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How To Choose A Sewing Machine For Monogramming

September 10, 2020 · Leave a Comment

This is a guest post from Sewingland.org, a website that provides reviews of sewing machines and accessories.

Monogramming is the ideal way to make an item of clothing unique. In this way, you’ll be able to sew your initials into the fabric. By getting a monogram machine, you’ll be able to do this from the comfort of your own home.

But, with dozens of different machines on the market, it can be hard to know which one will suit you the best. To help you make this choice, let’s take a closer look at some of the things you might want to consider.

How Often Will You Be Using It?

One of the most important things you’ll need to figure out is how often you’ll be using the machine.

If you want to use it frequently, you’ll generally be better off paying a little more for a more heavy-duty machine. They will be better equipped to handle the increased workload that comes with regular use.

This is especially important if you’re planning on getting a machine for commercial use, as it will be on all day.

On the other hand, if you’re just getting started, you might be happy with a more basic option.

How Many Functions Does The Machine Have?

It’s common for machines to come programmed with a range of different settings. These can often make it easier for you to execute your designs. For example, you might be able to use some software to design your monogram on a computer, then execute it on the machine.

How many settings you’ll need and the type of features you want will depend on your style of monogramming.

Some people enjoy more functionality as they’ll have more options to explore. If you’re a beginner though, it might be better to get a basic machine. This will allow you to get a feel for the hobby and get used to using the machine. If you enjoy it, you can upgrade to a more feature-rich device later.

How Much Does The Machine Cost?

There are dozens of different monogramming machines, with several different price points. This ensures that you’ll be able to find one that will suit your budget.

Typically, when you start monogramming, you might want to consider getting a cheaper machine. This will give you some time to make sure that you enjoy the hobby.

If you have a good time, you’ll be able to spend more on your next machine and you’ll have a better idea of what features you’d like it to have.

How Big Is The Machine?

You might want to consider how large your monogram machine will be. The ideal size will depend on how you intend to use it. For example, commercial machines will need to be very heavy-duty. As a result, they tend to be bulky and have higher power consumption.

On the other hand, you might want to get a smaller machine, which you can easily lift and manoeuvre. This will allow you to take it on holiday with you. A smaller device might also suit someone who is taking up monogramming as a hobby, as you’ll be able to put it away when you’re not using it.

What’s The Hoop Size?

You should also consider the hoop size of the machine. This is the amount of space that your design will be able to take up. You’ll be able to find this information in the product description.

As a general rule, the bigger the hoop size, the more expensive the monogram machine will be. Often, if you want to use it for commercial designs, you’ll need a larger hoop size than someone who is taking up monogramming as a hobby.

Conclusion

Monogramming can be a fun hobby, allowing you to make your clothes stand out.

As we’ve seen, there are a few criteria that you might want to think about to make sure that you choose the perfect machine for you.

With dozens of different options available, the choice can sometimes seem overwhelming.

If you want a few more tips, or to read some excellent reviews on popular options, check out this monogram machines analysis. You can use this information to find an excellent machine for you so that you can start exploring this hobby today.

Embroidered Pincushion Tutorial

June 27, 2020 · Leave a Comment

It could be possible to become addicted to pincushions. Like having an collection of pretty teacups, pincushions can be as different as you want them to be and pretty as you like. There are so many different ways to make them and, because they are little things, you can use scraps that are too big to throw away but too small to use for a larger project.

This embroidered pincushion is part of a kit that I’ve been developing. I wanted to call it the Safe At Home kit, but as the extra time people kept telling me I was going to have never appeared, it’s taking me a while to finish it!

The other projects in the kit are this bunting, and this needle case.

UPDATE: The kits have finally been completed and you can find them here!

Anyway, the last project is now finished and here it is, an embroidered pincushion!

It can be sewn entirely by hand, or you could speed things up a bit and use the sewing machine to sew the pincushion together.

The embroidery design is free to download, but I do ask for an email address. You can find out more about why I do this here. The form is at the bottom of the post.

Making the Embroidered Pincushion

You Will Need

Scraps of felt in pretty colours
Embroidery thread
Polyester filling, sawdust or emery sand to fill your pincushion
2 buttons
Pattern pieces and the embroidery design. You can either download mine (the form’s at the bottom), or you could make your own.

