Project-Working with templates to create large embroidery areas:

Many times we want to create a large embroidered area but are afraid to do such for fear that the embroidery motifs may not match or we may mess up. Here is a fool proof method to line up all your embroideries perfectly every time.

Take any embroidery motif that you would like to embroider more than one time or take several different designs. Print template of your design. Make sure that your printed template shows the centering marks of the hoop. This is very important as it will be necessary to match these lines to your hoop.

Consider where you would want to place the designs on your fabric. In this case I am embellishing the center of a large table runner. As my hoop will accommodate two of the designs at one time, I have already set that up in my software and have printed out paper templates. Notice that the paper template has grid markings as well as horizontal and vertical markings which make up the center. That center is where you would want to have your needle match up to in order to determine exact placement.

If your machine allows you to, make sure that needle position is set at center of design rather than beginning of design.

 Pin the template on your fabric where you would like to see it stitched out. You may print as many templates as you like to preview the setting of designs before you do any stitching. I always only hoop the stabilizer and never hoop the fabric itself. This allows me the freedom to position my fabric exactly. Hoop your stabilizer. I used washaway tearaway as the backside of the runner will be seen at times and I do not want the stabilizer to show.

Note: Washaway tearaway used: Hollingsworth and Vose available at http://www.sewingmachine.com

Washaway tearaway stays underneath the stitches but washes out from all open areas. This keeps the embroidery stable at all times even after repeated washing.

Your machine came with plastic hoop templates. These templates help you in positioning your designs accurately in the hoop. The plastic template has same grid like markings and horizontal and vertical markings as the template pinned to the fabric.

Place your hoop on a flat surface.

Place the fabric with the pinned paper template on top of the hoop and place the plastic template on top of it. Move the fabric so the centering lines of the plastic template match up to the centering markings on the paper template (see above). The plastic template fits inside your hoop and you will notice that there are notches at top/bottom and on each side of the hoop to accommodate the plastic template.

Once you have positioned your fabric in the hoop matching the lines of the plastic template to the paper template, you can now gently remove the plastic template. We are now going to pin the fabric to the stabilizer in the hoop making sure that the pins are placed away from the stitching area (this is where the paper template shows you where the design is).

I use long quilting pins as then I can very easily pin from the top by inserting the pin in the fabric through the layer of the stabilizer and placing my nail against the fabric on top pushing the pin to come up.

Another type of pins to use are the flat head quilting needles. These lay flat and are easy to insert through layers of fabric/stabilizer.

Once you have pinned your fabric to the stabilizer, place your plastic template on top of the hoop again to double check that the horizontal and vertical markings on the paper are matching up to the same markings on the plastic template. If they are, remove the paper template from the fabric and stitch your design.

Once the design is stitched out, we are now going to position the next part of the design using the paper template. Pin the paper template to the fabric matching up the design on the paper to the design already stitched out. Hoop your stabilizer again and place hoop on flat surface.

We will again match the paper template markings to the markings on the plastic template.

Once we are satisfied that the markings match up we will pin the fabric to the stabilizer and again match the plastic template one more time to ensure that the placement of the fabric is correct in the hoop. Stitch your design and when finished you will see that you have created a large design matching perfectly just by using your paper and plastic templates.