Ever have a week where you seem to start more projects than get finished?  That was me last week.  So when I finally got my new pincushion finished and sewn, I was super excited and posted a photo to the Embrilliance Facebook page. Are you on Facebook?  If so I invite you to like the Embrilliance Facebook page (as well as my SewBubbles page).  I try to post daily tips as well as inspiration ideas and free patterns and other such stuff related to sewing and embroidery.

Here is the link for the Embrilliance page.

The number 1 question that we received was, “how did I get the printed fabric for the appliqué?” or was that an embroidery design?  I saw many say that there were similar embroidery designs but to me that would be a lot of stitching that could just as easily be done as a printed fabric applique.  And it just so happens that StitchArtist has the capability to add a photo to an applique shape so you can print it on fabric and use in your project!  So I made a video showing those steps using Embrilliance StitchArtist.  Its really super easy with the steps broken down as such:

1. Add library shape
   
2. Set to applique stitch type
   
3. Select the position stitch color break in the properties pane and choose the appliqué tab.
4. In the Image section, browse to the image on your computer that you want to fill the shape.  I wanted a pin pad so had already searched Google for an image that would work and saved it to my computer.
5. Size the image using the handles – you will see that part of the image NOT inside the shape is ghosted – the software will crop the image for you to fit the exact shape you have.
   
6. Change your printing settings so that only the cropped image prints.
   
7. Print the cropped image on printer fabric.  For this project I used EQ Printables, Premium Cotton Satin Inkjet Fabric Sheets.  Follow the instructions on the package for printing.
8. I trimmed the printed fabric a bit bigger than the shape so that it would be stitched and held in place.So, that was the main question people had, but I figured that I would create this supporting blog post with other tidbits of information.  And of course, included is a video that goes thru the rest of the steps.

The lettering was added using the Lasertag font from DigiStitches and sized to fit the embroidery design.

When I looked at this design, I already knew it was going to be a simple square pin cushion – and I’m always being asked how do I digitize and in the hoop design – so here was a great opportunity to show how.  You’ll laugh at how simple this is but the biggest issue with creating in the hoop embroidery designs is being able to look at something backwards and figure out how to add sewing steps in the hoop.  The actual digitizing is easy – its figuring out the process and WHEN you need to have the steps occur.

For example, to turn this into a pincushion, I would normally take it out of the hoop, trim it up to be the size rectangle I wanted, and cut a backing fabric the same size.  Then put both pieces right sides together, pin and stitch 1/4” seam allowance all the way around leaving a hole at the bottom for turning.  Trim corners, turn, stuff and stitch the hole closed.  Well, this sewing can actually be done in the hoop!

So you would stitch the design.  The last color comes up and its the running stitch seam.  So I place my backing fabric right side down in the hoop, just like an applique design fabric, and stitch the final color which is sewing the back on and leaves a hole, remove from hoop, trim up and turn and stuff and stitch the hole closed.

Because I am stitching in a 4×4 hoop, and the pin cushion is the max size of the hoop, I just cut a 5” square and center it on top in the hoop.  If I needed a placement line – such as that in an applique, Yes, I would have made the object as I did, copied it and set it to a funky color with a longer stitch length like 5mm as a single run.  Then I would paste the object on top of this one and set it to the sewing stitch length of 2.5mm and a double run.  Its not complicated-  in the hoop designs are just broken down into smaller steps and sometimes you have to work backwards in order to get the result that you want.  Just make sure each step is its own unique color break so that the machine will stop so that you can add fabric, trim fabric, fold fabric whatever it is you need to do!  The machine just needs to stop – it doesn’t care what color is in the machine!

I hope that you like this fun project!  If you don’t have digitizing software and StitchArtist looks like something you might be interested in, please use this link to get more information on the product.  StitchArtist  Because I teach the software, I sometimes have a promocode which will give you a discount if you purchase using my link.  Send me an email if you are ready to purchase and want to see if I have a coupon for you!

Enjoy!

Lisa