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A textile etui with cross stitch embroidery (Bargello imitation)
Where do you keep your bijou jewelry, beads, memory sticks, buttons, and other knickknacks? Boxes and tins aren’t good–the heart yearns for the beautiful. These cross stitch designs imitate the famous Florentine embroidery known as Bargello.

Below I explain how to actually sew and embroider an etui.

A textile etui with cross stitch embroidery. Materials
Printed cotton fabric Sole-colored cotton fabric Tearaway adhesive stabilizer Upper thread Underthread Scissors Machine embroidery design The sewing order (the image below)
A textile etui with cross stitch embroidery. The making process
You can buy the design or create it yourself. For those who don't know how, there will be tutorials in future.
Prepare the design and working materials. I like doing it before the work starts, thus eliminating the possibility of missing something in the crucial moment.
We’ll be using a sole-colored fabric. Attach the adhesive stabilizer to the wrong side. Hoop the fabric together with the stabilizer. Tighten the screw. After that, do the upper and lower threading and attach the hoop.


Hit the start button. The embroidery consists of three parts, two rectangular and one square. You need to embroider two rectangular parts and one square part, which will make the basis for your etui.
I recommend following the color chart that comes with the design so that to avoid gaudiness. 


If you’ve decided to create your etui out of felt, you may forego the lining. In the course of embroidery, even cotton fabric becomes thicker, but I decided to leave the stabilizer and to add lining. In order to do that, embroider only the outer stitch on a sole-colored or printed fabric. As it comes last in the embroidery order, you need go to the editing menu of the design and skip the steps you don’t want to embroider.



Having embroidered one square and two sides for both inner and outer sides of the etui, cut out the details, leaving 0.5–1 cm for seam allowance. Remove the stabilizer from the seam allowance, it will be superfluous there. Sew first the outer sides, and then inner sides together (see the scheme). Insert the lining into the etui and stitch the two sides together. I sewed by hand, catching the back stitches.
You can additionally decorate the item with beads, ribbons, tassels or charms, whichever suits your taste best.

In the end, you’ll get a nice textile etui where you can put your sundry. Such an etui may also be used as a box for a small present. Happy embroidery!
P.S. Explore other embroidery techniques here!
Original text by Mary Stratan
Free machine embroidery designs made in this technique can be found here.
Machine embroidery on linen

It is getting difficult for newcomers to find the information they seek among the numerous articles and forum discussions. Therefore, I have compiled all the pieces covering embroidery on linen here.
In masterclasses, and also on sewing and embroidery forums, you often see phrases like “sew linen”, “embroidery on linen”, “linen napkins”. No wonder, as linen is a very easy-to-sew fabric.
There are heavyweight linen fabrics (grayish brown in color), semi-white, white and dyed. Linens are valued for their durability and wear resistance, and also for their ability to absorb moisture while allowing for good heat and air penetration. Linen fabric varies greatly in appearance, from smooth with a matte finish to heavyweight with a coarse structure.
Linen fabric is perfect for tablecloths, table napkins, curtains or bed linen decorated with embroidery. This fabric allows for the natural thermoregulation of the human body, which makes it a perfect material for summer clothes.
Types of linen fabric, their uses, and appeal for the embroiderers, will be covered in the future articles. Here I’m talking about how embroidery on linen should be done.
Newbie seamstresses and embroiderers should remember that natural (i.e. not containing any synthetic fibers) linen fabric shrinks a lot after washing. One must keep this in mind before cutting out and a pattern and embroidering. In order for the embroidered item to keep its neat look after the first laundering, you need to sanforize the fabric, i.e. to wash it or moisten it with hot steam. After washing, the fabric should be smoothed down while still damp, to save yourself the trouble with ironing out the creases.





The rules of embroidery on linen
Linen is a very easy fabric to embroider and the least troublesome for embroiderers. Nevertheless, there are several pieces of advice that may come handy for the first-time embroiderers on this highly manageable material.

Hooping
Linen is hooped in a standard way. The fabric should be smoothed down before being placed in the hoop, with a matching stabilizer glued to its wrong side. Only after that the fabric together with the stabilizer is placed onto the smaller hoop and is covered with a bigger one. Tighten the screw until the fabric is taut to prevent shifting during the embroidery.

If the fabric is very thin and you’re afraid to damage it, you may hoop a tearaway stabilizer, and glue the fabric on top.

Needles
There are no special requirements when choosing needles for embroidery on linen. An ordinary embroidery needle with a sharp tip will be fine.

Threads
You can use any kind of embroidery threads: polyester, rayon, cotton ones; though it is not advisable to use metallics, there are no rules. If your design calls for metallic threads, try it out.
Cotton thread is most often used for the embroidery on linen because its dull surface goes will together with the linen surface. Acrylic threads look interesting: they resemble woolen yarns in appearance.





Stabilizer
Choosing the right kind of stabilizer for linen depends on the fabric type and the design properties. The density of the stabilizer depends on the density of the design and the fabric weight. If the linen is thin, and the design is dense, you’ll need a tearaway stabilizer with adhesive or an ordinary tearaway. If the linen is dense and plain weave, and the design is a “light” one that only contains simple stitches, you may spare the stabilizer altogether.
Too dense designs look bad on thin fabrics, spoiling the effect by reminding one of coarse patches. Soft, if dense, designs should be embroidered on soft, flowing fabrics. If embroidering a dense design on a thin linen fabric cannot be avoided, use a thin bobbin thread: it will make the embroidery a bit lighter.
As textured linen is often loosely woven, it is necessary to use a thin water-soluble film on top of it.

Embroidery designs
In case you digitize your own designs, you’ll need to maintain a certain ratio between the density of the design and the weight of linen on which the design or inscription will be embroidered.
If you’re going to embroider on loosely woven linen, it’s better to secure it with an outline prior to the embroidery.
If you haven't learned to digitize yet, you are welcome to choose something from our large collection of free embroidery designs.
Follow these rules, and the embroidery on linen will be a piece of pie to you. Linen towels, napkins, tablecloths, curtains, bedcovers, and pillowcases will decorate your home. Linen clothes, comfortable to wear, will look beautiful as well, thanks to the machine embroidery.










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Original text by Yelena Kraftwork
Machine embroidery on terry cloth: the guidelines
Every one of us becomes familiar with terry cloth in early childhood: our favorite bathrobes and bath towels are made of it. Terry cloth is most commonly used to produce items for home. Embroidery on terry cloth is a pleasure, for the fabric is stable and doesn't stretch. The loops are, perhaps, the only disadvantage, but if you are familiar with the correct hooping technique, and know how to choose a stabilizer and a design for the particular fabric, you needn’t concern yourself with them.

In this article, we’ll cover the main points of the embroidery on terry cloth. One needs to keep in mind that all this information pertains to home embroidery and sewing and embroidery equipment; nevertheless, many of the recommendations will be applicable to commercial embroidery equipment as well.
Terry cloth: its composition and properties
Terry cloth is an uncut-pile fabric used in the production of towels, beach robes, bath slippers, bed linen for grown-ups and kids, children’s toys, and even bar furnishings.



As for its composition, terry cloth is usually made of cotton, linen or, less frequently, bamboo. The fabric absorbs a lot of moisture and doesn’t stretch.  These properties, along with the range of uses, make terry cloth very attractive for the embroiderers, both amateur and professional ones.
Lately, synthetic fibers are used in the making of the fabric rather often. This lowers its quality a bit, but using it as your main fabric does not affect the result of the embroidery. There are advantages as well. Baby bibs are made of terry cloth that is partly composed of synthetic fibers. They are soft, and the after-effects of breakfast and dinners easily wash off them. 
Terry cloth differs in weight, thread twist, and loop height. These are the main properties one should pay attention to when mastering the embroidery on terry cloth.

The higher the loop, the greater the possibility of its sinking into the fabric or showing through the fill. The thicker the fabric, the more likely you’ll have trouble with hooping it, as such fabric will be more difficult to properly secure. It is possible, but not easily attainable, and besides, do you really need it? Let's proceed.
Choosing machine embroidery needles and threads
When embroidering on terry cloth, one shouldn’t concern oneself too much with the needles. Ordinary embroidery kind will be just fine.  In case there is trouble, use specialty needles listed below.
For the embroidery on a loosely spun terry cloth, use ball point needles, such as the ones designed for knitwear. They separate the yarns without cutting them.
For the embroidery on a dense terry cloth with high uncut pile and containing a great number of synthetic fibers, use a topstitch needle with a sharp tip. Such a needle easily pierces the material, thus preventing the slip stitching.
If you’re going to use metallic threads, use the needle designed specifically for that purpose; metallics are whimsical: when passing through an eye of a wrongly chosen needle, they tend to fray, which at best costs them their luster, and at worst makes them snap a lot. 

Any threads may be used for the embroidery on terry cloth—cotton, polyester, wool, etc. The main thing that matters is their durability. Rayon and metallic thread are, perhaps, the less washable: they don't get along well with bleachers and other chemicals used in laundry.
We’ll probably offer nothing new in the bobbing thread choice department. Use a common bobbin thread (white or black, depending on the design color scheme). Its thickness will depend not so much on the chosen fabric properties as on the whims of your embroidery machine. It has been noted that some machines do not take to a very thin bobbin thread (#200).