Cutting Out

You will need 2 circles the same size, and one circle a little bit smaller.

Embroidering the Design

I used lazy daisies, fern stitch, woven wheels and French knots. It’s worth remembering that odd numbers of things usually look better, but you can do what you like! Just remember to leave a space in the middle for the button.

Sewing the Pincushion Together

Attach the embroidered section to one of the larger circles. You could hand sew it or use your sewing machine.

Place the other larger circle on top of the embroidery. Sew around the edge, leaving a gap.

Trim the seam if you need to. Turn the pincushion the right way out. Fill it with your chosen material. It will need to be firm to make it easiest for pushing the pins in.

Take a plain button (this one will be at the bottom) and tie the end of length of thread to it. You might want to use a stronger thread for this, or you could use ordinary sewing thread doubled.

Now push the needle through the centre of the pincushion from bottom to top.

Thread a pretty button onto the needle. Pass the thread through, then back into the pincushion and through the button at the bottom.

Do this a few times and pull it tight. Cut the thread and tie it off.

If you wanted to turn this into a wrist pincushion, you could attach it to a piece of elastic, or make a strap for it like this one.

If you like pincushions, I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to them here!

Embroidered Felt Bunting Tutorial

April 26, 2020 · 3 Comments

I’ve been selling craft kits on Etsy for a while now, and, as ideas go, it’s proved to be one of my better ones.

When I opened a shop on Etsy I had no idea what I was doing and I only hit on the craft kits idea about 5 years in. I wrote a post about it here (and if you want to know what one of my worst ideas was, it was this!).

With one thing and another, it’s been about a year since I added anything new.

Sales of my craft kits are healthy at the moment, probably because people want a nice little project to work on while they’re staying safe at home.

Feeling a little bit of creativity returning last week, I started cooking up a new kit.

I’m finding that I want to make things because making things makes me feel happier and calmer. With the situation being as it is however, I don’t feel up to anything to long or complicated. Also this ton of extra time I was supposed to have hasn’t turned up! So little things that can be picked up and worked on for a few minutes are probably better than longer, more involved things.

If this is true for me at the moment, it’s going to be true for other people too!

The kit will include some pieces of felt, ribbon and trim, embroidery thread and little beads. There’ll be a guide to embroidery stitches and a booklet with 4 or 5 little projects in them that can be made with the contents of the kit.

I’ve finished the first project. Predictably it’s felt bunting! I’m sharing this so that everybody has the option of making it even if they don’t want to buy a kit. And if you get the emails, I’ll be sending out the link to the pdf version of the booklet of projects once it’s done.

UPDATE: The kits have finally been completed and they can be found here!

Instructions For Making Embroidered Felt Bunting

To Make Felt Bunting, You Will Need

Felt in pretty colours. I chose a mint green, a salmony pink and white and I bought it from this lady on Etsy. This isn’t an affiliate link; I just want to do my bit to support small businesses.

Embroidery thread in complimentary colours. I used 2 shades of sage green, salmon pink and grey.

Trim. Bias binding is good. You could use ribbon, lace or whatever you have.

Cutting Out

Cut 4 triangles from 1 colour and 3 from the other. You could cut the same number of each, but odd numbers usually look better.

Cut 3 smaller triangles from white felt.

If you don’t want to make your own templates, you can have mine, plus the embroidery design, in exchange for an email address. The form is at the bottom of the post.

Embroidering the Flags

I used lazy daisies, woven wheels, fern stitch and French knots.

You could copy my design or do your own. I’d recommend odd numbers of things (although I have broken this rule!). Start with larger things then add smaller ones where there is space. It’s probably a good idea to sketch some ideas first, as it’s much easier to rub out ideas that don’t work or that you don’t like than to unpick a lot of sewing!

Assembling the Bunting

Lay out the larger flags alternating the colours. On top of the 1st, 4th and 7th flags place an embroidered flag.

Pin the trim to the tops of the triangles. Remember to leave a bit at each end for tying! If you’re using bias binding, you could fold the binding in half lengthways and slip the flags inside.

