Five Tips From the Cookies For Santa Mat DIME Cover Project
The applique Santa Claus from Jump Rope Designs, and Tinker Toy font are perfect. I'll give you five tips that will make your project even better.
1. Use textured fabrics.
Try using wool felt for the hat, a Minky for the hat brim and ball, and a wooly fabric for the beard. They add interest and dimension to an already adorable applique design.
2. Don't forget about your scraps.
Even small scraps can be used in applique projects. Specialty fabrics like wool felt and Minky can be a bit pricey, so keep scraps handy. Some people keep their scraps separated by color, others by type. Do whatever works for you. Store them in a plastic zip bag, tote, or decorative box.
3. Use a topper on dimensional fabrics.
Tape a piece (or even scrap pieces) of a topper, such as Sulky Solvy or AllStitch Stitch-n-Heat, over the beard fabric. It works well with Minky and some felts, too. That keeps the stitching from sinking into the nap of the fabric. With the fabric I used for the beard in my magazine project, the topper also kept the curls under control. It was a nightmare to work with because it made such a mess when it is cut, but it is perfect for projects such as this.
4. Leave the topper in place until the project is done.
When the beard fabric was tacked down and trimmed, I flipped the excess topper over the trimmed beard before stitching the satin stitches. It just added an extra layer of cover over the unruly curls and allowed for a neater satin stitched edge. I didn't tear off the topper until the entire project was finished. It protected the beard fabric from getting tangled in the presser foot when removing and replacing the hoop during embroidery.
5. Clip jump threads as you go.
Clipping jump threads as you go eliminates having to dig them out from under other stitches later and gives you a much cleaner stitchout. With this text, I clipped after the jump. The clipped thread stood up out of the way and I didn't need to clip the other end until stitching was done.
These tips will be helpful with most any embroidery project.
Debbie SewBlest