap digitizing machine, but the digitizing method will stay the same. The machine you’re using can vary. For decades, we have been providing embroidery digitizing services of all kinds to our clients at Punch Digitizing. We know the ins and outs of the digitization of caps. In this post we’re talking about the needle breaks in the caps in this post. Why needle breaks occur? What are the factors that cause needle breaks? In what conditions do needle breaks happen? What are the options and precautions? And what would you do to deal with the situation?
Why Needle Breaks Occur
1. The fabric is too tough:
Did you ever try to embroider a fabric and just keep losing your needle? Remember that the fabric may be too tough for your chosen needle! By applying heat or spraying water on the front of the cap, try softening the fabric. To soften the fabric, many embroiderers get inventive and use heat from a steamer or heat press.
As it makes the fabric soft and easy to penetrate, this tip works well for rough, structured caps. It’s also necessary that you pick the right needle you’re going to get to in the next segment.
2. Using the wrong type of needle
Different fabrics require different needle types. Ballpoint needles, for example, work best on thin, stretchy cloth, and if you try to sew on heavy material, such as caps or corduroy, they can also break. The majority of embroidery projects call for sharp point needles of 75/11. However, try using a different form of needle to fix the issue if you typically have a needle breaking problem.
For tough materials trying titanium needles that appear to be more suitable. You can also use titanium-coated needles on standard cloth, as they are designed to last longer than your typical needle.
3. Cap driver is too high
Usually, needle breakage occurs when embroidering on hats, . This is because of their round surface and uncommon shape.
In embroidery, our purpose is to make the fabric as flat as possible. It will also be beneficial to lower the cap driver to reduce the distance between the cap and the needle plate. This decreases flagging, which is what usually enables needle splits to have caps.
If there is too much distance between the cloth and the needle plate, flagging occurs as the needle penetrates through the fabric, causing the material to bounce up and down. This induces bending and inevitably splitting the needle. The needle has a greater chance of flexing (bending) and missing the needle hole with space. It will hit the plate and split if the needle misses the needle hole.
Tips to Prevent Needle Breaks
1. Avoid pulling the fabric
This is an error often made by professional home sewers because they are experienced and distracted by music, the internet, or TV, and when the machine complains, they do not hear. If it is working too hard or something is misaligned, the sound of the machine tells you. Skip stitches, a bent, or a broken needle will result from pulling the thread.
2. Clean your computer for sewing
It is recommended by experts that should clean your machine once a month. In reality, it depends on how often you use it and the type of fabric you’re using. If you use the sewing machine a lot, you may have to clean it more often. Materials like felt and fleece can drop short fibres under the feeding plate and clog the field. Clean it daily to enjoy your sewing experience better and extend the life of your embroidery machine.
3. Regularly check the needle
If you remember the movie “The Usual Suspects,” you can understand the analogy. At the end of the movie, the little crooked man, the mess’s mastermind, becomes the smart, self-confident shiny suit. The needle in this example is an unusual perpetrator. Before we blame the blunt and twisted little thing at the end of the shaft, we blame the friction, timing, fabric, and even the thread, when the issue can be rectified much of the time by switching to a good quality needle. Change the needle, mainly when thick or sequined fabrics are sewn. For the fabric you’re working on, use the necessary needle and thread.
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