Snowman Sweatshirt Jacket

Being a cold natured person, I love making jackets out of sweatshirts.  They are warm and comfortable. This is one that would be perfect for the child in your life. (Adults would love it also.)

To make the jacket, you will need:

Sweatshirt

Snowman and snowflake embroidery designs - I used two resized designs from Dakota Collectible's Button Up collection 970458

Fuzzy white yarn, other yarn or narrow ribbon of your choice

Snowflake buttons and other buttons for decorations (You might find some of them in your "stash".)

Lightweight cut away stabilizer such as a no show mesh

To begin the project, find the center front of the sweatshirt by folding in half matching the shoulder and underarm seams.  Mark a line down the center front.  On a dark shirt, I use an almost gone piece of soap from the shower.  It makes an easily seen line and can be removed with a mist of water.

                                                                    For this child's shirt, you will make a grid with the lines 3 ¼ inches apart.  Use a ruler with a 45 degree line.  Place the ruler so that the 45 degree marking lines up with the center front line.  Mark the lines in one direction and then in the other to form the grid as shown.

You are now ready to cut the shirt down the center front and embroider.  The designs I used from the ButtonUp Collection are too large for this child's shirt.  I used resizing software to reduce the size to no larger than 2" X 2 ½".  Dakota Collectibles' AlphaSizer Max software does a great job of resizing any design. 

A lightweight cut away stabilizer such as a no show mesh is perfect to use for this shirt.  You do not have to hoop the shirt with the stabilizer.  You can hoop the stabilizer only then spray the stabilizer after hooping with a temporary adhesive spray, and stick the shirt down to the stabilizer. For added security pin the shirt to the stabilizer being careful not to get the pins in the embroidery area.  I also drew a plus mark in the center of the square to help align the shirt with the notches on my hoop to be sure the design was correctly placed.

 After embroidering the designs in the squares you selected, you are ready to sew down the decorative yarn. 

I chose to use a straight stitch sewn down the middle of the yarn which followed the grid lines I had drawn before embroidering.  If your yarn is thinner, you can couch it on with a zig zag stitch.

       I sewed a large button in the center of the snowflakes and a small one on the knot of the snowman's scarf.  You could use some hot fix crystals around the designs to further embellish them if you wanted.  In the squares I chose not to embroider, I sewed a snowflake button.  These can be found in almost all fabric stores and Hobby Lobby.

To finish the center front edges, turn about ½ inch to the inside and hand whip stitch the edges down with thread that matches the shirt.  You could straight stitch the edges to the inside with your machine if you choose.

Thanks for considering this project for the child in your life.

Virginia

I think its time to start some of the projects I want to do for the holidays.  I usually wait too long to actually accomplish them as things get very busy as December draws near.

Dakota Collectibles has a new “Merry Christmas Ornaments” collection that combines free standing lace and appliqué for some very pretty ornaments.  When I read the instructions that came with the designs, an idea came to me about using them for name tags for gifts.  The appliqué part of the design is made double sided so the ornament is the same on both sides. Using water soluble stabilizer that is melted away after embroidering insures that the design is the same on both sides.

To make the design double sided, you simply iron a paper backed fusible web on the back of the appliqué fabric, peel off the paper and iron fabric on the back.  When this fabric is used for the appliqué in the design and your bobbin thread matches your top thread, the ornament is the same on both sides.

This was my idea – simply iron a piece of white fabric or some other light colored fabric to the back of the appliqué material sandwich instead of the piece that matched the front. 

Hoop two pieces of water soluble stabilizer and embroider the placement line.

Place fabric sandwich with colored side up on placement line and embroider tackdown outline.  Without removing from hoop, trim as close as possible to stitching.

Place hoop back on machine and complete the design.  Remove the design from the hoop and trim stabilizer close to the ornament. Also trim the stabilizer only from the inside of the outline stitching on the back of the ornament.

Rinse the remaining stabilizer from the ornament sides, and the lace part of the design (star). Lay the ornament aside to dry completely.

