NEW Mini Crafting Iron!

A mini crafting iron by Darice for your sewing & quilting needs! A perfect little iron to keep near your sewing machine when you need a quick press! Pack it in your bag or suitcase when traveling for a quick touch-up on your clothes! Small, lightweight & easy to carry! Great for college, travel and quick ironing touch-ups!

This 4" mini iron heats up in just a few seconds and gets hot enough to remove creases and press a hard crease in fabrics when needed. Perfect size to have near your sewing machine and to carry along to quilt class. Includes a UL listed electric cord with dual voltage.

This is a perfect little iron to keep in your suitcase for traveling! Also, it works great to keep beside your sewing machine, so when you need to press a quick seam, it is right at your fingertips! I have used this iron to press out creases, crease cotton fabrics and to fuse fusibles to fabrics. It delivers just the heat I need! A great tool to add in your sewing or quilting!

Fussy Cutting Applique Embroidery Designs

Click the photos for a larger image.

Applique embroidery designs are fun and easy to stitch, plus they can save time by replacing fabric with stitches. But can you position the fabric so the butterfly or flower on the applique fabric is in the center of the applique design? If you can fussy cut quilt blocks and pieces, can you fussy cut the fabric for applique designs? Most definitely!

With most applique embroidery designs, the applique part of the design has 3 outline stitches to it: a placement stitch, a tackdown stitch and an outline stitch. The applique fabric is placed on the fabric in the embroidery hoop, then the placement stitch (a straight stitch) is stitched on top of the applique fabric. The applique fabric is trimmed close to the stitching, a tackdown stitch (an open zigzag stitch) is stitched and then the final outline satin stitch encloses the raw fabric edges, completing the applique design. See Applique Embroidery Designs for detailed instructions.

It is hard to know where the placement stitch will be sewn when the fabric is just laid in the hoop. You need a placement line before the applique fabric is laid down to see where the design will be stitched. Stitch the placement stitch twice and you will have a placement line for perfect fabric placement and a placement line to trim away the extra applique fabric.

Prepare the applique fabric by fusing wonderunder to the wrong side, making sure there is enough fabric around the the fabric motif which will be centered in the applique heart.

Hoop the fabric or spray it on the stabilizer with 505 spray adhesive. Select the design and stitch the first stitch - the placement stitch. This will stitch an outline of the applique design on the fabric.

Lay the applique fabric on top of the outline, centering the motif in the center of the shape.

Restitch the placement stitch. To do this you will need to go back a color by touching the back arrow on your machine. You could also go back a stitch at a time until you reach the starting point of the first placement stitch.
After restitching the placement stitch, be sure the motif on the fabric is in the correct place with the placement stitch. If it is not centered or where you want it, just rip the placement stitches out, reposition the fabric and restitch the placement stitch.

Trim the excess fabric around the applique shape and continue with the tackdown and outline stitch as you normally would do. The motif is in the center of the applique, exactly where it should be! Perfect placement with no guessing or ripping (hopefully!) involved!

Download my FREE applique heart and try out this technique for yourself!

Last week for FabShop Hop Savings!!

This is the last week of the fun-filled March FabShop Hop!! FREE shipping on any order over $30!! Just enter "freeshipping30" in the coupon box during checkout. Don' t miss out on this last week of savings!! This special offer ends Saturday, March 31st!

Check out the gorgeous embroidery designs that Sue Box has to offer! Take a peek at the NEW flannels in stripes, plaids and marbles! These cute little mini irons are great for keeping near your sewing machine for a quick seam press! Many quilting techniques are just waiting to be discovered in books written by Eleanor Burns, Diane Gaudnyski, Debbie Caffrey and many more!

Be sure to order your very own Baby Geniuses Box kit before they are gone!! There are only 3 kits left, so get yours before they all disappear!!

FREE Applique Heart Download

Are you new to applique embroidery designs or would you like another design to add to your collection? Try downloading my FREE applique heart design! Click here to go to the download page. If you are unsure or need a refresher for how applique designs are stitched, take a peek at these directions.

Enjoy!! :)

Applique Embroidery Designs

Click the photos for a larger image.

Stitching applique designs on your sewing machine is a neat technique to combine many of your favorite fabrics. Combine applique fabrics with machine embroidery and the list of projects you can create is endless.

