Originally Posted by
PaperPrincess
The designs are very cute, however, the number of stitches across the designs are not evenly balanced (artist's vision ;-) ). There are a few areas of dense stitches, while the rest of the design is redwork. In this case I would use 2 layers of stablizer. I would go with the tear away. Sometimes if you hoop the fabric too tightly, it will distort, so I would hoop the stablizer and float the fabric. One other thing you may be able to try is to resize the design (if it will still fit in your hoop) You want to select the option that will retain the same number of stitches as the original. This way the design will be a bit less dense.
Excellent advice from
PaperPrincess. My first move would be two layers of stabilizer and float the fabric. If your machine has the option to baste around the design to hold it in place, I would use that as well.
The designs are adorable - when you say that it was an odd shape - are they distorted (by that I mean ruffly so that they no longer lie flat at the edges or middle) or did they just pull in a little? If it just pulled in and is still flat then I would cut the piece you want to embroider a bit larger (I never cut to size before embroidery anyways just for this reason) then trim to size.
It could be tension (you could try reducing the tension on the upper thread) and could be needle size/type (when I have a dense embroidery or use metallic thread - I use a new top stitch needle - usually a size 14 - it has a longer eye and a longer grove for the thread to ride in - less stress on the thread and more protection from the needle). The suggestion of re-sizing ought to help as well. Rule at thumb is usually never resize more than 15% either direction but even 5% may help and not be noticed in the design. Good luck - let us know how you make out!!