Blog

Be honest. We all know the perfect person for the “Perfect Man” apron and that person may be either male or female! I’ve also stitched this on sweatshirts without the doily and every time I give one, I hear a chorus of “will you make me one too?”

Shown here, the project can be sewn in a 5x7” hoop with three hoopings. If you have a larger hoop, you can consolidate a few hoopings.

The doily is not embroidered, it is simply a purchased one that I’ve zigzag stitched with my sewing machine using invisible thread. To keep the project moving along quickly, I used a purchased apron, which you can find easily on-line.

There are four variations on the appliqué gingerbread guy design and there are variations of the lettering to include “The Perfect Woman.” Also, there is a version of the phrase that uses the word “grief” instead of “crap” for those sensitive to the latter word. (What can I say? I’m not…)

Skill Level

Basic embroidery skills.

What You’ll Learn

• How to plan and layout a multi-placement design project.
• How to appliqué using templates.
• What order to sew combined designs.
• Why you should avoid color sorting. Supplies
• Gingery Christmas design collection by Lindee G Embroidery
• Purchased or pre-made apron
• Purchased doily (can be any shape desired; mine is square). The large gingerman is about 4.5” tall so find one the size you like.
• Temporary embroidery spray adhesive (TESA)
• Scissors, sharp double curve embroidery scissors best
• Embroidery threads as desired for designs
• Mono filament thread to stitch doily to apron
• Fusible web product for appliqué (I prefer double-stick pressure-sensitive products like Pellon Easy Steam or Steam-A-Seam II)
• Printed templates from collection for selected appliqués
• Appliqué tacking iron
• Ruler
• Stabilizers: Tearaway (I used washaway tearaway because it isn’t as crisp so it rehoops better), fusible tearaway for template printing
• Chalk marker or other tool for temporary marking
• Embroidery software to print designs for placement
• Cellophane tap

General Instructions

These instructions assume you already know how to appliqué using the template method. If you’ve never done machine embroidered appliqué using precut pieces instead of stitching down a larger piece of fabric and then trimming it away (what I call the “blob” method), please read the included Appliqué Basics first! Applique Basics will cover how to prepare your appliqué pieces for use in this project as well as explain the full process for machne embroidered appliqué.

Project Instructions

1. Select designs and prepare.

Start your project by selecting the designs you’ll be using.

Print your embroidery designs from your software with cross hairs for placement. I printed mine in gray scale on a laser printer; you don’t need color for this step. Cut them out so they can be used for placement planning.

Print the appliqué template and prepare and cut out your appliqué design

2. Mark vertical center on apron.

Using your chalk marker and ruler, draw a line down the vertical center of your apron. I like chalk because it is fine enough, visible enough, and temporarily permanent enough for staying visible no matter how long it takes to complete the project while being easily removable when the time comes. Also, pressing with an iron does not impact its removability.

3. Plan placement and mark horizontal guides.

Arrange your cut out embroidery patterns along with your doily on your apron using the vertical line as a guide. You may wish to tape the templates temporarily at this point to keep them from shifting during the next step

Notice in the photo that the horizontal center of my ginger guy aligns with the horizontal center of the doily. Don’t be surprised if your doily is not perfectly symmetrical!

While you can combine designs in your software if you have a large enough hoop, I didn’t. I simply sewed each design individually as you’ll see in the next few steps. (It’s actually easier!)

4. Mark horizontal guides.

Using the cross hairs on the printed design patterns, draw horizontal lines with your ruler and chalk. Remove the pieces from your apron and connect the lines through the center.

5. Prepare the apron for embroidery.

Baste a large piece of stabilizer to the back of the apron using your sewing machine. This piece should be large enough to fully hoop with the apron and accommodate all the designs.

I used tearaway for easy removal. Although there is quite a bit of stitching, it is spread out over a wide area and there is no dense stitching. Also, purchased aprons are quite stable. If you are stitching on another fabric that may not be as stable, consider a different stabilizer.

6. Attach doily to apron.

There are several ways to attach the doily to the apron. I first fused the doily in place using fusible web and hen I zigzagged around the outer edge with my sewing machine using invisible thread in the needle. This gives the best of both worlds and keeps the doily looking sharp over laundering without eventually peeling off. You may choose to do one or the other, however, the fusible web may not fully secure the crocheted edges of the doily.

7. Position designs for this hooping.

Replace the templates you removed earlier and tape them into place, only using the ones that will fit your hoop. I have a fairly large hoop shown below and have arranged the top lettering and the ginger guy. The bottom lettering will be sewn in the next hooping and I’ll position that when ready.

If you have a 5x7 hoop, you’ll need to plan 3 hoopings and rotate the hoop for the center appliqué

8. Hoop for first stitching.

Center your hoop over the center of the design and hoop making sure the apron guides align with the center marks on your hoop.

To keep the ties from getting caught in the stitching. I’ve tied them up. You may also want to tape or pin them out of the way.

9. Turn on your appliqué tacking iron.

You’ll need your mini iron in just a few minutes. Turn it on now to make sure it is hot when you are ready to fuse the appliqué

10. Align needle over design center.

Load the ginger guy design and using the arrows on your machine’s control panel, move the hoop until the needle is over the center of the intersection. You can manually drop the needle and sink it into the paper to be sure.

Remove the ginger guy template before stitching!

11. Sew first color.

The first color in all of the gingerbread appliqués in this collection is the placement line, which is simply a running stitch to define where to put your pre-cut fabric. Notice in the photo below that the top lettering paper template is still in place

12. Place appliqué.

Remove printed template from front of appliqué piece and back protective sheet from fusible web. Carefully and precisely align the precut appliqué within the stitched guides.

13. Fuse the appliqué in place.

With your tacking iron, lightly fuse the appliqué into place to prevent it from shifting during the tack down stitching. I fuse the center areas more firmly and the outer edges lightly enough to be able to peel up in case I need to trim off any excess.

14. Continue sewing the tack down then stop machine.

I prefer to slow my machine down during this step in case there is any fabric slippage. The tack down stitch is a zigzag, which I feel secures the fabric better while avoiding any pleats and puckers that are more likely to occur with a straight running stitch tack down.

Manually stop the machine when the tack down has completed a full pass around the design.

15. Inspect your design.

Now is the time to check for any fibers that may have raveled off or for any fabric that extends beyond the outside edge of the zigzag stitching. Trim those off now for a professional result when the satin cover sews later. It is nearly impossible to cleanly trim them close enough later.

16. Align needle for lettering.

When the first design is finished, load the design for the top lettering and align the needle over the cross hairs on the paper template. Remove the template and sew the design.

17. Prepare second hooping.

Remove your project from the hoop and tape the template for the bottom lettering into place. Rehoop aligning the apron’s guide marks with your hoop’s center marks. Position the needle and sew the final design.

Because I have a large hoop, I was able to place the hoop so that the top was between my two areas of stitching rather than over previous stitching. Although the ideal position for sewing is the center of the hoop, I was not concerned about registration issues on the letter so chose this position to protect previous stitching.

If you watch the lettering sew, you’ll see that one line goes from left to right while the next goes back from right to left. Keyboard lettering does not do that but you can certainly digitize letters that way!

18. Embroidery is complete

Tips & Cautions

1. Do not color sort!

If you are combining designs in software or at your machine, you’ll get the best results if you sew each design individually. There are some machines that will automatically “color sort” designs for you at the machine and this “feature” cannot be overridden.

Color-sorting will look through your designs and combine repeated colors where it thinks it’s a smart thing to do. In my opinion as a digitizer, color sorting is seldom a smart thing to do because it can often increase registration problems while reducing finished quality. I’d rather spend a few extra minutes changing colors than end up with a project that I’m not happy with!