Sew the trim to the flags. If you’ve used bias binding, you’ll need to sew the ends too.

Now all you need to do is find somewhere to put your felt bunting! I like to hang mini bunting on my dresser.

If you’d like the templates and the embroidery design, please fill in the form below.

Hand Lettering For Embroidery

January 19, 2020 · 2 Comments

Hand Lettering For Embroidery

What is Hand Lettering?

Hand lettering has been a thing for a couple of years now, and having tried it myself, I can tell you that it is both easy and fun!

It doesn’t matter if you consider yourself not very artistic or if you don’t naturally have beautiful handwriting.

All it takes is a little bit of practice. You don’t even need any special equipment, just a pen, a pencil and and some paper!

I discovered hand lettering 2 years ago, and although my handwriting is not naturally beautiful (it could even be described on occasion as awful!), I have produced some things I’m quite pleased with, including the design for my tote bags.

bunting makes everything better tote bag handlettering for embroidery

So having tried hand letting and found it enjoyable and quite easy, I decided to have a go at handlettering for embroidery.

Hand Lettering and Embroidery Projects

What I found was that hand lettering for embroidery is exactly the same as hand lettering with a pen, just with a needle and thread!

My first attempt resulted in these Christmas embroidery hoops. The words are embroidered in a hand lettered style. I actually made these for All Free Sewing’s National Sewing Month in 2018.

I was in a hurry to get them made because we were going on holiday, and I don’t think a project has ever come together so quickly! The hoops were designed, made and written up within a week!

So hand lettering for embroidery can be good for a quick project, although you can make it longer and more complicated if you want to.

Hand lettering: The Quick Version

Before giving handlettering for embroidery a whirl, it’s a good idea to practise with a pencil and paper first.

The first thing to do is to write out your word or phrase in your neatest joined up handwriting. You’ll need to write the letters larger than usual, which can be a challenge for those of us with small writing!

Make sure you space everything out a bit too, because you’ll be making some of the lines thicker and you need to have room on the paper to do that.

It might not be perfect first time, so keep practising! If you’re finding that the letters are all over the place, you might find it helpful to draw some lines as a guide.

When you’re happy with your word or phrase, the next step is to make the downstrokes of the letters thicker.

So look at your word or phrase, and whenever your pencil moved downwards to make part of a letter, add another line on the inside. If there’s a bit of a gap between the line and the rest of the letter, shade it in with you pencil.

It can be hard knowing when to stop sometimes, and if you’re not careful you might end up thickening all the lines! As a general rule, only thicken the line until it starts to change direction.

Once you’ve done this, go over it with a pen. My favourite pens are these because they write nicely, they’re waterproof and they don’t smudge.

Give it a little while for the ink to dry, then rub out the pencil marks.

As I’ve already said, you probably won’t get perfect results straight away. But if you keep practising you will get better. I noticed a marked improvement after only 3 or 4 attempts, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t like your first attempt!

If you descide that you love handlettering and you want to do more of it, I recommend Handlettering For Relaxation by Amy Latta.

Embroidering Your Design

To embroider your design, you go about it in exactly the same way.

If you’re feeling confident, you could lightly sketch the word of phrase onto your fabric with a pencil, chalk or a washable pen suitable for this kind of thing.

Otherwise, trace the design onto the fabric.

(If you need to know about transferring embroidery designs to fabric, you might like to take a look at this post here.)

I wouldn’t bother with transferring the thicker lines, just the first lines so that you get the word onto the fabric with the letters the correct size and in the right place.

Now start to embroider over the lines that you have drawn using back stitch. Although the advice is usually to try to keep your stitches the same size so that they look neat, this advice doesn’t apply when you are embroidering letters. The straight parts of the letters look neater if you use longer stitches, but the curves will look better if you sew smaller ones.

There are instructions for sewing backstitch in this post here if you need them.

Once you’ve done this, find the downstrokes on the letters and add another row of stitches. Depending on the size of your letters you might need to add a second row of stitches to the whole word and a third row to the downstrokes.

Finishing Your Design

You might be happy to leave it as it is. It’s your design so it’s up to you!

However, if you want to add something to it, here are some suggestions. I’d recommend trying them out on paper first!