When embroidering a design on a terry towel, try to choose a bobbin thread of a matching color—in that case, the wrong side will look tidier. Keep in mind, though, that it will make the embroidery thicker. 
Choosing a stabilizer
For the embroidery on terry cloth, the stabilizers listed below will come in handy.
When embroidering on terry cloth, the backing is used not only to prevent puckering but also as the main fabric that will be hooped.
Tearaway nonadhesive stabilizers are preferable. They can be easily removed without scissors.
On the market, you’ll find this kind of stabilizer in two colors, black and white. The color of stabilizer depends on the color of the fabric. It’s better to use black backing with dark fabrics, and a white one with light-colored fabrics.
Stabilizers also differ in weight. For the embroidery on terry cloth, use the following stabilizers: 1640, 1650, 1751, 1860.

Use stabilizers 1751 and 1860 for the dense terry cloth with high uncut pile (bath towels, bathrobes), and stabilizers 1640 and 1650—for the terry cloth with a low uncut pile (face towels).
In addition to the nonadhesive stab, a temporary spray adhesive will be necessary.
Filmoplast 
As a backing, Filmoplast (a tearaway stabilizer with a sticky surface) is the most convenient. It comes in two colors, white and black. You can attach it to the fabric immediately after peeling off the protective paper.
More on how to work with these materials in the Hooping methods section.
Adhesive stabilizers may be used as well, but in that case, you’ll have to hoop the fabric, and there is no need to hoop the terry cloth. Besides, hooping terry cloth means to make the whole process more complicated. 
For a topping, we recommend a water-soluble film that prevents the stitches from sinking into the fabric and can be easily removed without washing.

Other kinds of topping are of little use for the embroidery on terry cloth. You may use them, but with no avail.
 
Hooping methods
 
Hooping terry cloth is easy. There will be no need to get the fabric tight as a drum or keep an eye on it so that there is not a single wrinkle, as you do with knits. After two or three attempts embroidery on terry cloth will become easy to you.
Methods of hooping depend on the kinds of stabilizers recommended for the terry cloth.
 
Materials
 
Nonadhesive stabilizer (backing) Spray adhesive Water-soluble film Hoop the nonadhesive stabilizer. Carefully smooth down the stabilizer and tighten it a bit so that is doesn’t sag.
Tighten the screw.

Spray the upper side of the stabilizer with a temporary spray adhesive.
Place the fabric with its right side facing up on top of the stabilizer.
Pin the water-soluble film on top of the fabric.

If you have some trouble locating the embroidery area on your machine, use a template. Any template has an embroidery area marked upon it.
 
Materials
 
Filmoplast Water-soluble film Scissors Hoop the Filmoplast. Carefully smooth it down and tighten it a bit so that is doesn’t sag. Tighten the screw.
With your scissors, make an incision in the stabilizer’s protective layer. Peel off the protective layer.
On top of the stabilizer, place your fabric with its right side facing up.
On top of the fabric, place the water-soluble film.
Pin it to the fabric.

If you have some trouble locating the embroidery area on your machine, use a template. Any template has an embroidery area marked upon it. 

Choosing machine embroidery designs
The vast majority of machine embroidery designs gives one freedom to act. When choosing a design, one should learn to see it from the inside. To understand which fills the creator has used and whether the embroidery will look good on terry cloth. Having tried different embroidery techniques, you’ll come to the conclusion that in the majority of cases a topping should be used for the embroidery on terry cloth. If you’ll stick to this rule, the embroidery on a garment will undoubtedly come out beautifully. In order for you to know your way around the plenitude of machine embroidery designs, we offer the tried-and-true variants with the detailed account of the results.
We have lots of logos and other designs in our store.
All of the showpieces were embroidered with the help of the 1751 nonadhesive tearaway stabilizer.
All stitching designs may be divided into two main kinds: 1) Double run—as a rule, all quilting and Redwork designs are made with simple double running stitches 2) Triple Run—every stitch is repeated three times.


The record shows that Triple Run designs come out good with or without the water-soluble film on top. After you’ve removed the stabilizer leftovers and gently passed your hand over the surface, the difference is hardly visible.
As regards Double Run, one may state that it is better not to use it while embroidering designs without topping. The difference is clearly pronounced. The picture below shows the same design embroidered with and without the topping.

One should not forget that the design embroidered with running stitches on terry cloth may in time sink into the fabric, despite the result being satisfactory right after the embroidery. Therefore, here’s what we propose: embroider stitching designs on thin terry items with low uncut pile (face towels) and refrain from doing that on thick terry items with high uncut pile (bathrobes and bath towels). 
A highly popular kind of machine embroidery designs are congratulations and inscriptions, and also logos made with satin columns. Monograms are also created with the help of satin columns. This kind of designs is perfect for towels, bathrobes and other items made of terry cloth.
To provide you with full information on the subject, we have embroidered terry cloth with satin stitches under different circumstances. In the picture below you can see a monogram embroidered with the topping and without.

We’ve tested the design on the least troublesome fabric with the low uncut pile. 1751 nonadhesive stabilizer was used as the backing. When embroidering monograms that consist of satin columns and fills without topping, thread breakage often occurs. The thread is caught in the loops, and that leads to chaffing. Thread breakage is not linked with the needle type or the kind of thread used (we’ve tried metallic, rayon and polyester embroidery threads of various manufacturers).
The difficulty was also caused by the fact that the thread didn’t break at once but was chaffed so that the machine continued to embroider for some time after that. When embroidering the same design with the topping, the thread didn’t snap even once, and what’s more, the embroidery ran at a higher speed, with an excellent result.
The embroidery without the stabilizer ran at 350 spm, with the stabilizer—at 600 spm!
Tatami is one of the most popular fills. Up to 80% of the designs contain objects filled with it.
In order to understand how Tatami behaves on terry cloth, we’ve used a simple design with the high-density fill (“Mushrooms”) and a design with the low-density fill (“Flower”). Both designs were embroidered twice, with and without water-soluble stabilizer.
We’ve got the following results.
The embroidery of the designs that contain Tatami fill without topping leads to trouble. 
When stitching the design with high-density fill (“Mushrooms”) without the water-soluble stabilizer, the thread twisted and snapped. Terry cloth showed through.

When doing this design with the topping, the result was a way better. Though in some places terry cloth is still visible through the fill, you may avoid it by adding an underlay.
When embroidering a design with a low-density fill (“Flower”) without the stabilizer, terry cloth showed through the fill, and the thread did not twist but snapped at once. That most often happened on very small stitches.

When embroidering the same design with the water-soluble topping, terry cloth didn’t show through (almost), but in some places, where the fill was the least dense, one could see the color of the main fabric.
Choosing a design with the Tatami fill, pay attention to whether it has an underlay: it further strengthens the fabric and prevents the terry cloth from showing through during wear. The design we’ve chosen for our test piece didn’t have an underlay and was rather dense. 

Perfect for terry cloth! The fabric covers the pile that adds some volume to the embroidery.
We recommend using a water-soluble stabilizer on top—though without it the thread didn’t break, the loops showed through the satin column.

Cross-stitch looked wonderful on a terry towel embroidered with the help of water-soluble stabilizer. One may turn a blind eye to the slight distortion of the stitches after the removal of the stabilizer if one wants a towel embroidered in this technique.

We advise against the embroidery without the water-soluble stabilizer because the result is the same as with other embroidery techniques: thread breakage and stitches shifting.
Of course, the sky is the limit for a really imaginative embroiderer, but the designs rendered in this technique are not good for terry cloth, especially for a dense high-piled one.
If you're going to do cutwork, use the techniques above. You’ll find the guidelines in the section where we discussed satin columns. When choosing a design, pay attention to the width of the satin column. Do not use designs with columns less than 3 mm wide that are trimmed on the side.
 
Taking care of an embroidered item
 
If you want your embroidered item to serve you for many years (OK, months at least), you’ll need to learn how to take care of it. Having finished the embroidery, remove the traces of topping and backing. Gently iron the item in the embroidered area.
An important note: it’s better not to use hot pressing and steaming with terry cloth. The loops are flattened, the general appearance of the garment suffers, making it look untidy.

You may circumvent this issue by keeping an iron suspended above the fabric and using the steam boost option. Or, you may use a soft underlay—for example, a blanket, or an old terry towel.
Items made of terry cloth are highly washable, therefore, if you’ve chosen right threads, no chemicals or high temperatures will do your item any damage. 
 
Machine maintenance
 
If you embroider on terry cloth often, especially without any backing, the lint, which is always present, may clutter the shuttle. It is, perhaps, the only problem your embroidery machine may encounter during the embroidery on terry cloth. Keep your shuttle clean and everything will be fine!

Happy embroidery!
Original text by Irina Lisitsa, Maria Stratan, Lisa Prass
Patchwork pillow
A soft and fuzzy pillow with frayed edges that one can easily create by utilizing scraps from other embroidery projects. The edges will become more frayed with every time the pillow is used.

