Sew Much More - Updates from Let's Go Sew Labor Day LIVE show

The inspiration for this LIVE show revolved around the fist item I ever stitched together and the first garment I ever embroidered. Looking at both of them, I took a trip back in time. I thought about how I managed to make them and how I would make improvements if making them as my current self, after sewing now for many decades and embroidering for over 30 years.

Here is the apron I made in junior high as my first project assignment:

Some of the topstitching wavers a bit, but I was actually surprised at how even it looked. Maybe my teacher gave me some good tips, and maybe I was just fortunate the first time around. I do believe I was "born to sew." Believing my ability to sew and create is a gift from God, THE Creator, sewing came very naturally to me. However, I readily admit that topstitching is often a challenge. This show highlights some tips for improving the accuracy and quality of your topstitching.

Machine embroidery came much later in my sewing journey. I purchased the first home sewing and embroidery combo machine on the market in the early 90's. Wow! What a stir it created in the sewing world of that date and time. I think sewing was withering a bit in that era and the ability to embellish all manner of creations with superb machine embroidery set the sewing world on fire. Other than a few color pictures incuded with the manual, in the early days there was virtually no inspirational and educational materials produced to compliment the machine and help with the "how tos." Being an enthusiastic garment maker, I wanted to adorn a favorite vest pattern with a paisley motif on my checked fabric. Here you see the results:

At that time placement was still a mystery and hoops were small. Being a highly visual person as most stitchers are, I needed a way to "picture" the designs on my vest pieces as they were cut but not yet sewn together.

Necessity was the mother of invention so I stitched out a sample of the design on scrap fabric, then proceeded to trace over it onto clear plastic, the kind made for overhead projectors. Using that as my "template, I was able to get a pretty good idea of where I wanted to place my designs. If I had it to do all over again I would have done some flipping of the designs but I don't think mirror imaging was even an option at that point. Being my first machine embroidered embellished garment I wore it with joy for quite some time. Indeed, today printable templates make the placement perfect regardless of the model machine you have, albeit many models have bells and whistles to assist with this task. I still love using templates to audition my designs before I hoop and use them for perfect placement along with other helpful tools.

I hope you'll watch the replay of the LIVE show if you haven't seen it yet. You can watch the entire video below:

Click to set custom

As promised in the video, I want to share some resources to add to the show, answer some questions asked during the show, and also give you more help for both topstitching and for using templates. Here goes!

Resources for Topstitching Tips

Pick the right needle was tip #1. CLICK HERE to check out the following blog post with my featured guest Rhonda Pierce, spokesperson for Schmetz Needles of North America. ​CLICK HERE for a comprehensive, downloadable needle guide.

Choose a foot for the task was tip #2. There are many feet that function as a best friend for topstitching. I wrote a post with more info about Bi-Level feet HERE. We also talked about walking feet and adding attachments. CLICK HERE for lots more on this topic.

An Edge Joining foot or Stitch in the Ditch foot really help for accurate topstitching, especially when you take advantage of the ability to shift your needle from right to left when using a straight stitch. You might also have the option to add a Stitch in the Ditch foot to your brand of walking foot.

The Adjustable Blind Hem foot is another favorite for topstitching due to the ability to move the onboard edge guide and have it flow right along the edge as you stitch.

In the video you also heard me sing the praises of the Straight Stitch Foot and coordinating plate if available.

Here are some direct links to projects featuring the aforementioned feet:

Stitch in the Ditch (Note: In this post you'll also see how I use gridlines to keep multiple rows of stitching evenly spaced.)

Edge Joining (I used this foot to add ribbon to a purchased pashmina.)

Adjustable Blind Hem foot (Topstitching on a tote proves this foot is NOT just for blind hems.)

Tip #3 highlighted the benefits of a Straight Stitch Foot and Plate. CLICK HERE to learn more about why this foot is so useful, especially for fine fabrics.)

I mentioned the fact that Angela Wolf likes to use a triple straight stitch for topstitching on jeans. She's famous for her jeans patterns and even has a course to go along with the pattern. I've enjoyed this course myself you and yo may enjoy it too! *CLICK HERE for more info.

Now for the Topic of Templates!

Using Dime Print & Stick Target Paper templates is my “go to” method for design placement. Depending on your machine capabilities, you may have other options for aligning designs. I usually use the Print & Stick paper for templates I'll use more than once. You can print on ordinary computer paper too but you'll have to tape it in place.

Software for printing templates - Embroidery Tool Shed is a free program from my friends at Dime. It's sew easy to print a template using Embroidery Tool Shed. Follow the steps below:

1. Open your design in Embroidery Tool Shed Software.
2. In the File Menu, select "print"
3. In Print Preview, you can select "Settings" and mark the checkboxes next to: realistic, crosshairs, actual size, stitches.
4. Choose the print button when you're ready. 

While I do have many options available technology wise, I use templates to see each design in full size and create artistic layouts of embroidery designs for nearly all of my projects. Feel free to use templates in combination with “special tools” built in to your machine. Templates allow for auditioning designs with a realistic preview, not matter you machine's capabilities. Audtion designs on a table or on a dress form if you're making a garment. Templates are the perfect way to preview designs before taking your first stitch.

I've written about and talked about tmeplates in a variety of venues. Here are some resources for you to check out:

My Just Jackets Design Collection includes a detailed tutorial for perfect placement with templates.

This blouse project shows templates with the added use of the snowman marker.

In this video excerpt for SMP I showed steps for hooping using a template for alignment.

I hope this extra information helps you experience more happy sewing time in your sewing space. Please feel free to leave your comments and any other questions you may have for me. I'm happy to help!