Put your design inside a wreath. You could draw a circle and add leaves, either freehand or by drawing round a bowl/ plate/ roll of sellotape. I acually think that circles that aren’t perfect have a rustic charm that’s much nicer than a perfect circle. It can be hard to draw them though, so another option is to go round and round a few times in the style of a willow wreath.

You can then sew over this using back stitch and add leaves, flowers, buds or berries. Woven wheels make nice flowers as do French knots. Seed beads also work, and that’s what I used on my little Christmas hoops.

Add some flowers underneath the text. Again, woven wheels make good flowers, or you could sew lazy daisies to make the kind with petals, or fern stitch for the kind on a long stalk.

Bunting. The answer to everything! If in doubt, add bunting! You could embroider it like I did here, or applique some little triangles to your design.

To display your embroidery, embroidery hoops are idea;, or you could pop it in a frame. You might have a plan for it already, and want to use it as part of something else, perhaps a purse or a notebook cover.

If you make something, I’d love to see! You can either share it on the Tea and a Sewing Machine Facebook page, post it on Instagram and tag me (@annaatteaandasewingmachine) so that I’ll see it, or send me a picture at teaandasewingmachine@gmail.com.

How To Transfer Embroidery Patterns To Fabric

January 11, 2020 · 4 Comments

How To Transfer Embroidery Patterns To Fabric

This post contains affiliate links.

***Are you looking for an embroidery project? The photos used in this post are from an embroidery project I’ve designed for us to do together! The text is a line from one of my favourite songs, Let The Bells Ring by Kate Rusby. It’s fitting for the start of a new year, but is good advice at any time! For more information about the project and to download the free pattern, click here.***

If you’ve made your own pattern to be embroidered, or if you’ve downloaded one from internetland, one of your first jobs will be to transfer the pattern to your fabric.

Over the years, I’ve discovered several different ways to transfer an embroidery design to fabric. Some of them are conventional, some of them are less so!

I’ll get to those in a minute, but a couple of tips first.

Tip 1is that the best method for transferring your pattern will depend on the fabric you’ve chosen, and on the level of detail and complexity of the pattern. It’s one of the reasons why having a few things up your sleeve is always useful! You can use what is best in the circumstances.

Tip 2 is to not worry about transferring all the lines onto the fabric. It’s to give yourself a guide when sewing.

With my current project, I traced the lettering, the flowers at the bottom, the circle of the garland and the leaves on the outside. I need to know where things are, and how big the letters are, but I don’t need all the little details. For example the buds on the garland are easy enough to copy. I didn’t need them drawn onto the fabric. And if it looks wrong, I can always unpick it!

how to transfer embroidery patterns to fabric

Tip 3 is to use either a washable fabric pen or a pencil. If you’re using a pencil, try to keep the lines light so that they won’t be visible when you’ve finished your sewing. A biro won’t do. It might sound obvious, but I don’t want anybody complaining that I didn’t say!

Trace It

The most obvious and the easiest way to transfer embroidery patterns to fabric!

This works best if the fabric you’re using is lightweight and is a pale colour. It also helps if the lines of the design are black or very dark grey so that you can see them through the fabric.

If your pattern is a digital one and the lines are not black, you could try printing it in black and white.

If this doesn’t work and the lines are still too faint, you might need to go over it with a black pen.

Trace It Using a Light Box

With thicker fabric, tracing might not work. If this is the case, you could use a light box.

A light box is basically a box made from opaque white plastic with a bulb inside. The light is diffused through the plastic, enabling enough light to pass through so that you can see the design through the fabric.

Alternatives To a Light Box

If you don’t have a light box and you don’t want to buy one, there are alternatives.

Alternative #1 A Window

All you have to do here is tape your design with the fabric over it to the window. It will work better if sunlight isn’t coming in directly through the window. A cloudy day is good for this, or a window away from direct sunlight.

Alternative #2 A Computer Screen or A Tablet

This is my favourite option if tracing doesn’t work.

A word of warning though: don’t press too hard or you’ll break the screen! Tablet screens are tougher than laptop screens, but please be careful!

Once you’ve turned the laptop/ tablet on, turn the brightness of the screen up and find something white to display on your screen. Opening a new document on Google Docs will do the trick.