The pattern is basically an ordinary square; the seams will go inside so they won’t need a finish.
One cannot have too many pillows, but what if you have more ideas than your flat has free space? The solution is a simple one! Sew several pillows and change their “clothing” often. Pillowcases don’t take much space and can be washed, if necessary.
Pattern
To create a fluffy pillowcase, take a piece of cardboard and draw a square of side 10 cm plus 2 cm for fraying. Cut out 16 squares from fabrics of various colors.


Arrange them as you wish, matching them by color and print. Cut 16 more squares out of white baize or white chintz; these fabrics are easily frayed and suitable for creating the chenille effect.


Install the feed dog on your machine and stitch the cutouts together into horizontal bands. If you're going to join multiple layers (4 in our case) with an ordinary foot, lessen the foot pressure first.
The details should be joined with their wrong sides facing each other.


Pin horizontal bands together, in order to mark the places where the seams meet. 


Stitch the details together, folding the fray allowance from the seam on both sides before they go under the foot. 


Having finished stitching, you’ll get the outlined squares on the wrong side, and fray allowance on the right side of the fabric. Rip off the stitching where the fray is.


Fray the allowance at a distance of 0.5 cm to the stitching and fluff it. You may leave the last bit to your washing machine :) Several washing cycles will fray your pillowcase alright.


The back side of the pillowcase and the button panels:
The back side of the pillowcase is comprised of two rectangles 48 by 27 cm.
On one side, where the button panels will be, attach a 3 cm wide strip of the adhesive stabilizer. 


Finish the edges with overlock or with overhand stitch.
Fold the edge by 3 cm and stitch with a straight stitch; cut the buttonholes on one of the details.



Pin the two pieces of the back side of the pillowcase together with their wrong sides facing each other. Mark the starting point at the distance equal to the fray allowance.
Starting from any corner point, sew the parts of the pillow perimeter-wise, rotating it at the corners. Having finished, trim the edges.



Cut the fabric reserved for fraying, avoiding the stitching.


Sew the buttons, cut the buttonholes and put your pillow into your new pillowcase. Done!



Original text by Olga Ionova
How to turn a pair of jeans into a bag
Dig an old pair of jeans or velour trousers out of a closet. Done? Now I’ll tell you how to turn them into a bag. Creating a new item out of something that isn’t fashionable anymore or just something you got tired of is a task for a real craftsman (or craftswoman)! This bag can hold all the necessary paraphernalia: knitting needles, knitting threads or an embroidery kit.

Materials
A pair of jeans Sewing threads, same color as the stitching on jeans Scissors, pins A piece of cardboard How to turn a pair of jeans into a bag. Cutting
For the job, you’ll need one trouser leg together with the waistband. Measure the length of your future bag, starting at the top hem of the waistband, add 8 cm and draw a mark. You’ll need allowance for the bag bottom. Cut one leg only. Rip the leg seam and also where the zipper is sewn on. Remove the zipper.


How to turn a pair of jeans into a bag. Assembling
Fold the trouser leg with its right side inside, aligning along the side seam. Align the edges, if necessary. Pin the fabric along the side and the bottom seams of the future bag.


Sew them together with the straight stitch and whip stitch the edge. Join the stitch lines on the side and the bottom seams. Fold them at an angle. Draw the mark from the corner center. Draw a line perpendicular to the corner, it should equal the width of the bag bottom in length.


Stitch with straight stitches along the line. Turn the bag the right side out.


Cut out four strips of fabric for the handles. The length and width of the handles should equal their width plus turn-ups. Fold the strips together with their right sides together and stitch along one long side.


Press open the seam, fold each seam allowance inside and press. Fold the halves of the handles wrong sides inside and secure with pins.


Select the triple stitch on your sewing machine. Stitch along the long sides. Whip stitch the short edges. Pin the handles to the top of the bag.



Stitch the handles to the top of the bag, stitching exactly as you did previously. In order to strengthen the bottom of the bag, you can cut a rectangle same size as the bottom out of cardboard.


Your bag is ready!
Original text by Irina Lisitsa
The “Hawaiian” bag
It’s spring, at last, the sun comes out more and more frequently and twinkles between the tree branches. Soon, the emerald-green verdure will appear and nature will dress in the rainbow colors. Time has come to sew a new vibrant-colored bag for the spring-summer season. Read this step-by-step tutorial to know how.

For this job, you’ll need:
ScanNCut – an electronic cutting machine Iron-on contact sheet for the appliqué A piece of black fabric 82 x 50 cm Two brightly colored zippers, each 18°cm long Hot melt glue voluminous adhesive for making the bag harder 4 pieces of bright sole-colored fabrics 15 x 15 cm each 4 appliqué printouts, 13 x 13 cm You can download them on the Web Black and colored sewing threads
The “Hawaiian” bag: cutting out the panels
Cut the panels of the future bag out of the black fabric:
4 pieces,15 x 15 cm each, for the appliqué 2 pieces, 62 x8 cm each, for the bag's top and bottom 1 piece, 23 x11 cm, 1 piece, 23 x 8 cm, 1 piece, 23 x12 cm, for the insert on the back side 4 pieces, 23 x 12 cm each, for the pockets 1 piece, 82 x5 cm, for the top of the bag 2 pieces, 70 x 10 cm each, for the handles The “Hawaiian” bag: preparing the fabric for ScanNCut
Take an iron and press the hot melt glue backing to the wrong side of the 15 x 15 cm piece of fabric; the sticker with a picture of an iron should be facing up.


After the fabric has cooled, peel off the protective paper from the wrong side of the fabric. Secure the fabric on the cutting mat and do the test cut (blade length 5, pressure 3). If the test cut was successful (the fabric was cut and the mat wasn’t), proceed to the next step.


Stick the printout onto your mat. Select Direct Cut. The machine will scan the surface of the mat and the image will appear on the screen. Select the image No 3 and save it.


Now go to the Saved Objects and open the saved file on your screen. Check if the image was scanned correctly. Sometimes the machine adds extra dashes and lines while scanning. Select them and press Del.
Secure the fabric and scan the surface of the mat. Place the image so that it doesn't cross the edges of the fabric. Cut.



Using a spatula, designed specifically for this purpose, detach the fabric from the mat. You can make two appliqué pieces from this cutout. I used the outer side for my bag. Put the appliqué piece on top of the bright sole-colored fabric and iron it. In the same fashion, cut the rest of the appliqué pieces and press them with the iron to the fabric.



Position all four pieces edge-to-edge. This will get you a rectangle 60 x 15 cm in size. Cover the edges with a black strip of fabric 1 cm wide. Iron the strip.

The “Hawaiian” bag: appliqué
Select the quilting mode on your machine. Choose the buttonhole stitch or something similar. Stitch the appliqué with black threads perimeter-wise.


Press it with the iron and trim the edges.


The “Hawaiian” bag: sewing the bag
Prepare the back panel. Sew the patches and zippers to it. On the wrong side, sew the pockets to the zippers.




Sew two strips of black fabric, 62x8 cm each, to the top and bottom of the appliqué. Attach the inset with the pockets to the bag and draw the lines for stitching 1 cm apart.

Stitch with colored threads as marked. Fold the panel so that it makes a circle and stitch.



Pin the handles to the top edge. Sew the border, stitching along the edge on the right side of the bag.


Prepare the bottom of the bag. You can sew it from the appliqué leftovers. Sew the bottom to the bag.


Add the lining and the bag is ready.

Original text by Olga Milovanova 
Sewing toys: a machine embroidered soft ball
It is relatively easy to sew a child’s toy: there are a lot of patterns on the Web. If you have an embroidery machine, you can decorate the toy with the monogram with the child’s initials, the name of his or her favorite group or sports team. There are tons of possible variants. Read this tutorial and learn how to assemble a soft ball from appliqué panels.

Sewing toys: materials
Machine embroidery design Felt 2 mm thick, 3 colors Tearaway nonadhesive stabilizer Upper thread Underthread
Sewing toys: sewing order
Load the design into your embroidery or sewing and embroidery machine. Hoop a nonadhesive tearaway stabilizer, attach it to the embroidery machine and embroider the first line, which will serve as a guide for positioning your felt panels. After that, the machine will stop and you will place your felt panels of different colors onto the stabilizer. I've conceived a two-color soft ball. The stitchline of the next color will join the felt and the stabilizer, and the one after that will serve as a guide for the manual sewing of the panels.


Depending on the design you've chosen (mine is appliqué), you’ll need to change the upper thread color. In appliqué, the layers are sewn on one after the other. In this case, it’s yellow, like the future logo background.


Having sewn on the detail of your future appliqué, trim the edge with sharp scissors. After that, you embroider the appliqué panel.


On another panel of my ball, I’ve decided to place a child’s initial. For this, I used the character sets from the Brother Innov-is LE memory. I enlarged the letter using the resize option.


