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    An embroidered tea set for two

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 2 comments, 5,327 views
    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

    Machine embroidery on leather. DIY bracelets

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 2 comments, 5,274 views
    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

    How to embroider small items of clothing. Hooping tricks

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 3 comments, 4,272 views
    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:
     

    Monogram pillow: a tutorial

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 3 comments, 4,064 views
    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:
     

    Patchwork quilt for a child

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 2,687 views
    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:
     
     

    Heart-shaped pincushion with a finish

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 2,562 views
    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

    Heart-shaped decoration for a garment

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 2,336 views
    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

    Hooping the fabric without hooping

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 4 comments, 3,393 views
    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:
     

    Make your own bias binding

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 4 comments, 2,724 views
    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
     

    DIY anime style embroidered backpack

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 4,570 views
    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

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