2. Sew larger designs first and lettering last.

Larger more intense designs put more distortion on the fabric and can pull the fabric out of square. If you sew lettering first, the baselines may end up crooked from all the pushing and pulling from the dense stitching. Although that’s not an issue in this project, it’s a good thing to know.

3. Sew from the center out.

You may already know this from quilting or other crafts. Working from the center of the project to the outside tends to reduce puckering. If you followed these instruction, you’ll notice we started with the ginger guy, who not only is in the center but is the largest element in the design. Again, not a big deal in this project but a useful tip in other ones with more intense designs.

Creating these little padded ornaments is easy if you have a design that’s already set up but what if you don’t? Then you’ll need to do a little extra work. For this bird ornament, I’ve deleted a few elements—easy peazy—and digitized an additional seam around the bird. While that seam is not rocket science digitizing, it’s not all that easy to draw if you’re not comfortable creating smooth curves.

And if you don’t digitize? Well then, just echo stitch around with your sewing machine or get the additional edited birds.

To get a bolder look, I stitched the bird with 30 wt. cotton thread. The outer seam was stitched in 40 wt. red polyester embroidery thread with a matching bobbin.

Skill Level

Detailed instructions on how to edit the design are not included here, simply how to finish the bird ornament, which is pretty basic embroidery. If you’d like ready-to-go edited versions, you can download them here: Fanciful Birds Ornaments.

What You’ll Learn

• How to use simple yet creative techniques to expand your embroidery options
• How to make a padded free-standing embroidered ornament

Selecting a Design

I created these ornaments from a previously released collection, called Fanciful Birds (lvp001). Many times after creating a design, I’ll think of some other way I’d like to use them that may require some modifications. Sometimes I just want to do basic customizing like changing the colors, resizing, combining with another design, or adding lettering. These are easy changes that even the most novice embroiderer can perform in a program like Embrilliance Essentials.

If you don’t yet have a customizing program or have one you don’t like or know how to use, you can download a free trial version of Essentials

Other times I may need to do some simple editing, deleting some elements or pulling out some part to use on its own. This, too, is relatively easy with some simple software like Embrilliance Enthusiast.

For other designs and projects, I may need to do a little digitizing. Learning to digitize to add some run stitches to a design can be very useful. Sometimes I need a basting line that more closely follows the edge of an odd-shaped design. Learning to draw and apply a run stitch is not all that difficult. Taking that skill one step further will allow you to make ornaments like this out of many designs.

If you don’t have digitizing software and would like something basic that will allow you to add simple stitches and doesn’t cost a mini fortune, check out Embrilliance Stitch Artist. If you’re already familiar with other Embrilliance software, you’ll already have a leg up on learning the program.

I chose to echo the outline of the bird for my ornament. Of course you could choose a shape in your software and use that for your stitching line. If you’d prefer to have edited versions of these designs ready to go for the ornaments, they are also available here: Fanciful Birds Ornaments.

When applying the stitches to my outline, I first stitched a single run, inserted an applique stop (or a color change), then repeated the line with a bean stitch. The first run will give me a guide for placing the felt on the back and aligning the ribbon hanger. Making it a separate color from the final bean stitch forces the machine to stop making it easier to remember when to add the back pieces and ribbon.

Thread Notes

These designs were digitized for 40 weight thread. I’ve sewn them in 50 wt. cotton and 30 wt. cotton on different projects. With the thicker thread, the individual stitches are a little less defined and little bulkier and the overall look is bolder. I chose a matching red 40 wt. polyester for the seam. It will sink into the felt and be less noticeable.

I used a standard prewound white poly bobbin thread and wound a bobbin with 40 wt. red. If I were doing a filled area and wanted a matching bobbin color, I would have opted for 60 wt. thread to keep the design from becoming too stiff. Stiffness and bulk are not an issue on these ornament designs because of their use and because the design is very open.

Using a heavier thread with filled designs can cause cupping and puckering because it creates too much thread bulk for the area.

I found I was successful using a size 75/11 embroidery needle even with the slightly heavier embroidery thread and experienced no thread breaks nor did the machine require any tension adjustments. All machines are different and some just seem to be happier with some thread weights and types than others.

What You’ll Need

I used felt for my ornaments. Another choice would be fleece or some other non-raveling fabric.

I would not go with a vinyl or some other “non fabric” unless it had a fabric backing; the design is too dense as is and could punch out a hole.

• Small pieces of craft felt. Mine is red with glittery specs and is somewhat stiff.
• Tearaway stabilizer
• Bird 1 (from Fanciful Birds) if you’re editing or Bird 1, modified (from Fanciful Birds Ornaments) by Lindee G Embroidery
• Embroidery threads as desired. I used 30 wt. cotton (white) and 40 wt. poly (red)
• Matching bobbin for the outer edge, standard embroidery bobbin for white
• 6-9” piece of ribbon for hanger
• Cellophane tape, painter’s tape
• Temporary embroidery spray adhesive (“TESA”)
• Fiber fill for stuffing
• Pinking shears. My favorites are Fiskars.

Instructions

1. Stitch the bird and the placement guide.

Hoop the felt with tearaway and stitch the bird design through color 2. Be sure to change your bobbin thread if you are matching your thread colors.

Although you don’t really need to change the bobbin thread until color 3, I changed it when I changed my top thread to red at color 2. One, so I didn’t forget to change it when sewing color 3, which is also red, and two, because it made an easier reference for placing the back pieces in the next step.

2. Apply the ribbon and backing pieces.

Remove the hoop from the machine but not the fabric from the hoop. Place the hoop face down. Fold the ribbon in half and tape in place with the cut ends within the sewing line. Make sure the tape is outside the sewing line.

I used a small strip of water soluble Wonder Tape to hold the cut ends of the ribbon together.

Cut two pieces of felt. Mine are about 3.5” x 5.5” for bird 1. Lightly mist each piece with TESA and smooth into place, overlapping them about 1/2”

If you overlap too much, the ornament will be hard to stuff. If you don’t overlap enough then the ornament will be prone to “gaposis” if you insert too much stuffing.

If you aren’t stuffing your ornament, then you can simply place a larger single piece to completely cover the back.

I also secured the edges with painter’s tape to keep them from lifting or catching during stitching. Make sure the tape is outside the sewing line.

When taping things to the back of the hoop, resist the temptation to press firmly unless the tape is only over the hoop edges. Just lightly press on the tape, then flip the hoop over, place the hoop on firm, flat surface and secure the tape into position by finger pressing well. Check the back one more time to make sure there are no exposed sticky ends curled up. Pressing from the front insures that you aren’t disturbing hoop tensions, which could cause registration issues.

3. Sew the rest of the design.

Stitch the last color change and remove from hoop.

4. Remove tearaway.

Before cutting out your ornament, tear away the stabilizer. If you cut first, it will be hard to pick out the tearaway.

5. Cut out ornament.

Carefully and evenly trim away the fabric about .25 - .5” away from the stitching line with pinking shears taking care not to cut the ribbon. I found that if I cut the back layer of felt under the ribbon first, then I could fold the ribbon over to the back and hold in place while I trimmed the rest of the design through all layers thus avoiding any mishaps.

6. Lightly stuff with fiber fill.

Stuff the ornament through the back. Since I stitched mine on felt, the lapped edges are not finished and I didn’t even stitch them together afterwards.

You could also make a small scented sachet bag to slip inside.

You can be finishing your bird ornament while the next one sews!