All manipulations with letters should be performed before the embroidery starts, in the Embroidery Edit mode!
Having finished the embroidery, remove the leftovers of your tearaway from the panels and cut them, leaving 0.5 to 1 cm allowance. Sew the details like a biscornu pincushion (translator's note: a tutorial will be added in the nearest future!)
Visit our store for an Embroidery library of logos!
Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Sewing textile envelope: a tutorial
Every little fashionista will be happy to have a pretty textile envelope for hairpins, hair ties, and other knickknacks. We’ll find appropriate summer colors, adding a bright touch with a decorative fabric. To add still more flavor, we’ll give the edges a special finish and embroider the owner’s signature. Read this tutorial and how to sew and embroider a textile envelope.
Textile envelope: materials
Fabrics (two colors) and cotton fabric band Bias binding (a ready one or made of the decorative fabric) Quilting foot (Art.F057:XC7416252) Edge foot (Art. F056N:XC6441252) Sewing threads, scissors or a rotary fabric cutter, and a cutting mat A piece of Velcro and a decorative button
See how to create a bias binding in the following article:
Textile envelope: cutting
For a 15 x 28 cm, prepare the following: A square 30 x 30 cm out of the main fabric (the one with flowers) A square 30 x 30 cm cut out of the decorative fabric Bias binding (1.8 cm wide), a strip of fabric 30 cm long, and also a strip 150 cm long A cotton fabric decorative band 30 cm long A piece of Velcro size 0.5 x 2 cm. If there is no Velcro, you can use a button or a pair of strings. Textile envelope: sewing
On your machine, select a straight stitch and lead the needle in the center position. Install the quilting foot with the guide. Fold the decorative fabric square and press the crease with an iron.


Fold the panels with their right sides together and join them with the stitchline (don’t forget the seam allowance). The blade on the quilting foot makes stitching at an even distance from the edge much easier. Finish the edges with an overlock or use one of the edge seams on your sewing machine.


Reduce the stitch length and sew on the decorative ribbon, aligning its straight edge with the crease. Fold the envelope so that its lower edge aligns with the seam joining the two fabrics, and the upper one with the folding line. If necessary, you can trim the edges a bit.



Finish the edges of the bias binding with a strip of the decorative fabric 30 cm wide. If you prepare your binding by folding it in two and pressing the crease with an iron, you will be able to use the quilting foot for sewing it on.



Now, reduce the length of the envelope to 28 cm. A cutting mat, a rotary fabric cutter, and a ruler will help you with this.

Round the edges of the outer panel. Finish the edges with the bias binding. The lower part of the envelope and the pocket should be processed together. If you're an experienced sewer, just pin the details together and stitch, and if a beginner, baste them first.



Stitch the bias binding to the envelope.



Textile envelope: embroidery
You can personalize your envelope with machine embroidery. Brother sewing and embroidery machines have lots of in-built character sets for inscriptions. Create an inscription of a suitable size, using a character set of your choice. Hoop the nonadhesive tearaway stabilizer, sprinkle it slightly with a temporary spray adhesive and secure the flap. Do the embroidery and remove the stabilizer leftovers. Place the panel on a soft underlay with the right side of the embroidery facing down and iron it.


Attach Velcro to the flap and the main part of the envelope so that it could safely close. Sew on a decorative button.



All finished! Pleasant sewing!


Original text by Irina Lisitsa
DIY anime style backpack
Pause for a moment and consider: how many pairs of jeans are there in your wardrobe and how many of those you haven’t put on for ages? A pair of jeans that is not fashionable anymore or the one you're bored with can be given a new life with just a trifle of effort. Uncover your sewing and embroidery machine! Let’s create an anime style backpack for you or one of your friends. Read this tutorial to learn how. Are you with us?
DIY anime style backpack. Materials
A pair of jeans Lining fabric Zipper Bias binding (4 cm wide) Padding fabric Machine embroidery design Sewing and embroidery machine Machine embroidery threads DIY anime style backpack. Embroidery
For this tutorial, I used a design already embroidered on a piece of white cotton fabric. You may do the embroidery right on the fabric you’ve chosen for your backpack if you want.

The embroidery itself is easy. Attach a piece of tearaway adhesive stabilizer of appropriate weight to the wrong side of your fabric and hoop the whole thing.
Load the design into the embroidery machine and attach the hoop. Hit the start button and do the embroidery, changing colors in accordance with the color chart that comes with your design.



DIY anime style backpack. Sewing
Out of the legs of your jeans, cut two rectangular pieces. You can make them any size you like; I used a pair of sneakers and a zipper as a reference. The resulting panels measured 40 x 30 cm.
Place a zipper between the two denim pieces and join them with straight lines of stitches. Use a standard zipper foot.


Now the front panel is ready. Check the measurements by placing your item of reference (sports shoes in my case) on top of it. Round the edges using a French curve or a soup bowl of a suitable diameter. Cut the identical panel for the back side of the backpack.


Now you can cut the panels out of the padding and the lining fabrics. Place the back panel on top of the padding piece and draw the stitching pattern (diagonal squares in our case).



Attach the walking foot and stitch along the traced lines.


DIY anime style backpack. Appliqué
Out of the embroidered piece, cut the design, leaving 2 cm allowance along the perimeter. 
Secure it of one of the two halves of the front panel. You can pin it or use a glue pencil or temporary spray adhesive. 


Choose the threads to match the color of your fabric. I picked the ones I used while embroidering the design: cyan for the hair, mauve for the skirt, etc. Straight stitch along the perimeter (stitch length 2, the needle in the center position). Trim the extra material close to the stitching line.


Secure the embroidered panel with a zigzag stitch (the needle in the center position). Many computerized sewing machines with a speed regulator have an option of smooth zigzag width adjustment. Use the manual that comes with your equipment to learn what it’s capable of.  



Stitch the lining to the front panel along the zipper tape; after that, secure the lining along the edges. Sew the lining to the back panel close to the edge. 


Cut the denim leftovers to strips 7 cm wide for the side panels. Stitch together the short sides of the strips to make one long piece. Place this piece on top of the padding fabric and join it with the piece of lining. Join them with parallel straight lines of stitches. 


Trim the projecting edges of the padding and the lining fabrics. Fold the long side piece in two and find its center. Join the center of the long piece to the top of the backpack and baste the panels, leaving allowance on the right side. Having reached the center on the bottom side, mark the crossline and cut the extra material, leaving 1 cm for seam allowance. Sew the piece in the center and baste it to another panel of the backpack. Prepare a rectangular piece of fabric for the strap. Baste the hanger to the back side.  



Straight stitch through all layers. Trim the edges and finish them with the bias binding. Read about different ways of attaching the binding here: 


Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Visit our store for oriental embroidery designs
Make your own bias binding
When sewing a garment, every little detail counts. However, it often happens that the most important one is missing. What if you need a bias binding, and the nearby craft shop has all the wrong colors? In that case, you can create your own bias binding. Read this article to learn how to make the binding of the right size, what tools to use and how to sew bias binding on the garment.
Bias binding. Tools
There are all kinds of tools for making bias binding that come in a variety of shapes; you can buy it in a specialty store. The number on a tool shows the width of bias binding with the folded edges. The double binding is two times narrower after being sewn on the edge of the garment.

Bias binding. Tool size
6 mm—for the “textile mosaic” technique, which is used for decoration of dresses, shirts and so on.
12 mm—narrow bias binding, the width on a garment only 0.6 cm. It is cut from lightweight fabrics. Neck holes and armholes of the dresses/tunics, seams of the “high-class” garments, buttonholes on trousers and skirts.

18 mm—a good edge finishing for the garments or homemade textiles. It is, perhaps, the most common size, for you see it in the stores most often. This kind of binding is 0.9 cm wide when sewn.
25 mm—mostly for home textiles, table linen, kid’s clothes, such as bibs, pinafores, etc.
50 mm—almost a cording. It is used in the same way as 25 mm binding.


The template should be exactly two times wider than the ready binding.
For example, If you want 12 mm binding, you should cut a 12*2 = 24 mm tape.
Align your fabric with the weft thread and the crosswise grain of the fabric (the one that runs along the selvage). Trim the selvage. Use a triangle ruler or a quilting ruler or fold the fabric at a 45° angle.



Bias binding. Sewing the strips into one continuous tape
Set the quilting foot with a blade on your machine, and select the straight stitch with the needle in a center position.


Place the ends of the strips one over another with a 7 mm overlap, right sides together. The overlap is there for the stitching line that will join the strips. Stitch back and forth a few times at the beginning and the end.



After sewing, press the seams open and flat. Trim the “dog ears”.


Bias binding. Shaping
Cut your binding on the bias; it will be easier to insert it into the bias binding maker this way. Feed the strip into the wide end of the maker and pull it out of the narrow one. You may poke it with a needle if the fabric is of a heavier kind.


The strip of fabric will come out with folded edges. All you’ll need is to press them with an iron.


