Distressed applique. Have you heard someone say it and wondered what it was? Chance are you have seen it and not known. Distressed applique is the process of using a laser to cut certain materials so that they fray on the edges, and even more so after they are washed. Designs used with this process often look more vintage, faded and washed out. With the ability to use lighter weight materials, it works great for t-shirts as well as heavier fleece garments.
The kind of material you use will determine the extent of the distressing. Some materials work better than others. In this particular design, we used two colors of cotton twill with contrasting bean stitches. The top layer of cotton twill has letters that are cut off at certain points leaving the bean stitch underneath to finish the letter. You can set the heat and speed of the laser to achieve more or less of the desired effect. Other good materials to use are denim and t-shirt. Although the t-shirt material does not fray, it has a nice effect for certain styles. With denim, you can also laser etch designs directly into the garment.
Laser etched logo on denim.
T-shirt material
Today’s technology’s in the embroidery and applique industry are moving fast. Looks and trends are always changing and evolving. Before, this type of production was only available to the larger, corporate retail clothing companies like American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch. At VIP we give smaller clothing lines and companies the ability to achieve this look and more. The shirt you found at the Gap was cool, but how about your custom design with your favorite colors? We are continually testing our system and coming up with innovations in this area of design and production. We love getting creative and we encourage it with our clients. What do you get when you combine distressed applique with a tonal screen print on a zip hoody? A great looking piece to add to your new clothing line or shop. Give us a call to find out more about our distressed applique techniques.
Tags: Apparel, Applique, Clothing Lines, Cotton Twill, Design, distressed applique, Embroidery, Laser Applique, Laser Etching, LinkedIn, Screen Printing, shirts, T-shirt, VIP
