In The Hoop

Time to get hooping! My cutting table prior to the real mess. I discovered Off With Their Threads last week. They were having a sale and I couldn't resist picking some fun in the hoop (ITH) projects. I grabbed my tear-away stabilizer and hooped it up.

I decided to use this lime green vinyl I picked up at one of the big box fabric stores a while back. The strap for the claw clasp was a leftover from another project. This is the step in the project I realized I had taped it onto the work the wrong way. I grabbed my seam ripper and got that sorted out. 

I taped down the clasp before the final stitch out just to be sure the needle wouldn't hit it. 

Trimmed and ready for the final steps on the sewing machine. This project is not completely in the hoop but the last couple seams are quick on the machine.

Such a cute little pouch! I want to buy so many different printed vinyls so I can make more of these. 

Lined with a fun printed felt. 

What do you do with such a little pouch? Well, you stuff two or three face masks into it so you will always be prepared. 

Fun little project! I think I should make a couple more. Great to hang on your key ring or handbag.

Machine embroidery design: Off With Their Threads Mini Backpack

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Craft Clips with Tin Box Package, Pack of 100
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q
Magna-Glide bobbins (absolutely the best for my embroidery machine)
KAM snaps
Pellon Stitch-N-Tear, 20" by 30 yd, White
Premium Metal Lobster Claw Clasps - Wide 3/4 Inch D Ring

Machine Embroidery

I've had my eye on this machine embroidery design for a while now. I have plenty of gamer friends that would use one of these fun and easy to take along dice trays. 

Two layers of durable vinyl and some fun embroidery make this a quick and durable project, perfect for gift giving. The design is from String Theory Fabric Art. Direct link.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Fiskars 4-inch Curved Craft Scissors
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Magna-Glide bobbins (absolutely the best for my embroidery machine)
KAM snaps
Pellon Stitch-N-Tear

Machine Embroidery Snap Tabs

This weekend I had a terrible time managing to crank out a sock. Those of you who are here for all the other crazy projects I guess this is good news. For me, it was cranking five socks to have one suitable sock. I did manage to kitchener some of the toes on socks from last week, so I was productive. 

I decided to take a break from socks to stitch up a snap tab for a friend. 

The design is from String Theory Fabric Art. They have so many amazing and geeky designs.

I know a Star Wars person, or two, and this is the perfect small gift. If you are a machine embroiderer and want to check out String Theory, the Facebook page is a great place to start.

I also stitched this sweet design because I am what some people call a Browncoat. So many great projects and so little time.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Fiskars 4-inch Curved Craft Scissors
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Magna-Glide bobbins (absolutely the best for my embroidery machine)
KAM snaps
Pellon Stitch-N-Tear
3/4 Inch Swivel Trigger Snap Hooks

Applique Snap Tabs

I shared this fun fabric earlier in the week. Those round motifs begged to be put onto a snap tab. I sat down with my embroidery software and got to work. I already had the round snap tab design from my previous project with the D20 so I all I had to do was sort out the applique portion of the design. 

First I measured the outline of the motif and tried to add the applique portion. It turned out too small so I tried a couple more times. 

I did manage to get it to this point, which is pretty good. 

Here is the progression of the project. Machine embroidery isn't something that magically works the right time the first time. I wish it did but like so many other crafts it is something that takes practice to learn and get good at.

I picked the best of the bunch and finished them as snap tabs. I'm sure I'll use this design again with other fabrics. If you are interested in something like this please contact me through my Etsy shop and I'll set up a listing for you.

The snaps I purchased from Amazon: Kam Snaps Starter Kit (affiliate link)
The swivel trigger snap hooks (affiliate link) were also purchased on Amazon

I bought both the vinyl and the fabric at a big box fabric store.

Bravo Zulu, Coast Guard!

I've been continuing to work through the tutorials for my embroidery design software. It's slow going and I'm sure I'm only using part of what the software is capable of. I am learning, though.

I've had this design on my mind for a while now. If you aren't a sailor, or you don't know one, this might not make any sense. The two flags are Bravo and Zulu.

Bravo Zulu indicates a job well done. I wanted to tell a fellow sailor I thought they had done a good job on a recent project and this was my way of saying 'well done!' The final design isn't perfect, but it says what it needs to say and put a smile on at least one sailor's face, which was good enough for me.