Bias binding. Sewing
The methods of attaching bias binding to the garment are aplenty. There are feet designed specifically for the purpose, which can be used in a variety of ways. We described one of them in our previous articles:
 Original text by Irina Lisitsa
 
Hooping the fabric without hooping
Practically any new technique is born in the course of creation. Again and again, we conjure out new techniques that make our production time shorter and our coffee breaks longer.
The hooping method I’m going to describe in this article was suggested to me by one of the Broidery.ru forum first members. And, just like in the Broken Telephone game, while passing hands the concept changed somewhat, though I tried to stick to the original one. Sergei Demin, who inspired me, endorsed my version and promised to elaborate on the original idea in the nearest future.
Before you start reading, I’d like to tell you in what cases this wonderful little technique might come in handy:
Use it to embroider a large number of the same size designs. It will save you a lot of time. If your fabric is of a lightweight and delicate kind, this method will allow you to forego the hooping part. If you do not own a small hoop, and for a larger one the piece to be embroidered is too tiny, this method will spare you sewing on additional strips of fabric in order to enlarge it. You understand, no doubt, that I’ve covered only the basic rules here — it is for you, dear reader, to expand upon them!
So, happy hooping without hooping!
The work order
You’ll need a piece of polyethylene a little larger than your hoop, double-sided painter’s tape, and the hoop.

Hoop the polyethylene.

Better pick plastic sheeting they use for covering greenhouses: it is dense enough and doesn't warp (almost). 
Stick the painter’s tape to the inner side of the hoop.

After that, unpeel the protective layer. Stick another layer of tape on top of the first. 
Determine the size of the embroidery area.

Then, cut the hole with 5 mm allowance.

Choose an appropriate stabilizer and attach it to the wrong side of the fabric.

Place the fabric on the prepared surface and start the embroidery.

Having finished, remove the embroidered piece of fabric and replace it with the new one. Continue the embroidery.

In order to determine the size of the embroidery area, attach the taped hoop to the machine. Load the design and observe the embroidery area on your display. The machine will determine the boundaries of the design and move the needle bar to outline the perimeter, making short stops at the corners.
When the needle is directly above the corner, drop it to make a puncture in the polyethylene sheet with the painter’s tape attached to it. Raise it, and the machine will continue the demonstration. Having found the 4 corner points, you’ll draw a rectangle without difficulty. After that, cut the hole the size of the embroidery area with 5 mm allowance.
Keep in mind that the sticky side of the tape should hold the fabric in place, and therefore, this method may not be suitable for the designs almost as big as the hoop.
Use the sticky hoop until the adhesive tape fails to hold the fabric in place.

Idea by Sergei Demin
See also:
 
Heart-shaped decoration for a garment
A few strips of fabric, a sole-colored T-shirt or a tank top, and 15 minutes of your spare time—that’s all you need to create a heart-shaped decoration. You can use the tips described in this tutorial to decorate any garment, thus giving your old clothes look new and interesting look. Hearts are perhaps most often associated with the Valentine’s Day, but one doesn't need an excuse for wearing them on any other day of the year. Don’t be afraid to experiment! Not only it will help you to revamp your clothes but also give you lots of joy!
Materials
A T-shirt Thin silk cording A gathering foot A Ruffler foot A cording foot for sewing on three cords Strips of non-fraying fabric (netting, tulle netting, thin knitwear).
Heart-shaped decoration for a garment
On a T-shirt, mark the center front line. Place a heart-shaped cutout on top of it and trace the outline with a piece of tailor’s chalk or a fabric marker. Cut the non-fraying fabric into strips 3 to 6 cm wide.



Attach the Ruffler foot to your machine. Select the appropriate pleating depth and stitch the strips along the center line, gathering the fabric as you go. If you haven’t yet used the Ruffler foot, here’s the tutorial (coming soon!):
If you need narrow pleats of the equal width, you can use a gathering foot instead. For instructions, see this tutorial (coming soon!):


.
Pin the pleated strip of fabric along the outline of the heart and straight-stitch it to the fabric. You now have a decorated garment!
After I had slipped my T-shirt over a mannequin, it became clear that I failed to get the measurements right, so I cut the upper part of the pleats a bit, thus making the decoration even more impressive.



Alternately, you can use knitwear strips and cords. Cut the thin knitwear fabric into strips 3 to 6 cm wide.
While cutting, pay attention to the wales. They should be vertically oriented: in this way, the fabric edge won’t fray, and there will be no runs.
Gather the knitwear strips, using the method described above. Trace the future decoration to the fabric. In my case, these are two halves of a heart, to the right and left of the straight line. Pin the gathered knitwear strips along the outline.



Attach the cording foot and feed three cords into it. Select a three-step zigzag stitch. Stitch the gathered strip to the fabric by the cord.



On turns and at corners, raise the foot and rotate the fabric under it. Having adjusted the fabric position, pull the cords slightly and continue sewing.



Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Heart-shaped pincushion with a finish
Let’s create a heart-shaped pincushion with decorative stitches as a gift for your fellow embroiderer. In the course of this tutorial, I used the stitches from Brother Innov-is 1E sewing and embroidery machine's memory.

Heart-shaped pincushion. Materials
A sheet of paper Pink fabric Underlay Sewing or embroidery threads Quilting and sewing needles Padding (quilting cotton, chlorofibre, etc.) Tearaway embroidery stabilizer
Heart-shaped pincushion. Sewing
Select a decorative stitch on your embroidery machine. Make a “sandwich” out of your stabilizer, fabric, and underlay.


If your underlay has a sticky side, glue it to the fabric.

Stitch the “sandwich” with decorative stitches, leaving 1–1.5 cm between them.


Brother Innov-is V7 has lots of decorative stitches; one can find a suitable kind of stitch for any project or even create their own via My Custom Stitch. We’ll cover the latter issue in one of our future articles. Keep your eye on our updates!



Draw a heart on the sheet of paper or use a ready template. Fold the drawing in half, with its right side inside. Trace the outline onto the fabric. For a hanger, you can cut a piece of band or cord and attach it to the heart’s center. Stick the pin through, using it as a marker for attaching the band.



With your band/cord pinned, select the triple stitch on your machine and set the stitch length to 2.5 mm. Stitch along the outline.



While joining the parts, don’t forget to leave an opening for turning out and stuffing. Cut the fabric close to the stitched line. Turn it the right side out. Use a peg or something like it at the corners.



Stuff the heart with the padding of your choice, then sew the opening with a blind stitch.


A heart-shaped pincushion is ready!

Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Patchwork quilt for a child
If you have a small kid or are expecting one and love sewing, this tutorial is for you. Using only natural fabrics, you can decorate a child’s bed with a patchwork quilt of your own making. Haven't tried patchwork quilting yet? Now is the right time! To create a simple quilt block, you’ll need scraps of bright-colored fabrics and a sewing machine. Let’s go!
Patchwork quilt for a child. Materials
For this patchwork quilt, I’ve bought a ready set of fabrics with batik print and a piece of sole-colored backing fabric. There were 40 squares in the bundle, size 12.5x12.5 cm.

You may cut your own squares or buy a ready fabric set, as I did.
To make the quilt warmer and puffier, you’ll need a thing called quilt batting, designed specifically for this purpose. It is usually made of cotton, bamboo, wool, or their combinations.
You’ll also need some lining fabric. As you’re making a kid’s quilt, this fabric ought to be natural. Cotton, calico or lightweight calico will do splendidly.
Patchwork quilt for a child. Cutting
For a patchwork quilt, cut the same number of squares out of your sole-colored backing fabric. Place the squares by pairs with their right sides together, a bright-colored plus a sole-colored one. Draw the lines on the sides to mark the seam allowance. In my bundle, the size of the squares didn't ideally correspond to the one I needed. So I drew two parallel lines at a distance of 11.5 cm. That would mark the width of the ready square. Done that? Pin the pieces together.



Patchwork quilt for a child. Joining the pieces
Stitch along the lines on the right and of the left.


Repeat with the top and the bottom of the square. Press the seam allowances.


Now draw the diagonal lines from one corner to the other. Cut the squares along those lines.


Join these smaller pieces by pairs, their right sides together. This is the most interesting part; you can “play” with the squares and create various combinations. Remember the kaleidoscope you’ve probably had in your childhood. Choose your pattern, arrange the blocks and pin them together so as not to mess up the whole thing. Baste them together and press the seam allowances. 


Lay the resulting short strips of fabrics together and sew them to each other. While arranging the pieces, position them so that their seam allowances are oriented in different directions, thus “locking” them. Having sewn the pieces together, unstitch the fabric near the “lock” and press the seam allowance open (see in the photo below).


In our future tutorial, we’ll tell you how to arrange the quilt blocks into a ready quilt.

Original text by Irina Lisitsa
See also:
 
 
Monogram pillow: a tutorial
A pillow with an embroidered monogram is a home textile classic. It makes a wonderful wedding, jubilee, christening or no occasion gift. Pillows are wonderful for machine embroidery beginners who want to learn the machine embroidery basics and practice to acquire the necessary skills. This is a brief guide into making the embroidered monogram pillows.
Monogram pillow. Materials
Fabric Zipper Braided cording with lip Machine embroidery design Cutaway or tearaway adhesive stabilizer Water-soluble stabilizer (optional) Upper thread Underthread Monogram pillow. Cutting
For a pillow size 40x40 cm cut two squares of side 43 cm. I used non-stretchy upholstery fabric, dense but with a pronounced twill weave. Before you start working, you should finish the edges of this fabric with the serger, in order to prevent fraying.
Monogram pillow. Embroidery
Adhere the stabilizer to the wrong side of the fabric. Find the center of each side and draw the crosshairs. Their point of intersection will mark the center of your future embroidery. Hoop your fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine and cover it with a layer of thin water-soluble film (in case the weave of the fabric is a pronounced one).
Select the basting stitch and stitch the water-soluble stabilizer to the fabric.
Hit the start button and embroider your design. You may pick a sole-colored or a multi-colored one or embroider a multi-colored design without changing the upper thread color.



