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Machine embroidery on linen

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

• linen
• fabrics
• tips

• May 14, 2019
• By Irina
• 1 comment
• 374 views
• Read More

A textile etui with cross stitch embroidery (Bargello imitation)

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.

• bargello
• embroidery techniques

• May 13, 2019
• By Irina
• 3 comments
• 712 views
• Read More

Cross Stitch embroidery with alignment

Cross Stitch embroidery with alignment
There is a time in the life of any owner of an embroidery/sewing and embroidery machine when they come across a design too big to fit the hoop. Such a design should be split and embroidered by piecemeal in such a way that its separate fragments combine into a whole. This tutorial will show you how to align and embroider counted cross stitch patterns with the help of the alignment stitch.

Design alignment. Materials
Fabric Upper thread Underthread Tearaway adhesive stabilizer Cross stitch machine embroidery design from our store Pins Nota bene. Unfortunately, we do not have this particular design. But you can buy other ones from our store. You may use the "cross stitch" tag as a guide.
Design alignment. The working process
Prepare your fabric for the embroidery by gluing the tearaway adhesive stabilizer to the wrong side. Hoop the fabric and add the alignment marks with the help of the template. Add vertical and horizontal lines.


You’ll also need to draw the alignment line. Use the design printout as your guide. Or, look at the image on the screen and use the plastic template.


If you want to embroider your own cross stitch design but aren’t familiar with the embroidery software, please read these articles.
Embroider the first part of the design and change color in accordance with the color chart. 
Please remember that cross stitch embroidery takes a long time so you’ll need to be patient.


This design was cut along a straight line. If you’ve decided to cut your design in your own fashion, put the biggest part in the first place in the sewing order and make the others a few cm smaller than the hoop. This will give you the room for alignment.



The alignment stitch should be of the same color as the last color in your chart. Or, you can use the color that blends with the fabric–in that way you won’t need to rip the stitch out.


Having embroidered the first part of the design, unhoop the fabric. What you need to do is to iron out the hoop burn.


Do not slide the iron but press and lift it instead. Otherwise, the fabric will get warped and it will be impossible to make an alignment.
Hoop the fabric along a straight line. Use the alignment stitch as your guide.


The second alignment stitch is not obligatory. Use the option of moving by stitches. When aligning the cross stitch pattern it is crucial that its parts should match together with the utmost precision.
The alignment should be accurate to the stitch!
If the alignment lines do not match together, you’ll need to rehoop and do it all over again.


Having correctly aligned the parts, embroider the rest of the design. As a result, the two parts of your design will correspond to the cross.


Remove the jump stitches every time you change the thread color. Otherwise, they will be covered by the stitches that come next, and that will make them difficult to remove.


When the embroidery is finished, iron it on something soft. Do not iron the front side of the embroidery and do not use the steam boost. Especially if you've used rayon threads!


Design alignment is ready!

Original text by Irina Lisitsa

• alignment
• cross stitch

• May 5, 2019
• By Irina
• 2 comments
• 1,208 views
• Read More

How to embroider on knitwear?

How to embroider on knitwear?
To create a high-quality and good-looking embroidery on knitwear we’ll need:
Knitwear fabric of any composition. I have cut a new knitwear jacket and will do the embroidery on it. Embroidery stabilizer. I recommend a tearaway STIFFY stabilizer (by Gunold) or COTTON SOFT (by Madeira). If you going to use a non-sticky stabilizer, add a layer KK 100, a temporary adhesive (by Gunold). In order to embroider on knitted fabric, it’s better to use an adhesive stabilizer named FILMOPLAST (a stabilizer is hooped, and the fabric is glued to it). AVALON FILM, a water-soluble stabilizer by Madeira. Embroidery threads of the necessary color made of 100% rayon, in order for the embroidery to be soft (Madeira RAYON #40). Bobbin thread for machine embroidery, same color as the fabric (AMMAN BELFIL-C #120). Needles for knitwear (SCHMETZ Stretch), their number depending on the thickness of your fabric and threads.
Cut out a pattern, choose where to place the embroidery, and mark the place.

If you use a sticky stabilizer, glue it to the wrong side of the detail with an iron. If you use a non-sticky stabilizer, spray it with a temporary spray adhesive and attach it to the knitwear detail. A piece of stabilizer should be 3-5 cm bigger then the hoop you're going to use, so as to secure the fabric and the stabilizer.
In order to get a high-quality embroidery, cover the right side of the fabric with a piece of water-soluble material and secure it in the hoop.
Start your machine and run the embroidery.

After it has finished stitching, carefully remove the excess stabilizer: both water-soluble and tearaway. Holding the embroidery with one hand, remove the Avalon. Turn it to the other side, and tear away the other stabilizer. Stabilizers come off easily as a rule because the needle cuts them along the edges.

What’s left under the stitches will be washed out during the first laundry.
See how easily you’ve made a one-of-kind T-shirt!

