What fun!  150 embroiderers under one roof in St. Louis, Mo. Everyone braved the cold - 10 degrees in the morning! - to get an early start on the day.  Some came with friends and sisters, many made new friends. They stitched, they edited designs on the Baby Lock machines; fell in love with the NeedleCam™ Digital Camera on the Baby Lock Ellisimo; and hooped with regular hoops, Magna-Hoop and Magna-Quilter.  They learned what hoop works best for what task.  They stitched on satin, silk flowers, grosgrain, fur, terrycloth, knits, quilt sandwiches, flannel and cottons.

They used a variety of embroidery tools - target rulers, centering rulers, placement templates, glue sticks, Angle Finders and target stickers. Each team (27 of them) completed 12 projects over the two days. We talked about stabilizers, designing fashion embroidery and large scale embroidery compositions, thread coverage and proper hooping technique. We talked about navigating in the hoop - at the beginning of the design and during a mishap. We showed over a hundred sewn samples of embroidery.  Marie and I fielded questions on everything from 'how do I hoop a onesie' to 'how do I start an embroidery business'.

Everyone was immersed in embroidery - talking about it, looking at it, wearing it and stitching it. But it wasn't all work - there were some great meals provided by Jackmans - especially the chocolate fountain, their signature dish!  And no chocolate disasters - a few brown, shiny mustaches (so much more in vogue than the old milk mustache!) but no chocolate smears on fabrics.

Join me for my next event in Madison, Tennessee, just a stone's throw from the Grand Ole Opry.  Visit www.sallychaney.com for more information or call the store directly at 615-859-0038.  I know many of you have full-time commitments during the week so I scheduled two one-day workshops on a weekend to accommodate your busy schedule.  See you in Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 20 or Sunday Feb. 21!  

The Stitching Sisters are embarking on a 6-city tour to teach over 400 embroiderers in 2-day, hands-on seminars.  We start in Longview, WA on Sept. 18, 2009 and end on Nov. 14, 2009 in Tampa, Fla - with four stops in between.  We are pumped!  We've been planning this and working on the details for months now and just can't wait to get on the road and meet other Stitching Sisters.

These events couldn't happen without the generous support of some the nation's most successful sewing machine dealers. The Stitching Sisters handle all the kits and tools but the dealers supply the classroom, machines and oh yes - the food!  The dealers also provide talented staff members to assist during the two-day event.  And believe me, do we need them - 25 machines, 100 students in a classroom is quite an event!  We haven't had a mishap yet because the Baby Lock and Brother machines are so user-friendly and extremely dependable. The editing features are a delight to show students - everyone goes home with a new-found respect for what these machines can do.  And many go home not only with that new-found respect but also a new machine!  There are great deals to be made at these events.  It's also the only time you can buy Designs' product at a discount.  So if you've been yearning to purchase some of Designs' tools or hoops, this would be the time and place to do it. 

Marie and I hope to see you this Fall.  The Stitching Sisters Embroidery Bash is a great girls-get-away, so grab a friend or come by yourself. Join us for two days of embroidery education, new friends, new techniques and great food! Just bring yourself - no machines or class supplies to cart.  We'll have everything ready for you.  Here's the schedule:

SOLD OUT

Sept. 18-19, 2009 

Longview Sew & Vac

Longview, WA

               360-578-2628        

Oct. 16-17, 2009

SOLD OUT

Montavilla Sewing & Vacuum

Portland, OR

               503-254-7317        

Oct. 25-25, 2009

B Sew Inn

Springfield, MO

               866-961-8209        

 http://www.bsewinn.com/product.php?productid=2827&cat=142&page=1

Oct. 28-29, 2009

B Sew Inn  http://www.bsewinn.com/product.php?productid=2828&cat=142&page=1

Oklahoma City, OK

877-415-702

Nov.  6-7, 2009

Rocky Mountain Sew & Vac

Littleton, CO

               303-979-2334        

Nov. 13-14, 2009

SOLD OUT

Keep Me In Stitches

Tampa, FL

               813-908-2334        

September 11, 2009

I get tons of questions about embroidery - hooping, stabilizer, placement and the like. I understand that many embroiderers still struggle with the basic elements of embroidery. The embroidery machine manufacturers offer us wonderful new features with every new machine. But we're still challenged on landing an embroidery design exactly where we want it on the fabric.

I've learned the key to success in any embroidery project is planning. Planning on where to place the design, select the proper stabilizer and find the correct hoop for the job. I've also learned that planning is whole lot easier when you have the right tools. The first tool I start with is a printed template of the embroidery design. I print on vellum - available in the scrap book section of most craft stores - because it's sturdy and translucent. If you've never created a template, you'll be amazed how easy it is to do and how valuable they are.

Insert a sheet of vellum into your printer. Open your embroidery design in embroidery software (any embroidery editing software will work). Go to File, Print and click OK. A printed image of your design will appear on the vellum. Most likely the image will have a cross hair to designate the center of the design. Now, place the template on the fabric in the intended spot. If you need to center the design on a pocket or cuff, use a centering ruler (three sizes are found in the Embroidery Tool Kit).

Just position the template on the zero mark of the ruler. Remove the ruler then slide a target sticker (found in Designs' Embroidery Tool Kit) under the template, aligning the crosshair. Now remove the template. Your center point is marked and you won't have to deal with the cumbersome vellum template during the hooping process.



 

Time to select the hoop - pick the smallest hoop available for the design. If using a spray adhesive, protect your hoop with Hoop Guards (found in the Embroidery Tool Kit). You'll never have to clean a sticky hoop again.

To make sure you're hooped straight, there are a number of tools to aid in that task. First, adhere Adhesive Centering Rulers to the hoop (these highly visible marks make alignment a breeze).




 

Another handy tool is Target Rulers - large crosshairs (comes in two sizes) with a hole in the center for the target sticker. Place the Target Ruler over the target sticker. Make sure the Target Ruler is parallel and perpendicular to the edges of the hoop. If so, you're ready to press go.



 

If not, use the Angle Finder to determine how many degrees you must rotate the design (on the machine's editing screen) to land the design exactly how you planned.

The right tools make your planning process so smooth - you'll be stitching mistake-free right away! 

Click image below to watch a video demonstration! 

Want more information on the Embroidery Tool Kit?  Click here for more information.

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