Creative Machine Embroidery May - June 2018

We’re in the height of spring, and hopefully the tulips and crocus that emerged much too fast this year are hanging around to brighten your days ahead. You’ll need fresh-cut flowers to decorate with for the entertaining that must ensue in the coming months, when wedding season, graduations, Mother’s Day and summer soirées begin. For any good party, you need a fun drink (virgin or otherwise), a fantastic outfit and special ambience to set the mood. Whether it’s a birthday, wedding, graduation or other spring event, we’ve got you covered with this issue of Creative Machine Embroidery. I particularly love the Take a Sip Tote on page 44. It sets the mood for fun for you and the littles in your life. Help the kiddos with a lemonade stand and…

ramona baird Wedding Party—page 74 asg.org/resources/conference sue o’very Painted Pouch—page 58 sueoverydesigns.com pamela cox Heirloom Effects: Shadow Work—page 30 lisa archer In the Hoop: Punch Labels—page 18 picklepiedesigns.com nancy fiedler Quilt This: Beyond the Block—page 22 janome.com/en/inspire/projects/ garment/embroidered-espadrilles julia griffey Blooms in Blue—page 40 Beach Babe—page 66 machineembroiderygeek.com joi mahon Take a Sip Tote—page 44 designerjoi.com stacy schlyer Fiesta Flair—page 34 stacysews.com. milinda jay stephenson Dry Idea—page 54 milindajay.com katrina walker Prom Perfect—page 70 katrinawalker.com soni grint Software Savvy: Intermediate Design Editing—page 26 Learn More about our contributors at cmemag.com.…

DENSE DESIGNS If tear-away stabilizer falls off the project during stitching because the design is too dense, rehoop the project with a cut-away stabilizer. Jackie N., email TINY TIME SAVER After washing stabilizer out of FSL projects, place the wet design in an airtight plastic bag with a few silica gel packets to dry the designs faster. Claudia O., email BUTTON GAPS To avoid gaps between placket buttonholes, mark the first buttonhole at the bustline center and evenly space the remainder accordingly. Jean L., email GROWING STASH If you need more space on your thread rack, add a drinking straw to each dowel and stack the spools. Mara S., email TAKE IT EASY Wind bobbins slowly when using synthetic threads to avoid bursting plastic bobbins and stretching the thread. Jen…

1. If you love everything embroidery and need a new book to read, check out The Queen’s Embroiderer: A True Story of Paris, Lovers, Swindlers and the First Stock Market Crisis. Travel back to Paris in the early 1700s, where embroidery was highly desired. This book delves into a story of wealth, struggle and love centering around the Magoulet family, who were the official embroiderers for Queen Marie-Thérèse and Louis XIV and were integral to the décor at Versailles. ($30, bloomsbury.com) 2 Treat yourself to a charmed summer with CME’s Beach Life FSL Charms Collection. This collection brings summer to you wherever you decide to use them. Picture them as wineglass charms, earrings, zipper pulls, sneaker charms, key chains — the list goes on and on. The collection includes these…

LAYOUT & DESIGN • When working with small hoops, design layout is crucial. Examine a large design and notice the design elements that overlap. The overlaps indicate when and where to rehoop in order to break up the design for a small hoop. • Select designs that don’t have to precisely align. Free-flowing designs, such as florals, are great to use because they’re less structured and are easily manipulated to fit a curved layout. • Experiment with the design layout to create a continuous design with 1/8" or less overlap. Eliminating gaps between the designs results in a finished design that looks like it was stitched in a large hoop. PREPARE • Print templates of the chosen design. Mark the horizontal and vertical axis lines for each design, and then…

MATERIALS Supplies listed are enough to make one 3"×4¼ " drink tag. + Two 6" squares of cotton fabric + 5"×6" rectangle of chalkboard fabric + Tear-away stabilizer + Embroidery thread +1/3 yard of ribbon, cording or twine + Chalk pen or chalk PREPARE • Prep the chalkboard fabric according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Most require you to prime the fabric by running a piece of chalk over the entire surface, erasing it with water and repeating the process. • Download the ITH Punch Labels embroidery design from cmemag.com/freebies until June 30, 2018. Find the design after the expiration at shopsewitall.com. Load the design onto the machine. EMBROIDER • Hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer. • Embroider step one to create a placement line on the stabilizer. • Center the…