Why would you let your embroidery machine applique a design instead of you stitching the satin stitch around the fabric? With machine embroidery, the machine is guiding the satin stitches, mitering corners and knotting the thread at the beginning and end of the design. Some applique designs add details on top of the applique fabric after it is stitched to the base fabric, such as facial features, flower centers, animal wings or shading to further compliment the design. So why not sit back and watch your machine do the work? :)

Two fabrics are used: the base fabric, which is what the design is sewn onto and the applique fabric, which is the fabric that is trimmed and attached to the base fabric. Wonderunder needs to be fused to the applique fabric before stitching for several reasons. It adds stability to the fabric, it is easier to trim the excess fabric around the shape and can be fused to the base fabric after the stitching is complete, which can eliminate puckers and wrinkles in the applique fabric. I prefer to use Heat 'n' Bond wonderunder. It irons on smooth, without wrinkles and the paper backing easily peels off, leaving the adhesive on the fabric.

Most applique designs offer an outline or a series of outlines where the applique fabric will placed, then satin or blanket stitches finish the raw edges of the applique fabric. The most common applique designs will have 3 outline stitches: a placement stitch, a tackdown stitch & an outline stitch. Your machine will read each stitch as a separate thread color, although you may use the same color throughout the design. The thread color change tells the machine to stop so you can trim the fabric before the final stitch is sewn.

Placement stitch - This is the first color in the design. It is a straight stitch that attaches the applique fabric to the base fabric. This stitch lets you trim off the extra fabric around the outside of the applique shape.

Tackdown stitch - This is the second color in the design. Most commonly it is an open zigzag stitch that tacks down and holds the applique fabric in place before the outline is sewn. It will also help to prevent any fabric edges from showing through after the design is complete. If a blanket or decorative stitch is the outline stitch, the tackdown is usually eliminated so that it will not show through when the design is finished.

Outline stitch - The third color in the design is the finishing outline stitch. Most of the time it is a satin stitch that seals the raw edges of the fabric, but on some designs a blanket stitch or other decorative stitch is used.

If you haven't stitched an applique embroidery design or are unsure how it works, here is how to do it. You can download the heart applique design that I have created and stitch it out yourself! Just click on the link below and it will take you to the page to download it.

Prepare the applique fabric by fusing wonderunder to the wrong side. Cut the applique fabric so it is larger than the design.

Hoop the stabilizer, spray it with 505 spray adhesive and place the base fabric in the hoop. Peel off the wonderunder paper backing on the applique fabric. Lay the applique fabric, right side up, on the area where the design will be stitched. If needed you can lightly spray the wrong of the applique fabric with 505 adhesive and stick it to the base fabric. I prefer to lay the fabric down and hold it with my hands if necessary. It is very easy to spray too much of the 505 adhesive, which makes it tougher to trim off the excess fabric.

Select the applique design or send it from your computer to your machine. Stitch the first color - the placement stitch. It will be a straight stitch in the shape of the design. The thread color does not matter; it will be covered by the outline stitch.

Take the hoop out of the machine, but DO NOT take the fabric out of the hoop. Trim around the applique fabric with a small pair of scissors, cutting close to the placement stitches, trying not to clip the stitches. For best results, work on a flat surface and pick up the excess applique fabric while trimming close to the placement stitches. This will keep tension on the fabric as you clip, making it simple to do! I like to use Snip-Eze scissors which have a curved blade with a sharp point. This makes it easy to get close to the stitches without clipping them.

Place the hoop back in the machine and stitch the second color - the tackdown stitch. It will stitch an open zigzag, which secures the fabric in place before the outline is stitched.

Continue stitching the design. The third color will finish the fabric raw edge with a satin stitch. It will automatically tie off the start and end of the thread, just like any other design. You're finished!

Keep in mind that applique designs are digitized differently in how they stitch the placement and tackdown stitches. Either there are two outlines, one for placement (straight stitch) and one for the tackdown (open zigzag) or there is only one outline. If there is only one outline, it will be necessary to go back and repeat the placement stitch to secure the applique fabric to the base fabric.

Details and shading are sometimes added to applique designs after the applique is stitched. Multiple appliques may be stitched in the same design. The same procedure is repeated with each applique part in the design. The corresponding design color chart will guide you through the design colors in designs that have more than one applique part.

To get you started, download the applique heart design (available in multiple formats) and stitch it out using some of your favorite fabrics! Click here to go to the download page.

Fabric Swap...

