I figured out last week after attending the embroidery club gathering that I could hoop stabilizer, and so this week I have been working on long sleeve tee shirts for my youngest granddaughter. I order 2 packages of shirts from WalMart.com and washed them to “pre-shrink” when they arrived. She is just growing into a 4T and these might last her through the winter. I’ve enjoyed going through my various notebooks of designs and picking things that would suit her.
The first one I decided to make was called Trick or Treat Kitty —
I used variegated thread for the cat and the bat on the hat. (Say that fast!) Pleased with how we got a great striped cat, but not so much for the bat on top of the hat. I didn’t want to make a black bat on a black shirt, so I thought it would stand out with the variegated thread….a little disappointing. (Hindsight I should have used silver!)
The second shirt was called Garden Sketch Kitty –
This “sketch” design seemed a little light on the pumpkins and squash, and I ran the stitching a second time. I should have run it again on the yellow flower or chosen a bolder brighter yellow.
Next up were pink pumpkins on a blue shirt….
This “sketch” design put down a LOT of thread…and that’s good…because this thread by Superior Threads, GLOWS in the dark! (Not that a 2 year old will be “in the dark” very often…but it is fun. )
The next package of t-shirts were pastels, and I searched for “non-seasonal” designs in my notebooks.
This was the most challenging design of all with 3 pieces of applique and MANY thread changes. Can you tell what it is?
(This was the FAVORITE of this group of 4 shirts) She was very excited when her mother was showing her the shirts. I think it turned out well, in spite of me letting get a sleeve under the hoop and having to spend an HOUR unstitching 1 flower to release the sleeve…sigh…
Hooping those little t-shirts is a challenge, trying to keep all the stuff “out of the way” while it stitches.
The next two shirts I finished up this afternoon.
Who doesn’t want to ride on a pegasus unicorn on the carousel??
And the final one…I couldn’t resist!
All of these designs were for a 4×4 hoop, stitched out on my Brother PE500 machine. The designs were from Oh My Crafty Supplies.
I used Floriani Sticky back stabilizer in the hoop, and Floriani no show fusible mesh on the back of the shirt, and Floriani water soluble stabilizer on top. I also backed the shirt after removing from the hoop and clearing jump stitches with a soft product called Cloud Cover (brand unknown) that would keep the thread and stabilizers from scratching a small child. I used primarily Embroidex thread. (That variegated thread I was sent for free one year at Christmas from Embroidex).
These fun projects kept me busy this week!
What are YOU working on?
Stitching Grandma 
Every time I read a post about your embroidery projects, I get the urge to go out and replace mine. 🙂 I did my share of shirts but never as good looking as yours. Good tips on the stabilizer, and I wish we lived closer. 🙂 I’m working my way from gardening to sewing. I had repainted a bathroom in the spring, and when I got out the winter warm window curtain I realized it needed a new cover so I have done that this week. Now I need to get back to a small quilting project that is about one third done.
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I think the embroidery club was just what I needed to get me using the machine more. So many of my guild friends have embroidery machines and that helps with the learning curve! I was surprised when y I h said you sold yours. Like you, I have so many interesting things I want to do and focus can be a problem because I want to do everything! !
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happy to find a fellow machine embroider 🙂
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I have certainly enjoyed my little Brother PE500. I have “hoop envy” for those with bigger machines and hoops. We have a little group that gets together and we learn lots of skills from each other, and that would not be possible with a much bigger machine. It is for me a ‘secondary” hobby, but I do enjoy it. Sometimes I don’t touch the machine for many months, but the group that gets together has changed that. I was surprised how many members of our quilt guild (Ocean Waves Quilt Guild, Lewes DE) have embroidery machines !
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Embroidery is my first love for creating, I had an online business for 6 years and I have 5 embroidery machines — all single needle Babylock, and I do have the larger hoops. For years I only used the 5 x 7 hoop! Since I’ve retired I’m getting reacquainted with my machines! If you get a chance read my 2019 posts I share many embroidery projects. Having a group to sew with is fantastic — my vision is poor so I don’t drive any more- I haven’t found any embroidery groups near me –but have learned lots from the online community! Happy Stitching!
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