STITCH ARTIST: Underlay recomendations

UNDERLAY Recommendations per Embrilliance:
Underlay (Edge Run) page 150 of the manual:
Satin stitches are good at covering the fabric, but they have challenges, especially along the edge, where tightly placed dense stitches can penetrate the same hole in the fabric or even cut the fabric. You may have sewn, for example a knit shirt, and had the edges of satin stitches create holes in the fabric. For this reason a parallel or zigzag underlay is often used. It provides coverage while pulling the fabric at slightly different angles and that can allow the top stitching to have reduced density.
Satin also has the issue of tension. Short stitches in the same direction, laid next to each other, builds up stress in the fabric, gathering it in toward the middle of the satin stitch. This can cause registration issues with subsequent stitching. This can be managed by binding the stabilizer to the middle of the satin with a center run, or a pair of edge runs that travel just inside the shape. The edge runs also have the added benefit of lifting the edges of the satin up, out of the pile of the fabric. For these reasons it is not uncommon to use a medium density satin with a lot of underlay.
In the underlay properties, the Edge Run will create runs on either side of the satin, just inset by an amount controlled by the Inset field on the property page. The inset for the edge run is usually is set to fall just inside the stitching perhaps a half-needle width or slightly more, which allows some relief around tight corners. The stitch length of the edge run is also adjustable; use smaller stitches for tight, narrow columns and longer ones if you want to reduce the stitch count, or are worried about cutting the fabric. The default is usually sufficient though.
The density of the parallel and zigzag underlay is adjustable for increased coverage. Sometimes it is better to have a higher density underlay (0.8 – 1.2mm) and a lower density top stitch (0.8mm) so that the coverage is solid, but the pull on the fabric is reduced, which helps with registration issues (eliminating gaps between stitched areas).