Mastering the satin stitch embroidery on knits with the PFAFF creative icon 2

Yesterday, I added personality to a T-shirt by embroidering sleeves and shared step-by-step hooping, stabilizer tips, and font choices for crisp results. Today, I’m back with a fresh T-shirt and a brand-new embroidery challenge: the satin stitch. While it may look bold and beautiful, satin stitching on lightweight knits like T-shirts can be tricky without the proper setup. Thankfully, the PFAFF creative icon 2, combined with just a few thoughtful techniques, makes it effortless.

Before we start stitching, here’s a tip from experience: skip the tear-away stabilizer. Tear-away just doesn’t cut it on stretch knits—it can rip during stitching, letting the fabric fall into the bobbin area and possibly ruining both your design and your mood! And while it might seem like stacking multiple layers of stabilizer could help, that approach often causes more harm than good—bulky layers can shift, pucker, or distort the embroidery. With knits, less is more—a single layer of quality light sew-in interfacing (like Pellon 910 or similar) will give you the smooth, professional results you’re looking for.

Ready to create crisp satin stitch details that shine? Let’s dive into this new T-shirt with confidence and creativity!

Let’s begin by setting up the PFAFF creative icon 2, just like before. From the welcome screen, tap Embroidery Mode, clear the embroidery arm and remove the hoop if attached, then press OK to let the machine calibrate. Load your bobbin, thread the machine, and attach the 6D The Dynamic Spring Foot.

Next, select the 120 x 120mm creative square hoop from the list and get it ready for the scan. Now, it’s time to prep the T-shirt—and here’s where we introduce a small change. Unlike the previous designs, which were smaller and lighter, today’s satin stitch motif demands more structure to keep the fabric smooth and supported throughout the stitching. That’s why I’m using a lightweight sew-in interfacing like Pellon 910. Baste or temporarily secure it to the wrong side of the T-shirt before hooping. It will provide just the right amount of support without making the shirt feel stiff.

For extra crispness and to prevent stretching during stitching, give your T-shirt a light mist of Best Press spray and press it with an iron. This simple step helps “tame” the fabric, making it easier to handle under the needle and helping those gorgeous satin stitches sit beautifully on the surface.

We’re using the same hooping process as before—easy and reliable. Start by prepping your T-shirt with Best Press spray to gently stiffen the fabric and reduce stretch. Then, baste with Odif 505 or lightly pin a piece of Lightweight Sew-In Interfacing (Pellon#910 or similar) to the wrong side of the shirt where you want to place the embroidery. This takes the place of a cut-away stabilizer and provides just the right amount of support for satin stitches on a T-shirt without adding bulk.

Place the hooped area in the PFAFF creative 120 Square Hoop (120 x 120 mm) as we did in earlier posts, Hooping T-shirts made easy: embroidery TIPS with the PFAFF creative icon 2.

Remember to keep your T-shirt just slightly loose in the hoop. Avoid pulling or stretching the fabric, as that can lead to puckering or distortion during stitching.

Add a piece of PFAFF Aqua Magic Stabilizer or PELLON Sol-U-Film on top as a water-soluble topper, tape the corners to keep it slightly loose, and you’re all set to move to the next step—design selection!

All set and ready to stitch—let’s jump in! Just like yesterday, tap Edit Design on the screen, but this time, scroll to the Kitchen category. I’ve picked two designs for today’s project: #18 and #23. And yes, I’m a coffee lover, so today’s T-shirt is for coffee fans! I tapped #23 twice because, honestly, there’s no such thing as too many coffee beans, especially in beautiful satin stitches!

Here’s a little tip I always share: select your hoop size before choosing a design. The reason? The PFAFF creative icon 2 is smart: it automatically adjusts the design to the perfect size for your selected hoop. Of course, you can resize it manually, but loading the design after selecting the hoop keeps everything precise and frustration-free.

Once your hoop is scanned, you’ll see your design placement clearly displayed on the screen. You can easily reposition or rotate the design using your finger or stylus—another reason I love this machine!

When you’re happy with the placement, tap the GO icon and press Start on the machine. Time to sit back and enjoy the magic—watching it stitch is one of the best parts of the whole process!

The machine will pause once to ask you to trim the thread tail—a helpful pop-up will appear to remind you. Just snip and press Start again.

And just like that—in about five minutes—you’ll have a fabulous coffee-inspired T-shirt, ready to wear! Gently unhoop the fabric, and let’s keep going… we’ve got a sleeve to decorate with even more beans!

Let’s hoop the sleeve the same way we did yesterday—quick and easy! This time, though, I wanted to show you how satin stitch embroidery looks when stitched onto a T-shirt sleeve. It’s such a lovely detail—small, but full of character, and it instantly adds that handmade charm we all love.

To make it flow nicely along the curve of the sleeve, we tap Edit Design, remove design #18, and rotate the coffee beans so they dance along the edge. Just that slight tweak, and suddenly it looked correctly positioned on the sleeve.

And before we begin stitching, here’s one of our favorite tools—the built-in projector. With just a tap, we can preview exactly where the design will land. It gives that extra peace of mind and helps make sure everything is perfectly placed before we press start.

Once we’re happy with the layout, we tap the GO icon and press the Start button. Time to sit back and enjoy as the PFAFF creative icon 2 works its magic!

Now let’s give our T-shirt its final touches. Trim away any excess interfacing from the back, then gently rinse away the film topper with warm water from the front and sleeve. You’ll be left with a beautifully clean, crisp design that feels soft and smooth against your cotton tee. Finish with a light press from the back—and just like that, your T-shirt is ready to wear and show off!

We’ve stitched something fun this week, and I hope you’re feeling inspired to try your own embroideries. I wholeheartedly encourage you to try out these tips, play with new design combinations, and create personalized T-shirts for the special people in your life—all with the remarkable PFAFF creative icon 2.

Stay creative,
Olesya

This is part 4 of 4 in this series

Go back to part 3: How to machine embroider text on knits on the PFAFF creative icon 2