You can now use a permanent fine tipped marker to write on the light colored fabric and have an eye catching gift tag for those special gifts under your tree.  Or try them as place cards for a holiday party.  The Christmas tree, Santa’s bag, the angel, and several others would work well.

 If you are an experienced embroiderer, you could also make a template of the trimmed appliqué piece and use that template to embroider a name on the light colored fabric before ironing it on the back of the appliqué sandwich.  The template would ensure the name was in the correct position when you inserted it into your design.

Check out this new “Merry Christmas Ornaments” collection from Dakota!

Hello all!  I am Virginia, an embroidery enthusiast and an educator for Dakota Collectibles.   I love creating things with embroidery and thought it would be fun to share my projects and ideas with others, so I am entering the world of blogging.  I use Dakota Collectibles' designs for my projects.  Dakota Collectibles design collections can be found on Ann the Gran's site here . This is my first blog with Ann the Gran, so please let me know what you think about what I have shared here.

Easy Trick or Treat Bags

Halloween will be here before we know it.  One of my favorite projects is trick or treat bags made from vinyl replacement screen that you use for windows or doors.  It is available at most big box hardware stores and also at some Wal Marts.  You can purchase it in large amounts or small amounts or sometimes by the yard.  Be sure you get the vinyl and not the real wire screen.

Supplies needed for the bag:

Vinyl screen

Black tear away stabilizer

Ribbon in amounts to decorate the bag around the top and to form the handle

Halloween embroidery designs.  (Mine were from Dakota Collectibles packs Halloween #970206 and Glow in the Dark Pack #970313) .

Bags can be made in any size.  For the largest one in the picture above, you need the screen cut  22” h x 11” w.  Measure down from top 8 inches.  Draw a horizontal line with my favorite marking tool (leftover slivers of soap from the shower).  This line will be the bottom edge of the bag. 

To center the design, make another horizontal line half of that distance – 4 inches.  Then mark the center of the width of the bag with a vertical line - 5 ½ inches.  This will give you the center mark for your embroidery design.

Hoop the black tear away stabilizer only and pin the marked screen to the stabilizer, lining up the markings with the center notches on your hoop.  Be sure the pins are well outside the embroidery design area.

Embroider the design, remove from the hoop and tear away the stabilizer.

The side seams of the bag are sewn next.  I use a French seam as it helps to strengthen the sides of the bag and a little one will not be stuck with the “pokies” on the sides of the screen.  It will not actually stick into their fingers, but might give them a little sticking sensation.

If you have forgotten high school home ec classes, to make a French seam fold the bag with WRONG sides together and sew a quarter inch seam down both sides.

 Then turn the bag wrong side out, finger press the seams and sew another seam down the sides just wide enough to encase the previous  seam.

Leave the bag wrong side out and fold it with the side seam down the center of the side of the bag forming a triangle.  On this size bag, we planned a 4 inch wide bottom.  Measure across the triangle finding a 4 inch width.  Mark the place with a soap line.

Stitch along the line.  Repeat on the other side.  Then turn the bag right side out.  The work is done and the fun begins.

Turn 1/2 to 1 inch of the top edge of the bag to the outside and finger press. The amount you turn down depends on the width of the ribbon you plan to use.  Turning it to the outside allows the ribbon trim to cover the raw top edge.  Make a handle for the bag.  I used two different colors of ribbon back to back top stitched down both sides of the ribbon. You can make the handle the length you prefer.  Mine was 17 inches long.   Center the ends of the handle on the side seams far enough down so that it will be stitched into place with the decorative trim around the top of the bag. Pin into place.                                       

Use your favorite Halloween ribbon and top stitch both sides of the ribbon to the top of the bag.  Add bows, decorative buttons, or any other trim you like.  These are mine!!

If you don’t have any little ones to trick or treat, they make great decorations for Halloween or with other embroidered designs for  Thanksgiving or Christmas.  I used one on my desk last year to hold candy canes during the holiday season.

HAPPY HAUNTING!!

Thanks for reading my blog.   Virginia.