When we talk about people who wear reflective clothing, the police, firefighters, rescue personnel, and, obviously, construction workers come to mind as the apparent parties. Other than people in authority and construction workers, reflective clothing is also important for motorists and cyclists riding at night and runners and pedestrians who need to be visible when walking at night.
Typically, reflective tapes combined with flashing neon colours are used to apply the reflection on apparel. Microscopic glass particles attached to a carrier substance are also used to create the reflecting effect. Visibility is enhanced thanks to incident light waves being reflected by them.
This article will examine the uses and benefits of reflective clothing and embroidery in daily life. This includes cutting-edge materials and methods that are only apparent upon closer inspection.
Companies like Madeira and Gunold have created reflecting threads with a specific structure for use in fancy sewing and embroidery. The tricky part is figuring out how to stitch the tiny glass shards to a backing material so they wouldn’t fall off when the garment is used, washed, or processed on sewing and embroidery machines.
As expected, these newly created high-tech reflective threads are rather pricey than normal threads, but if utilised properly, they will produce stunning effects and function well on the daily. Now that we know what reflective threads are let’s look at their functional uses and benefits:
Tone-on-tone embroidery
For those who don’t want to stand out too much, tone-on-tone embroidery on fabric with the same hue is the way to go. The motif hardly stands out in broad daylight for this kind of embroidery. However, a surprising reflective effect will be produced when light strikes it, making it practical to be worn both day and night.
Reflective seam applications
The reflective seam application is another innovative design that features reflective embroidery. In this application, the seam is completely undetectable when seen during the day. However, at night, the reflective qualities of the jacket will provide protection and safety when crossing the street.
Reflective embellishments can also be added to children’s apparel. The lovely sublimation print’s trolls are mostly hidden throughout the day and only become visible at night. The same troll motif was used by designer Ronja Paschen in both needlework and transfer printing by Regine IQtrim. As you can see, the troll outlines are entirely invisible throughout the day and only appears iridescent when there is light at night.
Sublimation print and embroidery with CRY reflective thread with design by Ronja Paschen
Fringe embroidery
The use of reflecting threads for fringe embroidery is also an exciting concept. The lengthy, embroidered satin stitches are held together in the centre by a few basting stitches, as shown in the flower below. The front thread loops can be pulled out when the bobbin thread is cut from the design’s rear.
Other examples of reflective embroideries can be seen below. As you can see, they are totally invisible during the day. They only become reflective in the dark when there’s light shining on them.
Conclusion
When it comes to embroidery, there’s no limit to the amount of creativity you can apply! Not only can reflective embroidery be applied onto normal everyday apparel, but you can also use them on merchandise and accessories such as tote bags, shoes, hairbands and other small trinkets that usually get lost in your home’s nooks and crannies. Hopefully, they will be more easily spotted by using reflective embroidery!
We hope you are able to take away some ideas and are motivated to start working with reflective embroidery threads. If you want to know more about reflective thread embroideries and how to apply them to your apparel or merchandise, please don’t hesitate to contact us here.
