What kind of embroidery designs are the best to use on hats?

Most embroidery designs will stitch out beautifully on hats, caps and visors, but there are a few limitations to keep in mind.

The most important factor is size. Depending on the hat, you may have one inch to four inches of embroidery area. Embroidery can be stitched on the front, sides, top and back of hat. If you are stitching on the front of a hat, bend the area to be stitched until it lays flat. Then you can measure the flat area and that is your maximum size limit. Repeat this procedure for other areas of the hat to determine the design size.

Mini designs are perfect for hat embroidery. Bigger embroidery designs can be scaled down to fit on a hat. Be careful when resizing; some designs will become too dense and detailed. In your computer software, remove objects from larger designs to create new designs.

Because you are working with an object that will not lay flat in the hoop, it is harder to ensure that the hat is in the hoop straight. If your hat is crooked, your finished embroidery may look off set or rotated. Random designs that don’t have to be stitched straight to look correct are the easiest to stitch. Designs such as footprints, butterflies, shapes, leaves, flowers and snowflakes can be easily placed any direction on a hat. Stay away from square designs; it is difficult to hoop them straight and therefore the design is crooked on the hat.

Print a template for your design(s). If you are working with multiple designs, placing the printed templates on the hat will help you to know where to put it. It also will give you the cross lines to hoop your hat correctly.

Have fun stitching creative headwear!

Fun and fantastic from Bernina

Bernina is always coming up with something new and fantastic!! Not only have they just introduced their latest and greatest sewing and embroidery machine, the 8 Series, last month, but they also have a new and improved website!

After watching the Bernina webcast introducing the new 8 Series machines, I am so excited and thrilled about this new machine - the Bernina 830! I can just see all the possible projects that can be stitched on this impressive machine.

There are several features which I am totally thrilled about, the number one thing being the jumbo hoop which increases the embroidery field to 16" x 10"!!! Can't you just see all the large designs that can be stitched and just imagine the borders and continuous designs that can be stitched with only one hooping verses several! I have been waiting for the width of the embroidery area to increase for several years and it's finally here!!! :)

Plus there is an added amount of space between the needle and the machine, making it much easier to quilt larger projects and just gives so much more room to hold the fabric! And another favorite feature of mine is the automatic needle threader. Yes, it is totally automatic - a one-process threading system! And the jumbo bobbin which holds 40% more thread!!

Be sure to peek at Bernina's new and improved website as they have great class lessons on sewing, serging, embroidery and software! Plus you can download instructions for lots of neat projects. And there are always free embroidery design downloads available as well as other fun things that get you totally excited about stitching!

You can always catch the latest Bernina news on the BerninaUSABlog!

Gingher lightweight scissors are a treasure!

When I first learned to sew my cutting shears/scissors were my best friend. Especially when I invested in a quality pair of 8" Gingher dressmaker scissors. Once I started quilting, the scissors were stashed away (except for uses here and there) and my rotary cutter was in constant use! How quick and easy it was to cut fabrics with that little round wheel!

Although a rotary cutter is fantastic and can be used in many ways, those 8" pair of cutting shears are still valuable. Lately I have been using Gingher's newly developed line of lightweight scissors. They contain the same Gingher quality and precision, but with molded black nylon handles. Those handles make the scissors much easier to hold in your hand and cut for a longer length of time!

You know how after cutting for a while, especially through several thicknesses of fabric, your finger and thumb starts to develop a little groove where the scissors have been? With these wonderful black handles, that little groove is totally nonexistent! Not only that, but they are much easier on your hands!

Cutting all the little ties in the fleece blanket I made last week can be a challenge to do all at once. But by using the Gingher lightweight scissors, I was finished chopping that fleece in minutes and ready to tackle three or four more blankets!

Gingher has a whole line of the lightweight version of scissors including 8" trimmers and 4" embroidery scissors. Give one a try and you will love it!

New Embroidery Collection from Sue Box: Creative Little Homemakers!!!

Introducing the latest stunning collection of machine embroidery designs from Sue Box Creations!

Create your own unique scenes with the Creative Little Homemakers Collection of beautiful Victorian designs. These little girls are washing clothes, drying and ironing them, playing school and picking flowers.