Original text by Irina Yemelyanova

• embroidery
• knitwear

• April 30, 2019
• By Irina
• 2 comments
• 502 views
• Read More

Creating an Easter decoration with the help of ScanNCut

Creating an Easter decoration with the help of ScanNCut
Create an Easter decoration with the help of the ScanNCut machine. It’s fun and quick, and the result will look nice. The children will duly appreciate the magic world that pops up on your windowsill. You can cut the original decoration out of scrapbook paper. Read the following tutorial to learn how to use the machine, to cut the details, and to arrange them. You can download the designs, too.
For this job, you’ll need:
ScanNCut, an electronic cutting machine Standard cutting mat Scrapbook paper Files for cutting Creating an Easter decoration with the help of ScanNCut: the bunnies
Load the designs onto USB and open them on the cutting machine. Customize the blade length and depth according to the manual. Apply your paper to the mat and do the test run. Cut.

Each bunny consists of 2 parts. Join the parts together.


The carved egg
Load the designs and open them on the machine. Change the size if you want. Cut out the details, join them, pass the ribbon through, and tie the ends in a bow.




The fence
Load the designs and open them on the machine. Change the size if necessary.


Cut. Glue the rails and fold along the dotted lines.


Your holiday decoration is ready! Put it on the windowsill. Happy Easter!


Original text by Olga Milovanova

• holidays
• easter

• April 25, 2019
• By Irina
• 0 comments
• 602 views
• Read More

Decorative pillow: machine embroidery with alignment

Decorative pillow: machine embroidery with alignment
Not only is a present for a loved one, created with your own hands and in accordance with his or her tastes and preferences, a value-in-itself, but the attention you show in that way makes it even more valuable. Which item is simplest to create, even for a person who doesn't engage in handicraft? A decorative pillow, of course. There is a great variety of them, from a simple sole-colored pillow made of linen or cotton to the ones decorated with appliqué, embroidery or a pattern formed by beads or sequins. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to do machine embroidery with alignment.
You’ll need:
Fabric Upper thread Underthread Stabilizer Tailor's chalk or water-soluble marker Stick the tearaway adhesive stabilizer to the wrong side of the fabric. With a water-soluble marker or chalk, mark the center and the horizontal and vertical axes on the fabric (blue lines in the picture).

Trace the patterns in the corners of the future pillow. Hoop the fabric and embroider the first part of your design (the upper left corner).


During the embroidery, I recommend doing your patterns in the following order: upper left corner, then upper right, lower right and lower left. Every time you rotate your design by 90 degrees clockwise.
Having embroidered the first part of the design, use the plastic template that comes with your machine to hoop the next parts.
Thanks to the “Display fabric while aligning the embroidery position” option in Brother Innov-is 1E, you can check the positioning accuracy without the alignment stitches/crosses.



Cutting out and assembling the pattern
For the front side of your pillow, cut out a square size 36 x 36 cm (that includes seam allowance) out of the embroidered fabric. After that, cut out two rectangles size 36 x 19 cm for the back side.
Inserting a zipper under the placket
Pin or baste the zipper tape to the longer sides of the rectangles, install a zipper foot and stitch.



Add piping along the perimeter of the front or the back panel of the pillowcase. Start and end at the bottom of the future pillow, matching the edges of the fabric and the piping with approximately 2 cm overlap.
Cover the panel with the piping with the panel without, their right sides facing each other, and stitch perimeter-wise; add a few back stitches in the places where you zipper is. Finish the edges with overlock.



Press the pillowcase and turn it the right sight out. Put your pillow into it.

The new pillow is ready!
Original text by Irina Lisitsa

• brother
• sewing
• pillow

• April 23, 2019
• By Irina
• 4 comments
• 1,049 views
• Read More

Pinpoint: Perfect design placement on Bernina machines

Pinpoint: Perfect design placement on Bernina machines
Hi friends!
Should you ask me 5 or 7 years ago, what are the main points when choosing an embroidery machine, I would undoubtedly say, “The size of the machine frame and your wallet.” Today I will answer, “Look at the what the machine can do!”
Contemporary home embroidery machines are reaching their limit as regards the hoop/frame size. You cannot infinitely enlarge the embroidery area and stay affordable for the majority of people. You need to find other ways.
One of those is to add to the machine’s functionality.
Pinpoint Placement, the perfect alignment of the parts of the embroidery, is exactly what an embroiderer needs. No size limit. Split up – Position – Go!

This information is meant for those who are planning to buy or have already bought a Bernina sewing and embroidery machine, but hasn’t yet explored all its capabilities. Today we’ll talk about a Pinpoint Placement option that allows you to position the design on a garment with accuracy to one mm, and also to align different parts of the design and embroider designs several times larger than your hoop. The most perfect examples are the border designs, replicated again and again.
Pinpoint Placement is an option available in some Bernina models: Embroidery machines: Bernina 700, Bernina 500; Sewing and embroidery machines: Bernina 590, Bernina 790Plus, and Bernina 880Plus. This is how it’s done. You decide where on the garment you’ll place the future embroidery. With chalk or a marker, draw two positioning points. Now hoop the garment not bothering about the exact placement. The main thing is to match the size of your design with the embroidery area. Then the magic starts.
You pick the necessary design in your machine. Touch the PinPoint button, then activate the Grid and choose two of the nine positioning dots. You will align the needle with the chosen positioning points. To do this, rotate the Multifunction Knobs until the needle will be in the right position, directly above your mark. Fix the position by touching Set.
t.  Now, let’s align the needle with another of our two dots. Choose the other one of our two points and rotate the Multifunction Knobs until the needle will be right above the mark on the garment. Done. Now you can do the embroidery. There is also free point positioning. Here you mark a random spot on your garment, touch the right spot on the design, rotate the Multifunction Knobs until the needle is directly above the mark. Then repeat with the second positioning dot.
Original text by Lisa Prass

