How to Use Sulky Puffy Foam
Hey guys! It’s Valentine’s week and we are full of love and hearts in my house. I was browsing the Sulky Embroidery Club and found this cool heart.
The description says it is digitized for Sulky Puffy Foam™. I own some Puffy Foam (OK, I own a lot of it), but I have never used it! I don’t know why, I just haven’t so today, I decided to try it. Here is how it works.
Once you purchase a design and download it from the Sulky Embroidery Club, you get a PDF with the step-by-step directions. Since I embroidered this onto fleece, I used Sulky Soft ‘n Sheer™ as the stabilizer. I hooped it with the fleece and then used Sulky KK 2000™ Temporary Spray Adhesive to adhere the Puffy Foam to the top of the fleece. (OK. Full Disclosure. I know my hoop is dirty. I know I should clean it, but I was trying to get these hearts done for Valentine’s Day! Thank you for understanding)
I stitched it out with Sulky 40 wt Rayon in Hot Pink (I love pink!)
I was nervous watching it stitch. I was worried the Puffy Foam would interfere with the stitching, but it didn’t! Everything stitched out great it it was so fun to watch.
Once I finished the stitching came the really fun part! I pulled off the excess Puffy Foam. It just pulled up perfectly.
The few pieces that were left in the tight spaces, I was able to get out with my stiletto.
The result are great! I don’t think I will be afraid of Puffy Foam any more.
Happy Sewing and Happy Valentine’s Day!
27 Comments
Karen Roop
Thank you for this tutorial I also have a lot of puffy foam and did not know how to use it.
Karen
Kelly Nagel
That is how I was too, Karen. Now that I have used it I will probably use it all the time! I am so glad you enjoyed the tutorial. Thank you for reading my blog.
Elaine
Can you use any design with puffy foam?
Kelly Nagel
Elaine, unfortunately, no. The design must be digitized for puffy foam. The good news is there are a lot of designs out there that are digitized for it! Check out these designs: http://www.sulkyembclub.com/designs.aspx?s=puffy&pt=0&cid=0&scid=0&did=0
rick hervig
I don’t agree with that. I have used thin craft foam to enhance parts and all of any designs. All you have to do is stay with 40wt. thread slow machine down to the minimum speed. It also works great for lettering on towels, pillow cases, shirts and so on. I don’t use special digitizing designs. One trick set the thread tension back to original factory settings. thread breaks are pretty much not happening.
Kelly Nagel
I am glad you have found a way to have success with designs that are not digitized for Puffy Foam. So designs leave open ends so the foam is visible on the edge. I too love how is make lettering look on towels, pillow cases and shirts. I do have to warn about using regular craft foam. Since that product is not made for machine embroidery, there is a risk of pieces getting into your machine when the needle penetrates it and causing trouble. Personally, I don’t like to use anything on my embroidery machine that isn’t specifically made for machine embroidery. I paid too much for that machine to mess it up with a product that wasn’t designed to be used in that machine!
Joan Shriver
Well, I don’t have any, now need to buy some. It looks like fun and really looks better.
Chrys Hulshof
We did several projects with Puffy Foam at Viking Club here in Albany, Oregon. It’s really fun and more versatile than you might think. Thanks for sharing!
Cheryl Hearn
My question is: How do you know if your design is puffy foam usable?
Kelly Nagel
If a design is digitized to use Puffy Foam, it will say so in the design descriptions. I will do a blog post and round up some Puffy Foam designs.
Carol
I am having a very hard time finding designs. Did you ever round up some Puffy Foam designs?
Kelly Nagel
I have a blog post about this in the works, but some of my favorites are from Kimberbell. Here is a link: http://www.kimberbelldesigns.com/module/search_content.htm?form_version=2&search_keyword=puffy+foam&btnSearchSubmit.x=0&btnSearchSubmit.y=0&btnSearchSubmit=Search
Ruth
Were do you buy puffy from
Kelly Nagel
You can buy it at http://www.sulky.com
jc
Can you use puffy foam on any fabric?
Kelly Nagel
Sure! I haven’t had trouble on any fabric that I have tried yet. It even did well on fleece, a terry cloth towel and a baseball cap!
Mary G.
I have never tried it, will look for it. I like the way it appears to separate from the design so cleanly. 🙂
Chrys Hulshof
It also works great for Shadow Work. Layer a bright-colored Puffy Foam between a base fabric and thin batiste. It shows through the batiste as well as raising it up, trapunto style. My projects were a Tulip and a Heart. After tearing away the excess Puffy Foam, leaves, flowers, etc. were embroidered around the shadowed shape.
Carolyn Colwell
Is puffy foam the same as craft foam. I want to use it in a coaster.
Kelly Nagel
Carolyn, puffy foam is not the same as craft foam. It is specifically designed for machine embroidery to go under the stitching to cause the stitching to stand out more. I would think that might make the coaster uneven to put a cup on top so it might not be the best product for that.
Amber Stewart
Great Job!!! Did you need to use a specific needle?
Kelly Nagel
I would use a 14/90 embroidery or universal needle with Puffy Foam and 40 wt. Rayon.
Elaine Fallert
How well does Puffy Foam stand up after washings? Or is it just for projects that don’t get washed?
Patti Lee
It stands up amazingly well. Our Puffy Foam is the same foam used in commercial embroideries that you see in many stores. It was brought into the consumer market directly from the industrial side of our business. I have several garments that have Puffy Foam designs on them and I’ve washed them probably 100 times or more over the years. There has been no breakdown in the design at all. The shirts are getting a little ratty, but the designs hold up well. A lot of people use Puffy Foam on children’s clothing, and although they get washed a lot, children outgrow them faster than they can wear out. I think my shirts are a better test than kid’s clothes. Puffy Foam should not be used on garments that need to be dry cleaned though.
Abbi saiya
What did you do with the finished heart?
Michelle
So are you using the puffy foam instead of stabilizer?
Ellen March
No, the Puffy Foam generally goes on top of the fabric and underneath the thread to give loft to certain elements of the design.