 
Some embroidery/sewing and embroidery machines have an option of monochromatic embroidery. Peruse the manual that comes with your equipment to use its capabilities to the fullest.


Having finished the embroidery, remove the stabilizer leftovers.

Monogram pillow. Cording
Round the edges of your pillow a bit. Stitch the cording to the right side of your pillow, along the edges. To attach the cording at the corners, make small incisions so that it lays more easily.


Stitch it with a special cording foot or a zipper foot.


Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Don't forget to visit our shop to buy some lovely monograms!
See also:
 
How to embroider small items of clothing. Hooping tricks
Whenever there is a need to embroider small items of clothing, such as future pockets or cuffs, and your machine only has one hoop, these hooping tricks will do the job. There are several ways of hooping a small item, and in this article, I’m describing two of them. Either one will get you a beautiful high-quality embroidery.
The first way of hooping a small item is to glue it to the tear-away adhesive stabilizer. Just what you need for not-too-heavy designs and small monograms. Adhere the item to the stabilizer and hoop in the usual way; the adhesive will secure the fabric in place and prevent shifting during the embroidery.



The second way is to hoop the fabric itself. Suitable for smaller and bigger items alike. This is called the fabric extension method. You’ll need a few strips of extra fabric (calico, for example). Stitch them to the main fabric with a straight stitch about 5 mm long.  



After that, it is advisable to press seams with an iron to make them flatter. Adhere the stabilizer to the wrong side and hoop the item.



If you're an owner of a Brother Innov-is le sewing and embroidery machine, you can use the built-in camera for the exact positioning of the design.
This is very handy whenever the accurate placement of the design is crucial, such as while working with checkered or striped fabrics.
How to use the built-in camera
Press the Fabric scan key to view the location of the pressing foot on the LCD screen. Pick one of the positioning stickers that come with the machine and affix it within the embroidery field specified by the machine.  



 
Take away the sticker and your hands and wait for the machine to perform the scan. Now the pattern can be viewed in the Embroidery Edit screen, allowing for the better positioning of the design on the hooped item.  


When the embroidery is finished, remove the stabilizer leftovers or rip off the extra strips of fabric and iron the item on a soft underlay, right side down.



Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Don't forget to buy some lightweight designs from our store!
See also:
 
Machine embroidery on leather. DIY bracelets

Leather bracelets. Materials:
A piece of leather or faux leather Dense interfacing material Tearaway nonadhesive stabilizer Temporary spray adhesive Upper thread Underthread Machine embroidery design A needle for metallics or for the leather
Machine embroidery on leather: Tips
When choosing a design, pick one that is not too heavy and with satin columns in it. Designs containing dense Tatami fills might cut the leather, causing the design to fall out. For your future bracelet, you can choose any shape you like and draw it in the editor, same way as you do appliqué. As for the stitch types, motifs and lightweight fills, straight single and triple running stitches or designs with loose Tatami fill will do fine. Choose a thin needle with a sharp tip; a thick one would cut through the leather, leaving a big hole in it. Embroidery on leather requires commitment, for it is hard to rip off the already embroidered part, and the holes made by the needle are permanent. More information about embroidery on leather in the article This Mysterious leather. If you're interested in more articles and tutorials on the subject, please don't be too shy to comment! We’ll appreciate the feedback.
https://forum.embroideres.com/articles.html/articles/this-mysterious-leather-r73/
Before you start, don’t forget to reinforce your leather with fusible/woven interfacing of a suitable weight!
Machine embroidery on leather. Method No1
Choose this one if you have a piece of leather of the same size as the design or bigger.
Glue dense fusible interfacing to the back side of your leather piece. Hoop the cutaway nonadhesive stabilizer. 
Sprinkle the stab with a temporary spray adhesive. Stick your reinforced piece of leather to the stabilizer. Load the design into the machine and change your standard embroidery needle for a thin one with a sharp tip, the one you use with metallics. Or, if the leather you’re going to embroider is thick, better choose a leather needle instead. Set your machine to the minimum speed.


When it has finished stitching, detach the hoop but do not unhoop the leather. Instead, sprinkle the wrong side of the stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive. Stick another piece of leather onto it.


Wind the upper thread on a spool and attach it to the machine. Install the hoop back on the machine and zigzag through the layers to join them.



Having done that, remove the hoop and trim the leather along the stitched outline on the right and wrong sides. Cut close to the stitching line.



Attach the hoop once more and embroider the last part of the design, the satin column.



Tear the stabilizer along the outline. Singe the stab leftovers with a lighter or candle.



Machine embroidery on leather: Method No2
For the embroidery on thin or textured leather, it is crucial to choose the right interfacing material (fusible or woven).



For bracelets, shirt collar interfacing will do splendidly. It is very dense and won't tear even when embroidering on a piece of thin leather. Lightweight sewing interfacing materials for the delicate fabrics or knitwear are not suitable for the job.
The second method is handy whenever you have a small size piece of leather that should fit into a chosen shape. Load the design into the machine and attach the hoop.
Embroider the outline and the first color of the design. Spray the stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive and press the piece of leather to it in such a way that it covers the stitched outline.
The rest is done in the same way as in Method No1.



Machine embroidery on leather. Assembling
In the corners of the ready bracelets, poke holes for the eyelets, using a pair of pliers or a hole punch. Insert the eyelet into the holes.



Pick up a grommet/eyelet setting tool and insert the eyelets.  



Once they are ready, drag a chain with a clasp through them.


Enjoy your bracelets!


Original text by Irina Lisitsa
An embroidered tea set for two
Let’s create a cozy atmosphere and sew a tea set. Our set will include two napkins and two teacup sleeves – for you and for your significant other. If you own an embroidery/sewing and embroidery machine, this will be easy for you. A tea set for two might also make a great present for your Valentine. Are you with us? Let’s go!
For this job, you’ll need:
A sewing and embroidery machine A piece of linen fabric size 50 x 50 cm Machine embroidery threads Sewing threads Machine embroidery designs An embroidered tea set for two. Embroidery techniques
Download the designs.
Design sizes:
For a napkin: width 76, height 105 mm. For a sleeve: width 164, height 76 mm. Load the designs into your embroidery machine. From the wrong side, press the tearaway stabilizer to the fabric with an iron, then hoop the whole thing. Check the design placement and hit the start button.


After the machine has stopped, unhoop the fabric, tear away the stabilizer from the wrong side and press the embroidery with an iron.
Cutting and sewing
Cut the panels. For a napkin: 45 x 26 cm. For a sleeve: 2 details, 18 x 26 cm each (size of the ready sleeve: 8.5 x24.5 cm). 


Sleeve: fuse a piece of high-loft interfacing material size 8.5 x 25 cm to the wrong side of your fabric and iron it (do not touch the seam allowance).
Take a small piece of fabric and fold it on the bias so that it is about 8 cm long. Sew in into an eyelet and pin to the right side of your fabric, 5 cm from the edge. (You may use a piece of round elastic instead).


Fold the fabric along its long side with the right side inside, pin and stitch on three sides, 7 mm from the edge. Don't forget to leave an opening for turning out. Cut the corners.


Turn the right side out and iron. Try it on a cup and sew on a button.


Napkin: trim the edges, pull out threads along the perimeter, 0.5 cm from the edge. All done!


Original text by Olga Milovanova
Sewing in the hoop: An embroidered bag in the shape of a house
An embroidered bag in the shape of a house
For this job, you’ll need:
A hoop, size 20 x 30 cm A design, size 20 x 30 cm A piece of yellow fabric, size 20 x 24 cm Two pieces of red fabric, size 20 x 8 cm each Two strips of fabric for the eyelets, size 7 x 3 cm each A piece of lining, size 32 x 18 cm Colored embroidery threads High-loft interfacing material (adhesive) Tearaway stabilizer A zipper If you’re going to use a Brother V machine, you’ll need to have the Premium Pack I installed to be able to enlarge the embroidery field to 20 x 30 cm.
An embroidered bag in the shape of a house. Embroidery
With an iron, fuse the high-loft interfacing material to the yellow fabric. Place a piece of tearaway stabilizer under the fabric and hoop them together. Make sure that the center of the yellow piece corresponds to the center of the hoop.


Begin the embroidery. The machine will stitch the outline and make a stop.

Don’t unhoop; place the red pieces on top. Fuse them to the high-loft interfacing material with an iron, fix the edges with glue and continue embroidery.


Trim the extra fabric from the scallops and embroider the rest of the design.