• bernina
• embroidery machines
• design placement

• April 22, 2019
• By Irina
• 2 comments
• 596 views
• Read More

Embroidery techniques: Sewing a pumpkin-shaped pincushion

Embroidery techniques: Sewing a pumpkin-shaped pincushion
Internet has an endless supply of ideas. For a long time I’ve been creating round pincushions, simple and artless. And then I suddenly read that by tying it up with a cord, you can turn a round pincushion into a sort of pumpkin. And so cute it seemed to me that I’ve only been using the pumpkin pincushion in my work ever since. Besides, people now only ask pumpkin-shaped pincushions for presents.


Sewing a pumpkin-shaped pincushion. Materials
Sole-colored cotton Tearaway adhesive stabilizer Upper thread Underthread Scissors Decorative button or bead Cord or mouline threads Batting (wool, polyester, quilting cotton) Machine embroidery design
Sewing a pumpkin-shaped pincushion. The making process
If you have bought a design in the store or created it by yourself, hoop the fabric and hit the start button. I secured cotton with a tearaway adhesive stabilizer (it is my favorite–so easy to work with).

You’ll need to stitch the design twice. You can make the sides identical or use two different color schemes. You can also spare the flowers and only embroider the circle on the lower side. The bottom half can do without the embroidery.

When the embroidery is finished, remove the stabilizer and cut the upper and lower panels along the stitching, leaving seam allowance. Sew them together by hand, like biscornu, catching the back stitches with your needle. When only a small gap is left, stuff your pincushion through it.

You can cover the stitching between the two halves of the pincushion with a cord, carefully sewing it along.
Near the end, insert a cord or several mouline strands into the eye of a needle and wrap it around the pincushion. I usually divide mine pincushions into 8 parts. You can do less or more, whichever suits you best. Having done that, pass your needle through the center of the pincushion and fix the thread on both sides. To disguise the knot, cover it with a decorative button.

Done! The actual making and assembling takes much less time than you may think from the description. Try it! You’ll definitely make it.



Original text by Mary Stratan

• sewing
• pincushion

• April 15, 2019
• By Irina
• 7 comments
• 1,031 views
• Read More

Embroidering a pocket: Kitteh

Embroidering a pocket: Kitteh
This adorable and perky kitteh captivated me the moment I’ve seen the design. Lisa Prass, who created it, suggested giving some volume to this cutie. Read on to know what became of it.
For a long time, I've had a soft spot for felines. When I was a child, I used to bring home kittens in my pockets, and they peeked out just like the one does in the design, which I instantly named KitteH.
The embroidery took very little of my time. For it, I needed the design rendered in the Photostitch technique, an embroidery machine, a pair of jeans with pockets (a pocket flap, too, fell victim to the Kitteh’s charms and was pitilessly ripped off), embroidery threads, and, of course, the cheerful mood.
First of all, I ripped off the pocket flap; in case your jeans come without one, skip this. After that, I undid the seam (the ordinary, not the decorative one). It was the inner seam in my case.

I conceived my Kitteh puffy, and now was time to think how to add the volume. Having discussed the matter with the creator, I decided to embroider the cute kitten’s paw separately.
I embroidered the paw on organza stabilized with the solvent stab and understood that it was too soft.
Having tried several options, I finally chose the three-layer “sandwich” that consisted of a solvent stabilizer, fine mesh fabric, and organza as my base fabric.



The embroidery took about 15 minutes. While the machine was going, I had time for a cup of coffee. That’s why I love machine embroidery: the machine is doing the work while I rest :-) 

Having stitched the paw, I trimmed it close to the stitching, washed out the stabilizer under the tap, and finished the organza edges with a lighter. The paw was ready!
Now was the time to embroider the rest of my kitteh.
I hooped the tearaway stabilizer. I should note that denim is quite stable as it is, so I don't reinforce it with adhesive stabilizers as a rule. With a temporary spray adhesive, I glued my denim piece to the stab and pinned it for better security.


Using a layout grid and the machine’s display, I aligned the design to the pocket entrance. I checked the hooping accuracy with an outline, marking the place where the paw would go.



Then I changed the thread color and stitched the paw to the main part.



After that, the kitteh’s body and head were embroidered.



All done. Some time, a good mood and an embroidery machine were all it took.

Easy stitching to you all and have a good day!

Original text by Irina Lisitsa
Design available here 
 

• denim
• pocket
• jeans

• April 9, 2019
• By Irina
• 3 comments
• 1,319 views
• Read More

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