Troubleshooting

Making this ornament requires removing and replacing the hoop several times. Be sure to insert your hoop all the way each time or the rest of your design won’t register properly. Also, watch when working with the hooped fabric during the process that you don’t disturb the hoop tension.

Cotton thread produces a lot of fuzz, even if you only use it in the needle and not the bobbin. I brushed off the fuzz from the presser foot area after each bird and used a lint roller to remove fuzz from the felt.

Lint will also build up in the bobbin case. Here’s what mine looked like after only three birds!

Summary

These little ornaments are quick and easy to make! If you can’t or don’t digitize then the birds are also available already prepared for stitching into your own little flock. And truly, stitching around them on your sewing machine is not all that big a deal either.

Another reason you might want to stitch them with your sewing machine is if you only have a small sewing field that can’t accommodate the extra hoop space required for the additional stitching. The original birds all fit within a 100 x100mm sewing field.

You could easily adapt this technique for baby toys, pet toys, or scented hot pads. They make nice little package ties and look cute hanging in a window all year long!

These cute little ornaments are quick and easy to make. They’re perfect little extras to stuff into a greeting card or use as a package tie. They’ll fit a 100mm square sewing field and can also be used as direct embroidery.

Skill Level

Simple. Just follow the steps!

Please read through all instructions before starting your project! This project has multiple steps that must be done in a certain order.

Getting Started:

Print the worksheet. It has full instructions that will make more sense after you make just one.

What You’ll Need:

• Good quality white felt
• NOTE: this deisgn is not recommended for vinyl (too dense)
• Stabilizer: ( I tested with cutaway and washaway tearaway)
• Opalescent Mylar film
• Coordinating embroidery threads
• Ribbon for hanging (I cut mine to 5”)
• NOTE: the last stitch is a triple stitch and may not secure really thin cords well. Knotted the end of the cord will minimize the chance of it pulling out.

Instructions:

These designs are digitized to be used with Mylar behind the white areas. They can be stitched as free-standing ornaments or used as “normal” direct embroidery.

The process is similar for all designs in this set. Individualized steps can be found on the design’s worksheet.

Stitching:

• Only the last color is visible on the back if you want a matching bobbin color.
• Not all designs have placement line as the first color
• Some designs have fringed pompoms

• For direct embroidery, stitch up to the stop before the last color. The last color attaches the back to the front for a clean finish

Finishing

1. Remove from hoop and tear off stabilizer carefully right up to the design outline.
2. Carefully trim around the design taking care not to cut through the hanging loop.

You can watch a YouTube video on this project to get a good overview of the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWKVNQTG-74 or see all my videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/LindeeGVideos

Using embroidery designs to quilt makes it easy for anyone to create intricate designs quickly and easily. An important difference with embroidery designs is how the machine is tensioned. In normal sewing and quilting, the needle and bobbin threads are evenly balanced. This is not the case with embroidery. Here the top thread is pulled to the back and the back is likely to look rather messy—especially if your machine has automatic trimmers that pull all the thread tails to the back. To minimize this, match your bobbin thread to the top thread and choose a busy fabric for the back that blends well with your thread color. You may also wish to adjust your tensions for a more even balance.

Most quilting motifs are continuous and will only have one pair of tie-offs. Redwork designs with many distinct elements will have more tie-offs.

It’s a Girl! design collection from Lindee G Embroidery includes 12 decorative, redwork style designs for baby girls. Each design is available in 2 sizes: one for smaller hoops (approximately 85mm square) and one for 5x7” hoops (approximately 125mm square). Due to the amount of detail in these designs, I don’t recommend shrinking the smaller size. The smaller sizes have shorter stitch lengths and in some cases, some small details have been eliminated.

Additionally, there are 2 utility blocks included to assist in making this project. These utility files will require at least the next size larger hoop and are essentially a double basting line with an appliqué stop in the middle. For the larger block, you’ll need an 8x8” hoop. These utility files sews 2 rounds of basting stitches: the first for placement and the second to hold the quilt sandwich in place for stitching. You can sew it with the same thread you use for the design. This basting block is not required to make the quilt. If you can’t sew the larger designs, simply cut your blocks large enough to be hooped. Or, use the baste-in-the-hoop function if your machine has one. I created the squares to help with accurate placement and to reduce the amount of fabric needed for each block.

These instructions are for larger hoop machines. If you have a smaller sewing field, adjust accordingly.

Tips for Smaller Machines

If you have a very small sewing field (less than 100 x 100mm or 4 x 4”), you’ll need to take a slightly different approach than the one described for the sample. Make your “quilt sandwich” large enough to hoop between the rings of your hoop as shown below.

For 5 x 7” hoops, you can sew the larger versions without the utility file or the smaller designs with the utility file. When sewing the larger designs in a 5 x 7” hoop, either hoop the fabric as shown in the previous figure or use a baste-in-the hoop feature to attach the block to the stabilizer as shown later.

Please read through all the instructions before beginning this project because construction techniques vary from standard piecing techniques.

Skill Level

Basic sewing skills are required; it’s not my intention to teach you how to sew! If you’ve never pieced a quilt, and you need more instructions, please refer to a basic quilting reference.

What You’ll Learn

• How to quilt in the hoop
• How to assemble pre-quilted blocks
• How to add a ruffle to the edge of a quilt

Fabric Requirements

You will need approximately 2 1/2 yards each of two fabrics. Color 1 in the sample is a tone on tone white print on a slightly peachy beige background; color 2 is a peachy colored batik. The back side of the sample is all peach except for the outer borders, binding, and ruffle.

• 12 - 8 x 8” squares for back (color 2)
• 12 - 8 x 8” squares for front (color 1)
• 12 - 8 x 8” squares of fusible fleece (be sure to choose one with a water soluble glue so your quilt will be soft)
• 3” wide strips for sashing (you will need sashing strips for BOTH sides of your quilt; sashing strips will be folded in half lengthwise
• 8 - 6 3/4” long (or height of your block) for front (color 2)
• 8 - 6 3/4” long (or height of your block) for back (color 2)
• 3 at width of your assembled rows for front (color 2)
• 3 at width of your assembled rows for back (color 2)
• Outer borders: 3” wide strips, 1 set for front and 1 for back. These are not folded. I used color 1 for the back and color 2 for the front.
• Ruffle: 5” wide, length depends on desired fullness of ruffle (color 1)
• Optional binding: bias strips 1 1/2” wide, 1 set for front (color 2) and one for the back (color 1) [See note under Finishing before cutting; these are not required if you use the easier method.

Supplies

• Batting—Choose one that is not too lofty; I used a fusible one for quilts.
• Wash-Away stabilizer
• TESA (KK2000 or similar temporary embroidery spray adhesive)
• Construction thread
• Embroidery thread
• Appropriate needles
• Rotary cutter and ruler

Preparation

• Cut and prepare your blocks. Make a “quilt sandwich” by layering the backing fabric (face down), a layer of batting, and a layer of top fabric (face up), and press together according to package instructions to fuse. If you aren’t using fusible batting, lightly mist backs of fabric with TESA and smooth over batting.
• Wind several bobbins with matching embroidery thread.

Embroidering

For each block, you will be sewing the appropriate utility block file followed by the embroidery design. You may wish to combine these in software or at the machine or just load each file as required.