The Creative Little Homemakers embroidery collection is available on a multi-format CD. The designs of this collection are suitable for most brands of home embroidery machines. Supported formats: .art, .jef, .vip, .hus & .pes. The designs are in two sizes to accommodate the 4"x4" hoop size.

This collection features bonus embroidery templates for both large and small hoop sizes included with the packaged designs!!

Be sure not to miss our on this fun collection!!

What is Stitching in the Ditch?

Stitching in the ditch is a machine quilting technique where you are stitching directly in a seamline. You use a walking foot to create long rows of straight stitching where the stitches are hidden in the seamline of the fabrics. The goal is to stay in the ditch and not stray outside of the seamline. Your stitches will be hidden in the seam, holding your quilt layers together. It's a great supporting stitch for your quilts to really support and hold the layers together before other decorative quilting is done. If quilting is new to you, it is an excellent stitch to start your quilting.

Be sure that your seams are pressed flat to one side as this will make it easier to stitch. As you are stitching, be sure to watch your needle and guide your seamline to follow it. It does not matter where your walking foot is; it is more important to watch where your needle is stitching. If you gently glide your hands over the fabric, slightly pushing it away from the needle as you are stitching, this lets you easily see the seamline and helps you to stay in the ditch.

Many times stitching in the ditch is done with invisible thread to make the seam even less visible, but you can use cotton threads in various colors as well. Whatever thread you use, keep in mind that your stitching will be hidden in the ditch.

Tie those fleece blankets!

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I know it's been a while since I've posted here, but the last few weeks have been rather hectic and there have been some technical issues here with my blog that I have been dealing with! Hopefully in a few weeks my blog will have a complete new design to it with some fun additions! Stay tuned in the next couple of months! :)
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Yesterday I finished a fleece tied blanket for a baby gift. Two different colors of fleece in lengths of 1 1/4 - 2 yards just creates a fun and snuggly blanket! Add a little embroidery to one corner with that special little one's name and it's also a unique gift!

I lay the fleece pieces on the floor, cut the little 1" strips and start tying knots. To make the knots look the same from both sides, I will tie one, skip one, tie one, skip one on the first side. Then flip the blanket over and tie the ones I skipped. This keeps the knots being tied from both sides and gives it a uniform look.

Want to make your own fleece tied blanket? Find step-by-step instructions here...

Use those pattern weights!

Eliminate tedious pinning by using pattern weights! Pattern weights are small pieces of heavy metal encased in fabric. They are round in shape and slightly flexible. You can use them to hold down your template while you trace it or to hold your pattern onto the fabric while you cut it with scissors or a rotary cutter.

Place them on your sewing instruction book to hold it open. Keep your sewing and embroidery notes from flying away by holding them down with a weight. Use these weights as a paperweight at your desk or in the kitchen to hold open a recipe book. With the many varieties of uses, you will want more than one package! These little weights are great for many things!

Where can you stitch on a shirt?

There are so many designs that can be stitched on shirts to wear. Not only are the embroidery designs great in number, but also the places where they can be stitched. The first place we often think of stitching a design on a shirt is in the center front or left front.

But have you tried stitching on the sleeve or down the placket? What about the tip of the collar or the yoke in the back? There are many places to stitch embroidery designs that can make your designs look so creative and neat!

Busy with shirts and more shirts

The last couple of days (and more days to come later in July) I have been stitching company logos on shirts for a local business. These shirts were actually fun to do since I could match the thread colors with the colors in the shirts.

The plaid shirts turned out neat as I stitched a small logo on the collar and a larger logo on the short right sleeve. But after stitching over 20 shirts with the same design, I have to say I'm glad they are done and finished!

Selecting Embroidery Thread Colors

One of the great benefits of machine embroidery is being able to choose your own thread colors for whatever design and fabric you are using. Many designs can be stitched in one color or only a couple of colors. One fun thing to do is to take lettering and match the colors of the fabric to the thread.

In this design, I matched the mint green background in the shirt to the shading of the lettering. The blue thread for the majority of the lettering matches the blue flowers in the shirt fabric. This logo design creates a professional touch to the shirt without drawing too much attention to it. The colors you decide to put in your embroidery designs can greatly effect the image you want your design to portray. Have fun choosing thread colors and keep in mind the mental image you want the colors to represent!