For those of you that might not know, tomorrow the U.S. Coast Guard will celebrate its 228th birthday. Don't forget to wish a Coast Guardsman a happy birthday and give them a hearty Bravo Zulu!

More Little Embroidery

When I saw this design from Designs by Little Bee I was pretty sure it would come home with me. Noting says classy like a poop holder for your hand sanitizer. The design comes in two sizes which is great!

I stitched up a couple and I think they came out pretty great!

Then, I had an idea! I thought stitching a silly monster face onto the holder would be great. I still think the idea is great even if the execution isn't so great. This one is my first try. I decided it needed some modification to the stitches before it would be ready for prime time. 

Here (on the left) is my edited design. As you can see, it isn't better than the one on the right. It isn't a loss, though,. I learned quite a bit about stitch density and what kinds of stitch fills I should and should not use on marine vinyl. Standby for my next try.

Embroidery Design - D20

I've had my embroidery machine and design software (5D Embroidery). I have played with it off and on over the years but it has frustrated me because it doesn't operate like other drawing software (such as Inkscape or GIMP). I decided I wanted to design something badly enough to struggle with the software until I got it do what I wanted.

First I went to find some appropriate art. This is one of the many images available on Game Icons.net. If you're looking for some simple vector graphics to use in game design you should really check them out. Their work is offered for free under Creative Commons.

This was my first stitch out of the design. It was too big for my purpose, but I wanted to see what it would look like.

I made some tweaks and stitched it out again. I didn't see much difference between the two, but a friend pointed out that the lower numbers we're really where they should be. I admit, I put them there as a way to make them fit. In the end I made a design decision to remove the numbers from most of the faces.

The design is a little simpler, but we all know what it supposed to be, no matter how many faces have numbers.

In the end, I think less is more. A nice project, even if it did take me almost all weekend to finish. I think after some tweaks, I might make this available on Etsy for other machine embroiderers to purchase for download. I can't be the only person that wants to make these key fobs.

This design would also work great on a custom dice bag. Check out my Etsy shop to see the bags I have available or request a custom order.

More Glitter Vinyl Projects

I was so happy when my My PunkBroidery order showed up. This is the glitter pack. It includes 24 different colors of super fun glitter vinyl. I'm ready to stitch out all sorts of glittery fun projects!

To celebrate, I stitched out the same project I've been stitching all week. another pair of sugar skulls using this great design from Designs by Little Bee embroidery. 

I promise I'm moving on to a new project in the near future. I'll be sure to share something new on Friday. 

If you see anything here that you are willing to spend your hard earned money on, drop me a line. I've added a contact widget to the scroll on the right-hand side of the page. I'll reply and we can work on creating your new favorite thing. Afterwards, I can set up an Etsy sale just for you. 

Stitching Up In The Hoop

I can't stop stitching up these great snap tab designs from Designs by Little Bee embroidery. This is the Mini Sugar Skull on a dark blue marine vinyl. 

I love these bigger Sugar Skull Snap Tabs, too. These were stitched on glitter vinyl, my favorite. I've ordered more glitter vinyl because it is just so awesome!

The Vintage Camper and that Maneki Neko are awesome, too. 

I picked up some new vinyl colors from the local fabric store. These are going to be fun, too. When the My PunkBroidery order shows up I'm going to be stitching out even more fun. 

I borrowed a friend's KAMsnap tool to finish these up. Definitely a tool I plan on adding to my tool box. I might need to pick up some swivel clasps (affiliate links) to make them more versatile!

Keep an eye on my Etsy shop for some of these to show up. If you want something I've stitched out, by all means drop me a note and I'll set up a sale for you on Etsy. 

More In The Hoop

I recently discovered Designs by Little Bee embroidery designs. These darling and reasonably-priced in-the-hoop projects are just the best! 

I discovered Designs by Little Bee just when they started one of their semi-annual sales. I picked some designs at a great price and got stitching. This is the Maneki Neko Beckoning Lucky Cat key fob. Isn't it the cutest little kitty!

Next was the Vintage Camper Snap Tab. (Note: I didn't stitch out the entire design on this one.) The perfect thing to keep track of the keys for our travel trailer. 

My favorite stitch-out yet is this fun Sugar Skull Snap Tab. I can't wait to stitch this one out in a rainbow of colors on some great glitter vinyl. I buy my glitter vinyl from My PunkBroidery.

Now all I need is some KAMsnaps and swivel clasps (affiliate links) to finish them!