An embroidered bag in the shape of a house. Sewing
Iron the embroidery and cut along the outline.
Now create the eyelets. Fold the 14 3 cm strip of fabric in two, stitch along the longer side and turn the right side out. The ready eyelets should measure 7 x 2 cm.


Fold the strip in two and stitch it to the right side of the fabric with a straight stitch, as shown in the picture.

Sew the zipper to the upper part of the bag.


Stitch the lining along the zipper. Fold the bag, right side inside, align the sides. Stitch the sides. Leave 5 cm of the lining for the turning out.


Fold the lower corners inside and stitch across, 2 cm from the edge.

Turn the right side out and iron. Drag a cord or a band through the eyelets. It will serve as a handle.



Original text by Olga Milovanova
Heart-shaped scissors holder with embroidery
Want to learn how the simplest design, a couple of stitches and tools make a cute item? This tutorial contains a bare minimum of technique, a couple of tips and a step-by-step guide to creating an original scissors holder shaped like a heart. A gift like this will warm the heart of any crafter. And, if you have a really creative sewer/embroiderer for a friend, who owns lots of scissors, you may even give it to them instead of a Valentine. 
Heart-shaped scissors holder with embroidery. Materials:
Sole-colored fabric (non-stretchy) Felt (thick) Tearaway adhesive stabilizer Upper embroidery threads Lower embroidery threads Scissors Machine embroidery design
Heart-shaped scissors holder with embroidery. The making process
Prepare the necessary materials. Load the design into your embroidery machine and attach the sole-colored fabric to the stabilizer. This will be our front (embroidered) panel.
I usually prefer a tearaway adhesive, but in this case, a nonadhesive tearaway will do just as good, as will a cutaway stabilizer. If you use the last one, you may leave it in place after embroidery; in that case, you’ll have a strengthened front panel.
If you’ll choose to make an entire holder out of thick felt, you may spare the stabilizer altogether.
The next step is to attach the hoop to the embroidery machine and start the embroidery. Home embroidery machine will make stops for a thread change.

Once the embroidery is finished, unhoop. Leave the stabilizer in place, if you wish.
On the embroidered fabric, draw a triangle in such a way that the design fits exactly in its center. Keep in mind the size of the scissors, for which the holder is intended. Before cutting the triangle out, decide whether you will fold the edges or not. If yes, don't forget to leave some fabric for seam allowance (or fraying, as shown in this tutorial).

Pick up a sheet of paper, draw the triangle and then add two half-circles to transform it into a heart. You may skip this part and draw directly on felt. It is easier to draw on paper, so, if you're not an artist (I’m not), do as I did. 

Press the paper template to the felt and cut the back panel of your holder.

You’re almost done. The fabric I chose for my front panel frays a bit. I decided not to fold the sides in order to hide the edges. In order to prevent the upper edge from fraying more than it is necessary for decoration, I add a decorative stitch at some distance from it. Now I join the sides with the back panel. I use threads of the same color as the felt.

One last thing: I pierce a hole on the side and tie the ribbon in a bow. A piercer came with my sewing and embroidery machine. If you do not own one, use a substitute.

Voila! Your scissors holder is ready!
Original text by Mary Stratan
Pick the design you like from our store! https://embroideres.com/ 
Placemats with machine embroidery
Preparing for a holiday, one must take a number of things into account, such as buying or creating presents, inviting guests, home decoration, etc. To make your table look inviting, you’ll only need several pieces of fabric and a sewing and embroidery machine. Sew the placemats and decorate them with machine embroidery that your guests will love!
Placemats with machine embroidery. Materials
Outer fabric Inner fabric Between-lay Tearaway adhesive stabilizer Sewing and embroidery threads Placemats with machine embroidery. Preparations
Cut the 48x38 cm rectangles out of the outer and inner fabrics, as well as the between-lay material. Put them together in this way: first goes the inner fabric, right side down, then the between-lay, and the upper fabric with its right side up on top of it all. Pin the layers together and draw the straight or diagonal lines with the help of a long ruler.



Using the walking foot with a guide, stitch the layers together along the lines you’ve just drawn. Start with the centerline, and gradually work your way to the sides.



Placemats with machine embroidery. Embroidery
Choose a design from the machine’s memory or download one from our store. When you use designs from your machine’s memory (letters, for example), you can change their size up to 20% directly in the machine. If you are in a mood for creativity, and the machine’s capabilities are not enough, you might want to use PE Design.

Stick a tearaway adhesive to the wrong side of your fabric. Hoop and run the embroidery. 


After the machine has finished stitching, unhoop the fabric, and remove the stabilizer leftovers. Cut out the pockets or decorations for your placemat. 


In order to create a pocket for the cutlery, stitch on the seam allowance. Insert a cardboard pattern and gather the thread. Press the cutout with an iron. 


Placemats with machine embroidery. Assembling
The pockets can be sewn on with a straight stitch on the sewing machine or by hand (blind stitch). For the neat edges, use the edge stitch foot.


The details may be attached by a zigzag stitch or any of the decorative stitches.

Bias binding is good for the edges. You can cut it from the main fabric or you may use the companion fabric to make your bias binding a part of the decoration. To attach it to the placemat, use the edge stitch foot.


Placemats are easy to sew, and there is an unlimited number of decorations.


Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Sewing essentials: Double stitched seam
Double stitched seam is one of the basic seams that are used for sewing shirts, swing blouses, jeans, sport trousers, bed linen, etc. If you only have a sewing machine and no overlocker, no need to worry about it. Thanks to the double stitched seam, both right and wrong sides of your garment will look perfect.
Ready? Let's go!
Before you start working on the actual garment, find some leftover pieces of fabric and do some tests. In this tutorial, I’ll be using a piece of middle-weight fabric, but keep in mind that double seam is also suitable for delicate fraying fabrics as cheesecloth and batiste. I strongly advise against using it on highly stretchable knits, unless you’re an owner of a coverstitch machine with adjustable differential feed.
Creating double stitched seam
Far left needle position Standard Brother sewing machine presser foot Pink upper thread and turquoise lower thread Blue-colored wavy line on the right side of the fabric Put the fabric pieces with their wrong sides together. Stitch at a distance of 0.5 cm from the edge. To get a nice straight row of stitches, use the scale on your standard presser foot.


Keep the width steady by using a seam guide on your throat plate.


In the photo, you can see the two details stitched together from the wrong side. Press the seam allowance with an iron. Put the details with their wrong sides together, circumventing the protruding seam allowance. Stitch at a distance of 0.7 cm from the edge.
You can choose a different value if you want. Play with the stitch width, do several test pieces and decide which one works best in your case. For the purposes of this tutorial, I set the values as follows: ready double stitch width 0.7 cm, seam allowance 1 cm (0.3 cm will be “lost” in turndowns).


As a result, the wrong side of your garment will look like the one in the photo below. The edge of the fabric is hidden inside the seam allowance. After that, not a single loose thread will escape.


Press the seam allowance with an iron. Right (the photo above) and wrong sides (the photo below).

>
Now all that’s left is to add a finish. It’ll kill two birds with one stone: secure the seam allowance on the wrong side and serve as a decoration. You may add one or two lines of decorative stitches.
If you chose the latter of the two options, place the fabric under the foot and stitch the first line of decorative stitches at a distance of 0.25 cm from the joining stitchline. For the sake of convenience, you may draw a line with an erasable pen on the foot itself (see the photo).

Or, you may skip this and proceed to the second line of decorative stitches.

It will be just as durable, but on the right side, there will be less decoration.
The second line of decorative stitches should lie at a distance of 0.7 cm from the joining stitchline. Use the scale on your presser foot while doing that.


All done! You now have two parallel lines of stitches on the right side, and three on the wrong side.





Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Sewing three-dimensional letters of the alphabet
Three-dimensional letters are very easy to make if you have a sewing/sewing and embroidery machine. It requires very few expendables, a bit of your free time and a good mood.
Sewing three-dimensional letters of the alphabet. Materials
For the tutorial, I purchased a set of cute girly fabrics. It contained seven different patterns, of which I chose three, for a five-letter name. Besides fabrics, you’ll require threads, hand sewing and embroidery needles, soft padding material (polyester batting, Holofiber), and, naturally, the machine.


Sewing three-dimensional letters of the alphabet. Embroidery
The making of the embroidery design is a piece of cake even for beginners. Choose a font or create your own in your PE Design. Load the design into your embroidery machine, and hoop the stabilizer. Place your padding material (let’s say, 100 g/m2 polyester batting) on top of it. Next, place the outer fabric with its right side up.


Hit the start button. While the machine is running, hold on to your fabric, pulling it just a little. You can also attach an eyelet for hanging.


Finish the embroidery.
Two parts of a letter can be embroidered in one go in a 200x300 mm hoop. In order to do that, copy your design and invert it, using your machine’s editor.


Trim the embroidered letters around the contours with a 0.7 cm seam allowance. Now stitch them together as shown in this article (coming tomorrow!). Leave a 5 cm long opening for the stuffing.


Having put your padding inside, sew the opening. You may ask the kids to help you, they’ll probably jump at the idea.