I wonder where our package of fabric is right now??!! Does anyone have any photos to report along the journey? :)

15% Off Books & Patterns

Another new FabShop Hop Special Sale is here - 15% off books and patterns!! This sale is only one week - Sunday, March 18th - Saturday, March 24th, so don't miss out on the savings!!

Create beautiful hand embroidered blocks with Bonnet Girls Patterns from the Past and Bonnet Girls Ladies Day Out. Log Cabin Quilts, Scraps for All Seasons and Pieces of Baltimore contain great quilt ideas to use up your stash of fabric and scraps.

Add to your Quilt in A Day Collection by Eleanor Burns with Egg Money Quilts, Delectable Mountains with a BONUS acrylic ruler included and Grandmother's Garden Quilt.

Patterns such as the Assembled Sentiment Jacket by VickiTricks Designs and the New Friends Hankie Blankie Pets Pattern & CD will greet your eyes with fantastic ideas!

Don't miss out on the savings through March 24th!! Stay tuned for new sales each week!! Take a peek at the NEW Happy Face Baby Geniuses Boxes from Benartex that are filled with fabric!!

New quilt to see...

Have you looked at yesterday's post of the Day Z Dozen Blog Hop? A absolutely gorgeous and very colorful quilt will greet your eyes, created by Lori Allison of Allison Quilt Designs! See how she turned a pattern that used 1265 2" quilt squares to be cut and stitched into a simple and easy quilt pattern to complete!

This is the 9th design of a total of 12 different patterns...only 3 more fun to designs to come! Don't miss out on the fun and make the Day Z Dozen Blog Hop a daily stop!

Finished!

I started beading a watch a couple weeks ago and it is now finished! I worked on it just a few times a weeks in the evening as I had time. It wasn't hard and since I love handwork, I enjoyed stringing the beads. I have an ivory sweater that will look perfect with this watch!

Although I wish I would have made it just a little bit bigger around. The kit gave the measurement which was too big for my wrist, so I eliminated some of the beads to make it a little smaller. I should have left 3-4 beads, so it wouldn't be quite so tight on my wrist. Oh, well, it is one of my half finished projects that is completed and I can move to the next one...I'm not quite sure which UFO it will be yet! :)

Preventing Puckered Satin Stitches

Satin stitching is a fun and easy stitch to sew! It is a multi-purpose stitch that can be used for applique, decorative stitching and covering raw edges. But have you ever had puckers in your fabric from satin stitching? Or maybe the fabric folds under and bunches up in the satin stitches? Read on to discover ways to prevent this from happening!

When fabric is tucked into satin stitches as they are being sewn, that is called tunneling. The fabric is not heavy enough to hold the stitches and therefore the fabric puckers and tunnels. This commonly happens when satin stitching. As the needle jumps from the left to the right, forming each stitch, the tension on the thread pulls the fabric between the stitches, creating puckers. When you are finished satin stitching, the puckers will not allow the fabric to lay out flat.

To eliminate puckers and tunnels, a stabilizer is needed to support the stitches. Most cotton fabrics do not have the body and stability to hold the stitches on their own. Lightly spray a piece of tear away stabilizer with spray adhesive. Stick the fabric to the tear away stabilizer. Press down firmly and smooth the fabric over the stabilizer. Sew the satin stitches where needed and then tear off the stabilizer from the back of the fabric. Gently press the fabric and your satin stitching is complete! Note: I prefer to use 505 Spray Adhesive because it doesn't gum my needle and sprays evenly and cleanly.

satin stitching without stabilizer

satin stitching with stabilizer

The tear away stabilizer will keep the fabric flat and support the stitches as you sew. The spray adhesive will hold to fabric to the stabilizer and prevent it from moving. As the needle moves from left to right, the stabilizer will not allow the tension on the thread to pucker and tunnel the fabric. Not only is satin stitching easier with tear away stabilizer underneath, but also creates a more professional look when finished. Try it on your next satin stitching project and see if it works for you!

For tips on starting, stopping and tying off the thread while satin stitching, see here.

fabric & tear away stabilizer

10% off Everything Embroidery!!

Check out the embroidery section at Embroidery Treasures to save $$ on everything you need to complete your machine embroidery projects March 11-17!!