• Hoop a piece of wash-away backing.
• Load the larger square utility file (lgs01126) and sew color 1, which will stitch a placement guide on the stabilizer.
• Lightly mist the back of your quilt sandwich with TESA and smooth into place over the basting guides. The block will extend beyond the basting lines approximately 1/2”.
• Sew the next color stop to attach the block to the stabilizer.
• Load the decorative design and sew. For this quilt, I used designs lgs01113 - lgs01124.
• When the design is finished, remove from hoop and trim off excess stabilizer.
• Continue embroidering all the blocks

Make a Label

It’s always a good idea to attach a label to your quilt. Labels can be simple or fancy. On this quilt, I just used a lettering program to stitch the quilt name, my name, and the date. This label is sewn into the binding and hand stitched along turned under edges. Sometimes I embroider the label right onto the backing of the quilt.

Trim Blocks

Using the basting line as a guide, trim and square up your blocks to the same size (mine were 6 3/4” square) with the rotary cutter and ruler. Your blocks must all be the same size.

When all your blocks are embroidered, arrange them in a pleasing way into four rows of 3 blocks.

Sashing

Sashing is applied to the right hand edge of the blocks in the left and center columns of your quilt. Please note the seam allowances are 1/2” rather than the standard 1/4”. I chose to fold the strips in half for two reasons:

• It’s quicker because you won’t have to fold and press under the raw edge.
• It provides a slightly thicker cover over the butted seams of the batting.

The downside is that it uses slightly more fabric, although not much on these rather narrow strips. Also, if you don’t attach the raw edges straight, you won’t be able to adjust on the second side.

1. Trim the 3” wide sashing strips to the height of your blocks. Fold each strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press lightly.
2. Apply one sashing strip to the front and a second to the back aligning raw edges. Sew together using a 1/2” seam. Press the sashing open on both side
3. Apply sashing to the right edges of all blocks except the right-most one in the row.

Create Rows

To sew blocks together into rows, butt the raw edges together on adjacent blocks. Pin the sashing down and top stitch from the front using any stitch of your choice. I used a blind hem stitch (#1-35 on the Baby Lock Ellisimo). I widened the stitch to 4.0 and shortened the length to 1.4. I used the same thread as used for the embroidery. Topstitch the other side of the sashing to match.

Attach Rows

Using the same technique you used to apply sashing to the individual blocks, sew the rows together to form the center of your quilt.

Add the Borders

1. Cut strips of batting the height of the sides and 1/4” narrower than the width of your side borders. Butt the raw edges of the batting border to the raw edges of the batting on the quilt sides. Using a multi-step zig-zag (#1-13) set to the widest width (7mm), attach the two strips together.

2. Stitch side border strips (unfolded) to the sides, one on top and one on bottom, right sides together, using 1/2” seam allowance. Press open over the batting.

3. Add the top and bottom batting strips and borders in the same method

4. Square up and trim off excess batting

Finishing

At this point, you can simply topstitch the side borders to match the sashing and bind in a traditional manner, or you can round off the corners, add a ruffle, and then topstitch.

When I made this quilt, the ruffle idea occurred to me after I had finished and topstitched the entire quilt and was ready to put on the binding. I had never attached a ruffle to a quilt done this way so my brilliant idea was to attach binding strips to the ruffle and then attach the binding in a typical manner. This proved to be quite a challenge since you must ease the curves to keep the quilt flat. After two less-than-satisfactory attempts of attaching by machine, I applied the entire binding by hand while I watched TV or listened to audio books. Knowing that most of you would rather not take this approach, I consulted my expert quilting friend, Jeanette Smith, who in turn consulted her expert quilting friend. Jeanette found an easier option in her extensive library and that’s what I’ll explain here. Note that it won’t look exactly like the sample but it will save you a lot of time!

1. Round off the corners of your quilt using a plate or similar object as a template. I used the border seams as starting and ending points for the curve.

2. Piece 5 or more 5” wide strips of color 1 end to end, then fold and press in half lengthwise.

3. Gather along raw edges. I used a ruffle attachment. Experiment with the different adjustments on your ruffler as well as varying stitch lengths to create the desired fullness. Gather enough fabric to encircle your quilt.

Although I don’t use it often, I love my ruffler attachment. It makes quick work of creating long ruffles evenly. Rather than gathering, it creates small pleats, which you can control by setting a lever on the foot itself and by controlling stitch length. While it looks like quite a complicated attachment, it is easy to use.

4. Measure out the edge of the quilt to determine how long to make the ruffle. Trim ruffle to size and sew raw ends together using 1/4” seam. The gathering on the ruffle adds a bit of fudge factor since you can easily redistribute some fullness as you near the end of attaching it to the quilt.

How I Did It

After gathering, I attached the binding strips to the gathered edge of the ruffle using 3/8” seam allowance (color 2 on front, color 1 on back), pressed the strips towards the seam and trimmed the seam allowances to 1/2”. I then hand basted the ruffle seam allowance to the outer edge of the quilt, (final top stitching on side borders was done prior), turned under a quarter inch seam allowance on the binding on the front and back and hand-stitched each side individually. If you’re not a fan of hand work, try the following finishing method, which skips the binding strips altogether.

Easier Method

1. Attach the ruffle to the edge of the quilt matching raw edges sewing the ruffle to the front of the quilt through the front and batting layers only using 1/4” seam. Press open.
2. On the back of the quilt, turn the back edges of the borders over the raw seam tucking under 1/4” and hand stitch in place. Or, use one of the no-sew methods of fusing the edge, if desired.
3. Top stitch the side borders to match the sashing.

You will need to wash the quilt to remove all the washaway stabilizer and the adhesive in the batting if you used fusible batting.

Be sure that all the TESA has dissipated before wetting your quilt. To force dissipate, press with a dry iron.

This lovely lace angel is a masterpiece of creativity and with a little bit of time, you can easily make one for yourself! The angel is approximately 8.5” tall and will stand without support or grace the top of your Christmas tree.

Supplies

• Designs
• Minimum 13x180mm (5x7”) sewing field
• Embroidery thread (I prefer Rayon for lace but polyester, cotton, or even metallics can be used)
• Wash-Away stabilizer (non-woven fiber based)
• TESA (temporary embroidery spray adhesive, I prefer KK2000)
• Double-stick embroidery tape
• Sewing machine, hand needle and thread, or glue for final assembly
• Twist ties
• Styrofoam cone wrapped with plastic wrap (I trimmed off the top and bottom sections)
• Wire cookie cooling rack

Please read all instructions before beginning

The Designs

You’ll notice this lace angel differs from many of the free-standing lace designs widely available on the internet these days. Those designs are often created by laying down a mesh of fill stitches as a fabric substitute and then stitching satin elements over the top. Such designs are quicker to digitize but they don’t capture the elegance of the old time hand punched lace. This angel more closely reproduces that old-style look.

Don’t let the open, airy look deceive you! This project is high stitch count—well over 200,000 total stitches depending on how you choose to make her. On the other hand, she has no jumps, no trims, and is sewn in only one color. So while the machine time is long, your interaction is minimal until assembly time. Plan on this as a two day project: one day to embroider, overnight to dry, and a little time the following day to assemble.

There are several versions of this design. If you have a machine with a 200x300 sewing field, you’ll be able to sew the design in two pieces:

• Skirt (200x300 hoop) [lgp00102]
• Wings and head (200x200 hoop) [lgp00101]

If you have a 130x180mm sewing field, you’ll have the following:

• Head (fits 100x100mm hoop) [lgp00103]
• Left wing (mirror for the right wing) [lgp00104]
• Interlocking skirt panel [lgp00105]
• Left skirt panel [lgp00106]
• Inside skirt panel [lgp00107]
• Right skirt panel [lgp00108]

I’ve provided two ways to create the skirt for these smaller sewing fields, which I’ll cover in a bit.