This is the set of letters I made for a newborn baby. Many happy creations to you!

Original text by Irina Lisitsa

 
Cherry tree blossom: revamping old roller shades
Roller shades have become a customary part of our homes. Thanks to the huge variety of textures and sizes, they can be easily adjusted to fit into our interior environments. And, should you make some changes to your interior design (I did), you can easily transform them, let’s say, by adding an oriental touch – a cherry tree blossom to remind you of the first rays of sunshine. For this tutorial, I’ll be using a design found on the Internet. I’ll alter it a bit, then cut it out using ScanNCut, and after that add some finishing touches with the help of a stencil.
Materials
Two pieces of roller shade material to fit your windows + fittings or two ready roller shades 30 cm wide. ScanNCut machine. Standard mat, 30 or 60 cm long, depending on the size of your design. A piece of paper large enough to fit your stencil. White craft glue. Fabric paints (I used acrylic). A sponge (or a paintbrush). A design. First, I made some changes to the picture I found (a cherry tree branch) in Canvas Workspace (the former ScаnNCutCanvas). You’ll need 2 files, one for making a stencil, and another one for cutting the roller shade.
Open the image in your Canvas Workspace, go to Image Tracing, and press Color–Preview–OK.


Select all objects, right-click and press Group. Save the result to a USB flash drive. This is our file No1. We’ll use it to create a stencil.

Now, we proceed to the pattern for the shade. We’ll only need those objects that are going to be cut. Select all stems on the image and press Delete. Only the flowers should be left. This is our file No2. We’ll use it to cut the roller shade.


Select all objects, right-click and press Group. Save the result to USB flash drive.

(In order for the patterns on the shades to differ slightly, I deleted several flowers on the bottom and saved them into a separate file).
Let’s prepare our roller shades.
I cut 30 cm from each piece of fabric, thus getting two shades 30 cm wide (because my cutting mat is 30 cm wide). Metallic tubes on top and bottom of every shade should be filed with a mill file. Slide the bottom hem of the shade from the metal tube and detach the cardboard strip.


Or, you may use a couple of existing roller shades, 30 cm wide each. In that case, you’ll only need to de-tube them and remove the strips.
Secure the bottom edge of the shade to the mat and do the test cut. (Blade length 5, pressure 4. Other values may be used, depending on the material your roller shade is made of).

Open file No2 in ScanNCut. Now let’s alter the design a bit: first invert it, then check the size and placement. Cut out your pattern and unpeel it from the mat.



Repeat with the second roller shade. Change the size and placement of the design and cut.


Apply some white craft glue to the wrong side of the narrow parts to give them additional strength. After the glue dries, it won’t be visible.

Cut out a paper stencil, using file No1. Blade length 4, pressure 0.


Align your stencil with the pattern on the shade and secure it with pieces of an adhesive tape.
To be on the safe side, I also taped over the flowers, to prevent the paint from getting there. Squeeze the paint onto the paper, dip your paintbrush/sponge into it and start tapping on the openings in the stencil.




It will take approximately 5 hours for the paint to dry. After that, take away your stencil, attach strips of cardboard to the bottom parts of the shades and insert metallic tubes.



Attach fittings to the narrow shades and put them up.

Hopefully, this will add a bit of sunshine into your winter homes.


The idea for the decoration in this tutorial was found on the Internet.
Original text by Maria Bespalova
This beautiful and useful biscornu
Biscornu is a French word, meaning something like “quirky”. You can see these cute thingies in almost every home. Even those who only sew on a button or two from time to time, keep them within reach as something to stick superfluous pins and needles in. A skillfully crafted biscornu may serve as an admirable decoration. But that’s all prattle.
My point is this: almost all DIY biscornu tutorials concentrate on pincushions for cross-stitch embroidery done by hand, and practically nobody ever mentions the possibility of doing all the sewing and embroidery on a machine. 
As I already said, the work “biscornu” is of a French origin. It literally means “something uneven”, “with horns or projections”, “irregular”, “funny”, absurd”. For the embroiderers, this word denotes a small polygonal cushion, more or less symmetrical. This skewed little thing may serve as a pincushion, a pendant, a keychain, a scissors fob, and even an ornament. If you add some suitable adornment, you can even hang it on a Christmas tree! Many people would be happy to receive one as a present. Let’s create a biscornu. In this article, I’ll tell you how I made my own.

To make a biscornu, you’ll need:
1. A piece of evenly woven fabric (linen or dense cotton). 2. An embroidery machine. 3. Embroidery threads. 4. Optionally, buttons, beads or seed beads, sequins, and rhinestones. 5. Water-soluble or tearaway stabilizer. 6. A design (you may get one from our store https://embroideres.com/). 1. Let’s start by hooping stabilizer and fabric. Tighten the screw and additionally secure the fabric with pins, so that it doesn’t shift during the embroidery.


2. Load the design into the embroidery machine, attach the hoop and embroider both parts of your biscornu.



3. Attention! The essential part of biscornu decor is backstitch running along the edge of the design. It will be used for the joining of the two parts.

4. Both parts of our biscornu are ready. Cut them out with a 1 cm seam allowance.


5. Before you start assembling the thing, locate the centers of every side of your squares. Mark center points with pins. Join the center of one square with the corner of another. This will give the thing the required skewed shape.
The assembling process is fun, but it’s also time-consuming, so switch on an audiobook or an episode of your favorite TV series. We’re going to sew the parts of our biscornu by hand.

6. Pick up the needle and the thread (same as you used for the backstitch), fold it in half so that there is a loop at one end. Move the needle through the first backstitch, then back and through the loop, thus securing the thread with an invisible stitch.

7. Pull the thread through 2 corner stitches.


8. Continue in this manner, joining the stitches of square No1 with the stitches of square No2, until your biscornu is stitched up on three sides. You only sew half of the fourth side, leaving an opening for the stuffing.

9. Snip the inner corners.

10. Stuff the things with bits of polyester batting or another padding material.



11. Sew the opening.

12. Your biscornu is almost ready. Let’s add some finishing touches.


13. Fold the thread in half, so there is a loop at one end, and thread the two ends through the needle. Find the center of every side of the square, and with a long needle pierce the biscornu through. Then bring the needle back and through the loop.



14. Pull the thread through the buttons, gathering your biscornu a bit.


Having looked at my biscornu the following morning, I realized that I didn’t like the buttons. So I replaced them with beads.



Good luck and easy stitching to you all! Creating biscornu is fun!
Tutorial supplement. How to create a design for a biscornu
Loading the design
1. Open Embird Editor and click on Cross Stitch.
2. Load the design via Chart Import.

3. In the window, click on the part of the design and use the Crop tool on it.

You should get something like this. Press OK. 

While cropping the image and placement of the marks, use +/- to zoom in or out.
4. In the next window, place the red marks as shown in the picture below, and click on Align Grid.

In the window that pops up, you’ll be offered to place a number of crosses between marks 1 and 2, and also between marks 2 and 3. Type in 10 (the number corresponds with the real number of crosses between the marks) and press OK.

5. See whether the red greed aligns with the chart greed. If yes, press OK. If the two grids don't align, click on Undo Alignment and change the placement of the three marks.

A 100% alignment is not necessary.
The loading image FAQ 
How to activate the Crop button? 
Open your image (step 3), and immediately after that place the cursor in the spot A. Holding down your left mouse button, move the cursor to the spot B. Release the button. Now the Crop tool is active.

Why did you place the red marks in those places, and not in the corners? Why 10 crosses?
You can place the red marks whenever you want them, and set any spacing you like (even if it is only 1 cross). Play around with the options and see what works best for you.
Drawing the pattern
1. First of all, let’s choose the color. Click on the Eye Dropper tool on the toolbar. Left-click on the wine-red color. It will appear in your color chart.

2. Click on Line and create the objects 1, 2 and 3.

3. Now, click on Pencil, and create the objects 4, 5 and 6.

Play with these tools a bit. Note the difference between them. Decide for yourself, in which cases you would prefer Line, and when Pencil would be better.
4. Click on the Eye dropper again, but this time choose grey. 
5. Now click on Line and draw the objects 1,2 and 3.

6. Click on Pencil and draw the rest of the objects.

We’re done with drawing. Let’s proceed to the last part, copying and pasting.
Copying and placement
Before copying and placing the symmetrical pattern, you’ll need to change the size of your work area. 
1. Go to the Options menu and click on Preferences.

2. Check the Keep Aspect Ratio box and change the value to:

3. Your work area now looks like this:

4. Click on Marquee (vertical toolbar) and select your pattern. Press Auto Repeat.

5. In the opening window, set the following values: right pointing arrow (1), mirror horizontally (2), spacing -1 (3). Press OK.

6. Using the Marquee tool (step 4), select the pattern and click on Auto Repeat.

7. The window will pop up, where you set the following values: The arrow pointing down (1), mirror vertically (2), spacing -1 (3). 

Your pattern is ready. Save the file in the necessary format.
For those who don’t want to bother with all that, here you can download the design.

Original text by Irina Lisitsa, tutorial supplement by Lisa Prass

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