See the gorgeous designs Sue Box and Jenny Haskins have to offer! The Embroiderer's Buddy is a must have tool for correct placement of designs on shirts! Creative Expressions magazines offer great projects to keep your machine stitching each and every day! The newest issue #14 has just arrived, plus a new shipment of the much asked for back issues of Creative Expressions #10, #11, #12 & #13! Get your copies before they quickly disappear!!March 11-17 save 10% on all embroidery designs, supplies, books and magazines, so don't miss out!!

Don't miss out on the embroidery savings through March 17th!! Stay tuned for new sales each week!! Take a peek at the NEW Happy Face Baby Geniuses Boxes from Benartex that are filled with fabric!!

New Issue of Creative Expressions Magazine!

The newest issue of Creative Expressions is here - #14!

See what's inside this issue:
Rhapsody in Ribbons and Roses (Part II) featuring embroidery, quilting and floral fabrics!Embroidery...the Perfect Gift!
Trash to Treasure!
Jenny Haskins Cheating Crazy Patchwork
Plus many other creative ideas for you to enjoy!!

There are so many ideas and project packed full into each issue of Creative Expressions that will keep your imagination running wild!

Get your copy...

Hearts and more hearts

This is my current project I am working on. I needed to stitch some satin hearts to show and write directions for my method of satin stitching. Instead of just stitching 3 hearts on a block and then throwing it in a pile of unfinished blocks, I decided I would just do something with it. I had just a little bit of the purple floral and just a little of the purple tone on tone print, so I added an ivory swirling print for a border with scattered satin stitched hearts.

Hopefully I will be able to finish stippling the border today and then I will be ready for the binding. I am going to try the piped binding using the method that Ricky Tims uses. I saw that last week at our monthly Miss Kitty's Quilters meeting and loved the technique. It didn't seem that difficult to do and wouldn't take too long using the steps he described.

The Day Z Dozen Blog Hop

Jump over to Lazy Girl Designs blog to follow the Day Z Dozen projects being shown each day by inspiring designers! This is a show of different projects being shown each day by different designers with the DayZ Duex fabric collection from LakeHouse Dry Goods.

You are sure to find some great ideas and meet some fantastic designers who share their creative ideas. Tune in each day through March 16th to see the fun projects listed! Joan from Lazy Girl Designs started listing projects this last Monday, so see what has been posted so far! The quilts are beautiful to see!

Printer error...

When your printer has an error message like this, it is not a good sign! Last night I needed to print some hearts onto heat'n'bond wonderunder so I could fuse them to my purple fabric for the project I am working on.

I hadn't tried printing with wonderunder on my new laser printer, but I had done it on my ink jet printer with the fireflies last year. I couldn't think of a reason why it wouldn't work with my new one, so I stuck the wonderunder sheets in the tray. The first sheet was feed through the printer and all of a sudden a heard a loud beep with an error message!

All of a sudden it hit me!!!! How could I have thought that I could run wonderunder (a product activated by heat) through a laser printer (the ink is set to the paper by applying heat to the ink)??!!! Of course it would work on my ink jet printer...the ink is wet and applied without heat. With a laser printer, the dry ink is set with a fuser, which of course uses heat! Can you imagine the sticky mess that would be inside my printer? I could just envision the mess.

Needless to say, 2 hours later and with my Dad's help, I was able to finally take the printer apart and get the paper jam and residue from the wonderunder out of my printer. Thankfully, the heat didn't melt the wonderunder, as that was my biggest fear. But the lightweight paper backing got stuck around a roller and wouldn't move because of the residue on the back.

With every part of the printer we took off, I wondered if we would be able to get it back together. And yes, I consulted the manual and searched online, but couldn't find any help for removing this kind of paper jam in the location where it was at. At last every piece was back in place and the printer continues to work - with the right kind of paper! :)

And this morning I used my ink jet printer to print the hearts I needed. If I would have done that in the first place, just look at all the time I could have saved! :)

Unraveling Satin Stitches

You have just finished the perfect satin stitch on an applique heart! Everything is perfect, the purple stitching smoothly guides over the curves of the heart. But as you go to trim the stitching thread...your beautiful stitches start unraveling! With just a little tug, more and more of the satin stitches are pulling out of the fabric! You know that you backstitched at the beginning and end of your stitches, so why are they unraveling?

Has this happened to you? It certainly has to me and it can be very frustrating!! The reason it is unraveling is because it needs a securing stitch at the beginning and end of your stitching. With satin stitching, backstitching is not enough to hold the stitches in place to keep them from unraveling. The thread needs to be secured by little, tiny stitches before you begin and after you finish the satin stitches.

