How to embroider hard-to-reach areas of clothing?

If you like one-of-kind jeans or wish to revamp your favorite pair, you can do it with comparative ease, using just an embroidery machine and your imagination. In this article, I’ll tell you how to embroider the pocket of jeans thus turning them into something original.

Small items of clothing, such as jeans’ pockets, belts, straps, yokes, cuffs are somewhat difficult to embroider, being impossible to hoop. There are, however, some ways of doing it quickly and easily. I’ll be happy to tell you about them!

For the embroidery, you’ll need:

Embroidery machine or sewing and embroidery machine,
Your favorite pair of jeans,
Embroidery stabilizer (Filmoplast adhesive paper by Gunold will do nicely.),
Embroidery threads of the necessary color (Madeira Rayon #40 or Gunold Poly #40),
Bobbin thread of the same color as the fabric (Amman Belfil C #120),
Thick threads for the jeans, same color as the stitchout (Madeira Aerofil #35),
Machine embroidery needles of the corresponding thickness, with a reinforced blade (Schmetz Jeans),
Embroidery needle (Schmetz Embroidery #90).

First, rip off the pocket and iron it, removing the excessive threads. Carefully inspect your pocket to see whether it has any metal eyelets or decorative stitching. A layout grid comes with your embroidery machine. With it, you may position the design on the pocket the way you like. If there eyelets and rivets in that place, they should be removed so as to save your needle from breaking during the embroidery. If you don’t need the decorative stitching as part of your design, rip it off. Press the pocket with an iron once again.

Prepare the stabilizer and the hoop. Filmoplast is an embroidery stabilizer with an adhesive layer covered with paper.

Hoop it with the paper layer facing up. Position your pocket on top of it and jot down the placement marks with a marker. If you only embroider one pocket, it’s better to place it in the center of the hoop.

In order to attach our pocket before the embroidery, you’ll need to remove the upper layer of the stabilizer (the paper one). Gently peel off the paper and press the pocket onto the adhesive area between the marks.

You’re now done with the preparation. You may proceed to the embroidery. It is crucial to correctly position the design in the hoop because the entire design has to fit in.

I used my Husqvarna Designer sewing and embroidery machine. Its full-color touch panel display allows you to choose an appropriate hoop (which now circumscribes your pocket) and position the embroidery where you want it. With the help of a layout grid in the hoop and another one on the touch panel display, it will be an easy job.

You can check whether everything is correct by touching the design positioning button. On the screen, you’ll be able to see whether the design should be shifted a bit or rotated (see the manual that comes with your embroidery machine or ask the seller).

Your embroidery is ready. Take the hoop off the machine. Carefully tear off your embroidered pocket from the stabilizer. It will be easy to do while still in the hoop because the needle soft of cuts it along the edges of the embroidery.