Fabrics 101: Embroidering on Minky Fabric

Minky fabric is a fuzzy, cuddly fabric perfect for kids projects, including baby items like blankets, quilts, and toy blocks. Get our best tips for embroidering on the soft and stretchy fabric to guarantee excellent results every time.

Project Needs & Notes:

- Minky fabric, also known as Minkee,
  cuddle cloth, and microfiber plush
- Medium-weight (2.5 ounce) cutaway stabilizer
- Lightweight water-soluble stabilizer

One of the most popular fabrics to use for baby items is Minky. It's also called Minkee, cuddle cloth, and microfiber plush.

Minky fabric is very soft, and stretchy. It's a polyester knit, which means it's durable and washes up very well.

Some Minky fabric will have stripes, others have dots. All
have a furry nap.

When choosing designs for this type of fabric, select designs that have solid, simple fills -- or applique designs. Those types of designs will work very well to hold down the nap of the fabric.

For example, this sheep design has a simple fill, but enough stitches to hold down the nap.

Avoid designs that are sheer, or designs like Redwork. The running stitches may get lost in the nap of the fabric.

Because Minky is so very stretchy, it needs cutaway stabilizer. Cutaway stabilizer is the non-stretch foundation that will ensure that your embroidery looks excellent, with no puckering or misalignment of stitches.

Hoop the Minky fabric with one piece of medium-weight (2.5 ounce) cutaway stabilizer

Use a lightweight water-soluble stabilizer on the top to serve as topping. That prevents the stitches from sinking down and getting lost in the nap of the fabric.