General Instructions

The quality of your lace depends heavily on proper hooping and machine tensions. If the thread tensions are too tight, the stitches will be pulled more and sections may not align properly, underlay may be exposed, and your design may fall apart in areas when the stabilizer is removed. You can also experience these problems if the stabilizer slips in the hoop.

Sometimes there are just a few errant stitches hanging out and these can be trimmed away with small thread snips.

For optimum results, hoop two layers of wash-away in the hoop. Make sure both layers are smooth, taut and fully gripped between the rings of the hoop.

Do not use a film type water soluble stabilizer. These stabilizers—even the very heavy ones—will perforate during stitching causing a loss of stability!</p<>

For added security and slippage prevention, I used duct tape on the bottom side. Cut long strips of tape and rip them in half lengthwise. Tape along the edges of the stabilizer and wrap over the hoop. Use the smallest hoop that will accommodate each design. Slippage and push/ pull problems are the greatest in the largest designs and in larger hoops (no matter the design size).

Test your process by sewing the interlocking skirt panel in a 5x7 hoop. Rinse and dry and check for exposed underlay or any places that are not holding together. I have noticed that on some machines, the underlay is exposed on inner curves only in one area of the curve, say from 1:00 to 3:00 position. If the design is mirrored, and the underlay is still exposed in the 1-3 o’clock position. This would indicate a machine issue.

After sewing, cut away stabilizer close to the design and then rinse out excess stabilizer in warm water. Simply rinse until you don’t see any stabilizer remaining, the extra remaining stabilizer will help your angel keep her girlish figure.

Lay out wet lace on a thick towel and roll towel to soak up excess moisture. Do not wring the lace. I let my lace dry flat until just slight damp before shaping. Refer to shaping and assembly further on.

Sewing Instructions

Machines with 200x300mm sewing fields

Sew the skirt design in a 200x300 hoop and the wings and head design in a 200x200 hoop. It is particularly critical to hoop and stabilize securely for the skirt!

If you want to adjust the angle or placement of the wings, you may want to use the separate pieces designed for the smaller sewing field.

Machines with 130x180mm (5x7”) sewing fields

The easiest sewing method is to simply sew five of the interlocking panels. A second advantage is that this allows you to sew more manageable pieces and if you goof one up, you haven’t messed up the entire skirt. This is also a good way to get a multi-colored skirt, if desired.

This was my original method and while it requires no multi-piece alignment during sewing, it is a little harder to assemble and results in a higher stitch count project. Furthermore, the interlocking connector buttons make the angel bulkier.

The second method is to sew the multi-piece skirt. Here you’ll sew the left skirt panel first and trim away stabilizer closely. Next, load the inside skirt panel and sew to the applique stop. Align the first panel along the left side matching the connector stitches. Hold the first piece in place with double stick embroidery tape outside the range of the needle. You may wish to hold the connectors in place with a light mist of TESA.

When the second panel is finished, you’ll repeat the process. Ultimately you will sew one left panel, three center panels, and finally the right panel. This process requires patience and attention to detail!

The wings and head are all sewn individually and are assembled afterwards.]

You may find that you get significantly better results with the smaller pieces in smaller hoops than sewing the full size pieces in a large hoop. There is less distortion when sewing the smaller pieces. The trade off is your time. Only you can decide what works best for you.

Shaping & Assembly

Before your angel dries into a stiff flat form, do a little shaping. Refer to the full-size versions to see how the pieces should look if you’ve sewn them in smaller segments.

You’ll notice the skirt is designed so that it bells out slightly a little ways below the neck. The openings near the top allow the wings and head to fit into the body/skirt section. I found it easiest to form the skirt around a cut-off styrofoam cone. Interlock the connectors on the skirt back (connector will be on the inside of the skirt). Although the connectors are floppy and difficult to keep connected when damp, they will be quite sturdy when dry. I looped twist ties through the upper sections to shape the skirt as it dried.

If you sewed the individual interlocking panels, it will be easier to form the skirt when the sections have dried. Then, interlock the connectors, slip it over the cone, and if shaping is necessary, mist with a water bottle until damp enough to form. Pins are also helpful for shaping and can be pushed easily into the styrofoam.

If you find you are fighting with the connectors in the upper section of the skirt, just cut them off to match the full size skirt and hand sew. Alternatively, you can glue the connectors along the neck edge.

If you sewed skirt as one piece, once it is dry, the middle three upper sections can be sewn together. Leave the end segments open at the top to attach the wings. You can sew the segments together by abutting the edges and hand stitching or machine multi-step zigzag. I found it easier to do this stitching by hand.

The head on the smaller version is attached to a “shoulder.” The wings are attached to the front side of the shoulder ends on the front and behind the hair on the angel. This design is to allow more support for the head to keep it from flopping over. These pieces can be attached with glue, hand stitches, or on the sewing machine. Before attaching, do a little fitting on your skirt piece to make sure you like the shape and placement.

The wings and head are set into the space between the first and second skirt panels on the left (as you look at the angel) and the fourth and fifth panels on the right. You may be able to just leave these panels open or you may need to add a few hand stitches to keep your angel together. If you can avoid the stitches, it will make it much easier to store your angel since she’ll unfold to almost flat. For the sample shown on the first page, I simply set the wings into place— probably not a smart thing if I leave it within kitty reach!

Other Notes:

Although I sewed my angel in a traditional white, she would look lovely in other colors as well. I do not recommend trying to scale these designs to fit smaller sewing fields.

Looking for a small wallhanging project you can update each month? How about this quilted and pieced in-the-hoop calendar block?

I designed this calendar block to just ft my max square stitching area on my machine and to work with the 175mm blocks from some recently digitized sets, Halloween Scenes 1 and Halloween Scenes 2. I’m just wrapping up a few more sets that will also work for Thanksgiving and winter months (snowmen) that are similarly designed.

I haven’t found suitable designs for every month yet but do have November and December plus a couple of spring blocks. Of course, you can work in any design you choose simply by inserting it after color 5.

For October, I chose the multi-color Kitten and Pumpkins design from Halloween Scenes 1. There are two sets of Halloween scenes that will work perfectly for this project.

Each set has 10 designs in multi-color and 10 as single color and each one of those is available in multiple sizes. I used the 175mm version so I could stitch the month name onto the attached borders without rehooping.

I stitched through the batting but not the backing for this project. It fnishes out at about 12” square. The center is stitched frst, then the side borders are pieced on and embroidered, and fnally the top and bottom borders are pieced on and embroidered.

I foated all the pieces onto hooped stabilizer. I chose to color in the center embroidery with InkTense colored pencils for additional interest.

SKILL LEVEL

Basic embroidery and customizing skills. If you’re working with one of the calendar blanks to create your own version, you’ll need to know how to combine designs by inserting a design after a specifc color change.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• Suitable fabrics for blocks, pre-washed and pressed (Tip: If fabrics are especially soft, starching can reduce distortion when stitching. Rotary cutter, quilting ruler and mat
• Stabilizer: I used Sulky Soft ‘n Sheer. Other suitable choices are washaway backing and washaway tearaway.
• Appliqué tacking iron
• An embroidery machine with a minimum sewing feld of 11½” x 9¾” for the blocks
• Suitable embroidery threads and sewing threads
• Optional: InkTense colored pencils or other media for coloring

WHAT’S INCLUDED WITH THE COLLECTION

• Twelve ITH “calendar blanks” digitized for piecing in the hoop (preset for each month)
• One block with a ready-made design already inserted (Halloween block for October)
• 12 “month name” designs
• This instructional PDF

SUPPLIES

I worked from various fat quarters in my fabric stash. The measurements listed below are for the calendar block designs in this set; adjust accordingly for how the sizes you’ll be using and the hoop(s) you’ll be using if they vary.