For newer machines, there is a knotting or securing thread feature that automatically ties off the thread when the button is pressed. This makes it simple and easy. Press the securing button, stitch the satin stitches, and press the securing button when finished. But what do you do if your machine doesn't have this feature? Here is the method I use to secure my satin stitches, decorative stitches and quilting stitches.

You will use one stitch setting for the securing stitch and another stitch setting for the satin stitch. The stitch settings may vary for each machine, so try it on a scrap before stitching on your project.

Stitch #1 - Securing Stitch - This stitch will be sewing before and after the satin stitch.
Width - 0

Length - 0.5
Needle position - 2-3 notches to the left

Stitch #2 - Satin Stitch - This stitch will cover the edges of your applique heart.

Width - 3.5

Length - 0.3
Needle position - in the center

Place your fabric under the foot of the machine and set your stitch settings to stitch #1. Sew 5-6 stitches. These will be tiny straight stitches sewn on the inside of the heart.

Set your machine settings to stitch #2. Start stitching the satin stitch, following the edge of your applique fabric. Continue until you reach the place where you want to stop or you are back to the beginning of your stitching. Stitch over a few of the previous satin stitches. Switch to stitch #1 and sew 5-6 stitches. These little stitches should be just inside the satin stitch. They will secure the thread so it will not unravel and at the same time be hidden by the satin stitch.

Basically this technique is the exact same thing that happens when you press the securing function on your machine. The difference is that most machines will sew the securing stitches in one place, which can create a knot on the back that can come through to the front of the fabric. With the method I use, the stitch length of stitch #1 - the securing stitch - is set to 0.5, which moves the fabric a teeny, tiny bit with each stitch. With 5-6 stitches, the fabric has moved no more than 1/8". This eliminates the knot that is formed with the securing stitch.

Yes, all my machines have the securing feature! But on satin stitching and other decoratives, I usually prefer to use the method above. I also use it when I am machine quilting. I don't want a knot of thread on the front or back of my quilt.

With my machine, it is so easy to flip between the two stitches. Some, but not all machines will be able to remember stitch settings as you flip between stitches. Give your machine a try and see if it will work for you! I set stitch #1 and stitch #2 to the settings described above. I touch stitch #1 and sew 5-6 stitches. Then I touch stitch #2 and sew my satin stitch. When I am finished, I again touch stitch #1 and tie off the thread. The machine remembers my stitch settings in each stitch as I flip back and forth, until I change the settings or I turn the machine off. It works great and saves lots of time!! Try it on your next satin stitching project! :)

Another great site to see...

This quilt is made from polymer clay! Can you believe it? Visit this website to see how Judith Skinner and Sarajane Helm adapt many different quilts, quilt blocks and quilt patterns to polymer clay. There is even a miniature clay sewing room, complete with books and fabrics! Amazing!!!

Starting the fabric swap...

Our Recyced Fabric Swap has officially begun. I mailed a package full of fabric this morning and here is what is inside. There are 6 yards of fabric stuffed inside the ziplock bag.

I had to stuff the yardage in the bag, but I was finally able to get it in there without the bag ripping! I enclosed a couple extra ziplock bags inside just in case the first one doesn't last the entire trip!

It will be exciting to track the package on its journey and see which pieces of fabric are adopted and the new ones put up for adoption! :)

20% off ALL Fabric!!

It's time for the March FabShop Hop to begin!! Move your mouse (computer, of course! :)) from shop to shop to find great deals and register to wind one of two great prizes - a Bernina or Brother sewing machine!!

If you haven't participated in a FabShop Hop, you will need to register here. You can then visit the list of shops who are participating and look for the hopping bunny hidden on a page in each shop. You are then eligible to register for the fun prizes!! Click here for more details...

20% All Fabrics!! Visit the fabric section at Embroidery Treasures to find fantastic savings on every single bolt of fabric listed!! See brand NEW Benartex flannels, colorful Spring cotton plaids and useful Kaufman Kona cottons!March 1-10 save 20% on all fabrics, so don't miss out!!

Don't miss out on the fabric savings through March 10th!! Stay tuned for new sales each week!! Take a peek at the NEW Happy Face Baby Geniuses Boxes from Benartex that are filled with fabric!!