Carefully stick your pattern with the fabric over it onto your screen.

If you can, stick it behind so that it’s on the outside of the laptop or tablet. If you can’t avoid sticking things to the screen, use washi tape or something else that’s not very sticky so it won’t damage the screen.

Use a soft pencil or a fabric pen to gently trace the design.

Print the Design Onto the Fabric

I have tried this several times and it is my least favourite method for transferring embroidery designs to fabric!

The main thing here is to make your fabric as much like a piece of card as possible, and to tape down all the edges so that any loose threads don’t get caught up inside the printer.

You can use freezer paper by ironing it onto the wrong side of the fabric, then taping down the edges, or you can stick it to a piece of card.

I have used washi tape to stick the edges down as it is easy to remove. The disadvantage with this is that it’s not very wide, so it’s difficult to get all of the edges stuck down and loose threads contained.

Once this is done, pop the fabric in the paper tray with the fabric face down. Then hit print.

I have found that this method sometimes works, but when it doesn’t fabric gets wasted because it gets ruined in the printer.

Also the amount of time it takes sticking it all down, untangling the threads from the printer’s insides and reprinting when it goes wrong means that it actually isn’t any quicker than the other methods.

Dressmakers’ Carbon Paper

Using dressmakers’ carbon paper usually works fairly well, but if you’re new to it, it might take a few goes until you get the hang of it.

It comes in a variety of colours. For light coloured fabric, I’ve found that the blue works best, although red works quite well too. I haven’t tried using it on dark coloured fabric. The official advice is to use a colour that’s close to the fabric colour, but I couldn’t see it!

To transfer the design, put the carbon paper over the fabric with the coloured side down. Pop the embroidery pattern on top, then trace over it with a pencil or a dried out biro.

You might have to press quite hard. It’s a good idea to try it out first on a scrap piece of fabric.

Tissue Paper

Using tissue paper is a traditional method used to transfer embroidery patterns to fabric. If you buy an embroidery pattern already printed, there’s a good chance it will be on tissue paper.

The way this works is that you pin the pattern to the fabric, then sew the design through the paper and the fabric. When you’ve finished, you pull the tissue paper away.

It has the advantage that no marks will be left on your fabric.

On the downside you might have to spend quite a lot of time pulling tiny bits of tissue paper out of your stitches with tweezers.

Stick n Stitch

I haven’t actually used this method, although it’s one I want to try!

Stick n Stitch is a water soluble stabiliser. To use it, print the design onto the fabric side (it will probably need to be fabric side down when you put it into the paper tray of your printer, but check first).

Stick the design to the fabric, then sew over it. When you’ve finished, cut away as much of the Stick n Stitch as you can, then wash it off. Lisa from Cucicucicoo explains how to do this with pictures here.

I’m not pretending to be an expert here, and there might be other ways to transfer embroidery patterns to fabric that I’ve not mentioned. If you have a favourite not listed here, then feel free to add it in the comments!

Don’t forget, if you want a project, you can download Just Take With You What Makes Your Heart Glad here.

You might also be interested to know that I have craft kits for sale on Etsy here, including some embroidery ones.

How Often Will You Be Using It?

How Many Functions Does The Machine Have?

How Much Does The Machine Cost?

How Big Is The Machine?

What’s The Hoop Size?

Conclusion

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Making the Embroidered Pincushion

You Will Need

Cutting Out

Embroidering the Design

Sewing the Pincushion Together

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Instructions For Making Embroidered Felt Bunting

To Make Felt Bunting, You Will Need

Cutting Out

Embroidering the Flags

Assembling the Bunting

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Hand Lettering For Embroidery

What is Hand Lettering?

Hand Lettering and Embroidery Projects

Hand lettering: The Quick Version

Embroidering Your Design

Finishing Your Design

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How To Transfer Embroidery Patterns To Fabric

Trace It

Trace It Using a Light Box

Alternatives To a Light Box

Alternative #1 A Window

Alternative #2 A Computer Screen or A Tablet

Print the Design Onto the Fabric

Dressmakers’ Carbon Paper

Tissue Paper

Stick n Stitch

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