• Batting: 14” square (I used Floriani’s Quilter Select)
• Fusible Fleece: 14” square, optional (I used Pellon Fusible Fleece)
• Center block: 8” square (I used white Kona Cotton)
• Sashing: 2 strips 2¾” x 8” (Sides) + 2 strips ) 2¾” x 13” (top & bottom)
• Backing: 13” square
• Binding: I cut mine on the bias at 2¼” wide.

SETTING UP THE DESIGN

If you’re stitching this bonus October Halloween block, just load the design to your machine.

Otherwise, use one of the 12 calendar block “blanks,” which includes the basic ITH steps for each month and insert the design of your choice after color #5, which can be done either in software or at your machine. The center area is designed for a 175mm square design.

The month names are also included separately in case you have a smaller hoop and are unable to do the project in the hoop. You’re on your own for working that out.

WHY AREN’T THERE DESIGNS FOR EVERY MONTH?

This set is designed to make it easy for you to select your own monthly designs. Not everyone celebrates the same holidays and while we in the northern hemisphere experience winter in December, my Aussie friends are enjoying summer.

Another reason there aren’t designs for every month is I haven’t found artwork for every month yet. I will be posting similarly styled designs as I fnd them and get them done. In the meantime, you’re able to create your own calendar blocks with your own designs.

HOW TO SEW

Start by hooping the stabilizer. I used Sulky Soft ‘n Sheer. Other good choices would be washaway fber or wash-away tear-away. Because I’m using a large hoop and my stabilizer is thin, I used duct tape on the back to prevent slippage between the rings.

I foated the batting for this project because I didn’t have enough to hoop all the away around. Hooping would have made the top and bottom month names easier to stitch.

The first color sews the placement guide for the center area. Use any color for this step; it will be covered by batting and won’t be visible. You can use the same color for the frst 5 color changes if it works with your center block fabric.

Center the batting over this guide. I layered on a piece of fusible feece, fusible side up on top of that. Sew the tack down stitch.

Layer the center fabric so that it extends evenly on all sides of the tack down stitch and press lightly to tack it to the fusible feece. Sew the second tack-down stitch.

When I was testing this design, I found it easier to accurately place the center block in a separate step rather than with the batting.

Sew the central design.

Attach the Side Borders

Using the tack-down stitches as a reference, align your side borders right side down making sure they extend beyond the tack-down stitches about ¼”.

Sew the side seams. Trim seam allowances if needed, fip the borders open, fnger press the seam and then press in place to tack to fusible feece. Pins can also help secure the side borders. Stitch the month names for the side borders.

Attach the Top and Bottom Borders

Repeat the process to add the top and borders. Make sure the borders extend to the outer edges of the side borders. Stitch in place, trim seams if needed, press open, stitch month names.

Remove from the hoop. Square up the block and trim borders to size. Mine are trimmed to 2¼”.

COLORING THE CENTER AREA (OPTIONAL)

One of the reasons I love redwork and color line designs is that I can embellish them with other media. For this project, I used InkTense colored pencils. I’ve tried a variety of media and these are by far the easiest, no mess, and most permanent media I’ve found that still leaves the fabric soft.

I lightly colored in areas and then used clear aloe vera gel thinned with water to a bit thinner than egg whites to blend and activate the ink in these pencils. The aloe vera will prevent the water from wicking into other areas causing the ink to bleed. When dry, the color is permanent.

Do apply the liquid carefully, brushing by area. If you get sloppy, colors can run together. Colors can be blended until they are set after drying.

FINISHING

I chose a fall print for the back, created a label using Adine Script, added a sleeve for a hanging rod, and fnished with a bias binding. Most quilters know how to do these things. If you don’t, do a search on YouTube for video step-by-steps.

EXTRA TIPS

If you don’t have a large enough hoop to complete the full project, hoop your center fabric, batting, and stabilizer and manually attach the borders. You’ll need to rehoop for the month names. You may need to cut your stabilizer and batting larger to allow for adequate hooping area for the month names.

USING OTHER DESIGNS

Another good choice for a monthly calendar project are the Birth Month Flowers of the Year. These designs come in filled, appliqué, and redwork versions and while optimized for a 200mm square sewing feld, these designs have been split and can be multi-hooped using a minimum 5x7” hoop. Just use the month names to create your own version.

SUMMARY

Projects don’t have to be elaborate. Yes, you could make a huge king-size quilt but small individual blocks like these are easy to turn into a seasonal mini-wallhanging or pillow covers.

Also, small projects like these make it easy to experiment with different media and techniques without a large investment in fabric, supplies, and time

This vibrant southwest quilt showcases 5 machine embroidered appliqués designed digitized by Lindee Goodall. The quilt was designed, pieced and embroidered by Lindee and quilted by Barbara Angerhoffer. The central piecing is framed with a turquoise 1” border surrounded by a dark 3” border of mini Kokopelli black on brown print and finally set off with a solid black binding. Finished size is approximately 36 x 36”

Skill Level

• Basic embroidery and computer skills
• Basic quilting skills (rotary cutting, piecing, applying borders, binding)

What You’ll Learn

• How to create professional looking appliqué using precut pieces and your embroidery machine
• How to quickly make perfect half-square triangles in the hoop

What’s Included

• Designs for appliqués and two sizes of half square triangles in the hoop
• Templates for hand or machine cutting appliqués
• Instructions for machine embroidered appliqué
• Project instructions (this document). Cutting and quilt assembly diagrams are at the end.

About the Pattern

The five machine embroidered appliqué designs were originally created to fulfill a request by my friend James Raymer at Dalco Home Sew. After researching many southwest designs, I drew the artwork to represent common elements in native artwork then digitized them. I was so pleased with them (I have a southwest decor theme in my home) that I decided I’d make a wall hanging to showcase them. I designed the quilt in Adobe Illustrator and with the help of my quilter friend, Jeanette Smith, we picked fabrics. Once I started printing out the pieces at actual size, I realized just how tiny some of those little triangles were! So to maintain accuracy, I digitized a grid for sewing half-square triangles with the embroidery machine. These designs are included with this pattern.

I didn’t start out with the idea that I would publish the pattern but after numerous requests, I dug out my Illustrator files, and here we are! The yardages are approximate but on the generous side; I mostly worked from my stash and pieces contributed by Jeanette.

Now that the license agreement with Dalco has expired, the appliqués are united with the quilt pattern and half-square in-the-hoop triangles as one project.

Foolish Assumptions

This pattern provides quantities and dimensions for the individual pieces and a visual guide for assembling.

Borders

These instructions assume basic quilting and embroidery knowledge. You should know how to rotary cut, piece, apply borders, and bind a quilt. No details are provided for quilting. Details are provided for machine embroidered appliqué in a separate document.

Seam Allowance

Scant quarter inch throughout.

Seam lines marked on pattern pieces are 1/4 inch, seam lines marked on grids are scant quarter inch.

Supplies

• Fabrics for quilt and appliqué (I used all cottons)
• Embroidery threads
• Stabilizer
• Wash-away fiber stabilizer or tear away
• Temporary embroidery spray adhesive (TESA)
• Heavy duty spray starch
• Construction thread
• Batting
• Supplies for appliqué (fusible web, tacking iron)

Appliqué Embroidery

Machine embroider blocks before piecing quilt. If you haven’t done machine embroidered appliqué before or haven’t done it using precut appliqué pieces, please refer to the separate instructions PDF, Appliqué Basics.

I recommend prewashing all fabrics used for the quilt and appliqués. I also like to prep them with starch to improve stability for both embroidering and piecing. Spray the fabric but don’t saturate, turn the fabric over and press until dry with a hot dry iron. Repeat with at least two sprays on each side always pressing from the side opposite of the one you sprayed. This will force the starch into the fabric fibers making them more stable.

I prefer hooping fabric so that it is secured between the rings of the hoop with the stabilizer. If you are cutting squares of fabric and basting them to the stabilizer for embroidery, be sure to cut them at least 1” larger. Embroidery tends to distort the fabric even when properly stabilized. Hoop the stabilizer, baste in the hoop directly onto the stabilizer, then smooth down your block securing with TESA and a second basting stitch. Hoop carefully so that embroidery is centered in the block. After embroidering, remove excess stabilizer and trim block to size, keeping design centered in block.

Half Square Triangles

There are many ways to piece half square triangles. If you have a favorite method, then use that one. This wall hanging has 24 very small ones (finished size 1 1/8”) and 32 small ones (2 5/8” finished size). Handling tiny pieces can be cumbersome so you may wish to try one of the grid methods explained below.

Grid Method, Automated: Half Square Triangles in the Hoop

If you have an embroidery machine with a larger hoop, this method is fast and accurate. Two embroidery designs are included for doing half square triangles in the hoop. The smaller half square triangles (lgp01006.*) can all be done in a 5 x 7 hoop at one time. The larger blocks (lgp01007.*) require a larger hoop (175 x 175mm). Each of these has 3 color stops:

1. Placement guideline for positioning fabrics in the hoop
2. Fabric tack down and cut lines for quilt pieces (this is a longer running stitch)
3. Seams (use regular sewing thread instead of embroidery thread

Embroidery Instructions

For stronger seams, use sewing thread instead of embroidery thread for needle and bobbin. You may also wish to adjust the tensions for a more balanced sewing type stitch rather than embroidery, where the top thread is pulled to the back. Although the entire design can be sewn in one thread color, you may find it easier to cut the pieces apart if you use a different color for the cut lines. DO NOT SCALE THE EMBROIDERY DESIGN OR IT WON’T WORK FOR THIS QUILT!

Do not scale the embroidery design or it won’t work for this quilt!

1. Hoop tear away or wash-away stabilizer.
2. Sew color one, placement. This placement line is slightly outside the cutting line.
3. Cut two pieces of fabric to the size of the cutting line. With right sides together, TESA the two pieces, TESA one side of the fabric sandwich and smooth into place within stitched guideline. It doesn’t matter if the fabric extends beyond the line but it must at least meet the line. Color 2 can stay the same as color 1. Color 2 will zigzag tack the fabric to the stabilizer outside the cutting line. Then the cutting lines will sew. The cutting line may not entirely trace the perimeter of the design but there will be enough of an edge to align your ruler for rotary cutting.
4. Color change 3 sews the seam lines. Choose a color that you would use for piecing.
5. Finish sewing the design.
6. Remove from hoop and use a quilting ruler and rotary cutter to cut along stitching lines of color number change 2 (make sure not to cut the seam lines…).
7. Press seams open or to one side as desired for project. Trim off points.

Half Square Triangles, Grid Method 2

Using the provided templates as a pattern, mark a grid on the wrong side of one of the fabrics you’ll be using.

Print the template pages at actual size for an accurate pattern. Acrobat may set the default Page Scaling to Shrink to Fit. Make sure to change it to None in the print dialog box.

Print on light-weight fusible tear away lightly fused to a piece of printer paper in an ink jet. Fuse pattern to back of fabric, sew on stitching lines, tear off stabilizer.

For the smaller half square triangles, the pattern will make all 24 pieces at once. Place fabric A and fabric B right sides together, sew as indicated by the dotted sewing line and then rotary cut on the solid lines. Press open and trim off points.

Use a light mist of TESA to hold the two fabrics together without shifting.

For the larger half square triangles, the pattern will make 8 blocks. Make 3 sets of color C with color D for 24 blocks. Make 1 set of color B with color C for 8 blocks. Cut, press, and trim as with the smaller blocks.

Assembling

Refer to the layout on the following pages for a visual guide to assembling the quilt.

Borders

Cut strips for inner narrow border 1 1/2” wide. Cut strips for wider border 3 1/2” wide. Measure the vertical center of the pieced top and cut the inner side borders to that length. Attach side borders. Now measure the horizontal center of the pieced top and cut the top and bottom inner border to that length and attach to top. Repeat in a similar fashion for the outer borders.

Once borders are attached, your quilt top is now ready to be quilted. After quilting, add a hanging pocket if desired, and bind. Remember to add a label!

Usage of this Pattern

You may sell sewn versions of this quilt as you wish. The copyright applies to sharing, selling, or otherwise distributing printed or digital copies of this pattern or the embroidery designs—don’t do it! You may also teach this pattern as long as each student buys their own copy of the pattern. All attempts have been made to ensure these instructions are accurate. These are the pieces I used to make the quilt shown on the cover. Never the less, no guarantees are made.

Add Borders

Grid Pattern for Small Half Square Triangles

Instructions

Layer fabric A and fabric B right sides together. Trace template onto fabric. Sew on the dotted lines. Cut on solid lines, press open, trim off points. This pattern will make all 24 of the small half square triangles.

If you print this page at actual size, the template is accurate. Measure the small squares. They should exactly 1 5/8” (1.625”).

Journal and book covers are quick and easy projects and are perfect for showing of your embroidery! They also make great gifts and can be customized for almost anyone of any age.

PROJECT NOTES

For these samples, I used designs from Victorian Crazy Patch in the Hoop. Related YouTube videos are available for stitching the designs and making the cover:

• How to Sew a Journal Cover
• How to Stitch Victorian Crazy Piecing In-the-Hoop

These links were correct at the time of this writing. If they don’t work, please visit my YouTube channel to locate them: https://www.youtube.com/ lindeegvideos

These covers were made for standard composition books but you can make them for just about any book by changing the measurements.

Mine are just basic covers with sleeves on the inside to secure the book covers. I’ve added a ribbon for a book mark, a narrow elastic to secure the book closed, and a wider elastic loop to hold a pen.

The inside sleeves ofer more real estate for extra pockets and personalizing. Plan for any extra embroidery because you may need to complete that before final cutting to size.

SUPPLIES

• Fabrics for project (you’ll need to determine what you need based on how many fabrics you use and how large your book is)
• Cove
• Lining
• Sleeves
• Pockets
• Interfacing. I just used Pellon ShirTailor for mine but you may want something stifer.
• ¾” wide elastic (or a fabric loop) for the pen holder (~2½” or circumference of your pen plus ⅝”)
• ¼” wide elastic to hold the journal closed (height of book + 1”)
• Ribbon for book mark (about 3” longer than height of book)
• Optional: charm for bottom of ribbon
• Basic sewing supplies

START BY MEASURING

You’ll need several measurements:

• Height of your book cover
• Width of book measured around the circumference of the closed book from front edge around the spine to the back edge (not a full circumference)

This book is 9¾” tall by 15½” wide. Add 1” to both the height and width for your cutting size. Cut one piece for the cover and a second one for the lining.

Although we’ll only be using ¼” seams, we’ll need a little extra room for ease. When cutting the front cover fabric, I added a 2” extension to the right side for hooping and an extra ½” on the other sides for squaring up after stitching.

• Inside sleeve depth, which will depend somewhat on how wide your book can open and how thick your book is. The wider your sleeves, the more difcult it will be to get the cover on your book. Also, you need at least a 3” space between the sleeves along the spine to turn the project right side out. (More if your fabrics are thick or heavily interfaced.)

I cut my sleeves to 14” wide by 10¾” tall. Fold each sleeve in half, wrong sides together for a 7” x 10¾ size, then edge stitch along the folded edge.

INTERFACING

While not strictly required, interfacing will make your project look more professional by adding structure and will help it wear longer.

Fusible interfacings are easy to use. Be sure to follow the pressing directions included with your project.

I interfaced the outer cover with Pellon ShirTailor, which is a medium light interfacing, before embroidering. I also interfaced the lining piece and one side of each sleeve. I didn’t interface any of my pockets.

The striped pocket was cut 10” wide and folded just like the sleeve and top stitched along the edge. The top pocket is narrower and was stitched to the striped pocket to form several smaller pockets. (Pockets weren’t interfaced.)

On other journal covers, I’ve just placed one small pocket for business cards. Consider making a larger, clear vinyl pocket for an ID pocket if you’re making a cover for a student.

PREPARING TO SEW

Cut all your pieces to size, interfacing as desired. As mentioned earlier, you’ll want to complete any embroidery before cutting to make sure you have enough fabric for proper hooping. Also, embroidery can distort your fabric so having extra fabric to square up is a good idea.

Sleeves and long pockets are folded in half right sides together and edge stitched along fold. Attach any pockets to the sleeve panels.

Patch pockets are edge stitched in place. Pockets that extend into the seam allowances can be stay-stitched into place.

If you want curved corners, use your book to trace the corners in place. Remember to trace them on the seam line and not just around the book itself.

ASSEMBLING

When I took these step-by-step photos, I was working from the front cover. However, in the video, you’ll see me working from the lining side.

Working from the lining side seems a little easier because you are layering all the elements face up with only the outer cover face down. Plus, you can do all the stay stitching in just one pass. It really makes no diference to the fnal project which way you work.

STAY STITCHING

Stay stitching is another thing the pros do to reinforce various areas that are likely to get more abuse, such as the bookmark ribbon, elastics and pockets.

Stay stitching is done within the seam allowance. On the ribbon and elastics, I stitched forward, back and then forward again for extra security. On the pockets I just stitched them down once Stay stitching in this manner has the added beneft of holding everything in place when you have so many layers to stitch through.

Place your ribbon pretty side face down if applying to the front, face up if working from the lining side.

I only inserted one piece of elastic to hold the book closed. However, you could add a second to the back and then use the elastics to hold the book open to a specifc page.

Finally, layer on the lining, face down and then stitch around the outside edge using a ¼” seam allowance, leaving an opening on the bottom edge between the sleeves for turning.

Trim the corner seam allowances to reduce bulk. Turn right side out through the opening, taking care to push out the corners smoothly. Press well, tucking in the seam allowances at the opening; edge stitch closed.

WHOOPS!

Did your sleeves or pockets end up on the outside instead of the inside? Don’t panic! This can happen during turning. Simply flip them over to the inside.

OPTIONAL

Add a small charm or bead or just tie a knot at the end of the ribbon.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!

Now all we need to do is dress our book. Fold back the covers and slide them into the sleeves, then pull on the cover.

NOW THAT YOU’VE MADE ONE, MAKE ANOTHER!

Once you’ve got your measurements worked out, making multiples for books of the same size is pretty speedy.

Having an embroidery machine along with some basic sewing skills makes it easy to make a gift stash so that you always have some little something on hand. Finger tip towels, kitchen towels, and journal covers are perfect for stocking that stash because they’re small, quick and easy to make, and can appeal to a wide range of people without having to deal with sizes!

Piecing in the hoop replicates the process of foundation piecing, also known as paper piecing. If you’ve done foundation piecing with the sewing machine, you will immediately grasp the concept. While a little more intensive than regular embroidery, this technique really only requires attention to detail.

Use the patterns to pre-cut all your pieces. You can spray templates with TESA or print on fusible paper and apply to the front of your fabric pieces for cutting. Be sure to keep the pattern piece attached until ready to place the fabric in the hoop to avoid using the wrong piece.

Skill Level

Basic embroidery and rotary cutting skills

These designs are sized for a finished block size of 5” (design size is 5.5” to allow for seam allowances). Designs should be easily scalable for larger or smaller hoops using appropriate software. If you are shrinking the block, select blocks with fewer small pieces for best results. Keep in mind that the pattern pieces will no longer be accurate and adjust accordingly.

What You’ll Need

• Suitable fabrics for blocks, pre-washed and pressed (Tip: If fabrics are especially soft, starching can reduce distortion when stitching.)
• Printed block pattern and templates
• Rotary cutter, quilting ruler and mat
• TESA (Temporary embroidery spray adhesive) or water soluble fabric glue stick
• Stabilizer (heat fusible tearaway works well)
• Appliqué tacking iron
• Regular sewing thread in needle and bobbin in a color that coordinates or blends with your fabrics
• Double curve appliqué scissors
• An embroidery machine with a minimum sewing field of 5.75” x 5.75” for the blocks

What’s Included with the Collection

• Twenty designs digitized for piecing in the hoop (18 blocks and 2 borders)
• Full size patterns and templates for each block
• Color sequence PDF with images of sample blocks
• This instructional PDF

Preliminary Notes

If you’ve done foundation or paper piecing, you’ll notice there are a few variations:

1. In paper piecing, fabric is applied to the back side of the printed pattern and the sewing is done on the printed side. When embroidering pieced blocks, all sewing is done from the fabric side.
2. In paper piecing, excess fabric is trimmed off as you go by folding back the pattern and rotary cutting. When embroidering pieced blocks, excess fabric is trimmed off as you go with double-curved appliqué scissors.

Preparation

1. Open the corresponding design PDF in Acrobat and print the full size pattern and corresponding pattern templates. Make sure Acrobat does not scale the pattern. For your convenience, a 1” square is printed on the first page of each block’s templates for easy verification.

2. Use the pattern to plan your design layout. You may want to cut your fabric pieces slightly larger than the actual pattern pieces. The numbered pattern will show you the order the pieces will be sewn. The stitching line is the line between the two pieces being sewn.

3. Hoop the stabilizer, fusible side up. Using a fusible stabilizer with an appliqué tacking iron will let you avoid using spray adhesives. If you need a more permanent stabilizer, I recommend a no-show mesh cutaway. Using a cutaway will stabilize the block in the event you are using fabrics cut off grain or that are otherwise less stable or sturdy. A no show mesh is thin enough not to add excess bulk to the overall block’s seam allowances. If you choose to use a water soluble, use a fiber based stabilizer and not a film. These designs have shorter stitches intended to make removing tearaway easier and a film will fall apart during the sewing process.

4. These designs are generally set up as 3 color designs. Color 1 sews the outer cutting line, the finished block seam line, and the outline of the first piece. Color 2 sews the outline of the rest of the blocks. This was set as a separate color change to allow more design flexibility in case you want to skip this color. The third color is the rest of the design with a stop placed after each piece placement. These stops will appear as color changes in non-native (stitch) file formats. The entire design can be sewn in one color; choose one that you would use for the seams if you were piecing the designs traditionally. Because you’re sewing seams, you should choose construction thread instead of embroidery thread.

At the Machine

If you sized the block design, use the finished block seam allowance stitch line as a reference to cut a quarter inch seam allowance instead of the outer cutting line.

As with standard foundation piecing, stitch length was shortened to increase perforations to permit easier removal of the stabilizer.

Summary

Piecing in the hoop produces a highly consistent and accurate result provided you follow the steps precisely!