Creative articles about sewing

Time to shine! Sew-along part 4 – Embroidery

Time to shine! Sew-along part 4 – Embroidery

In this fourth blog I take you through the embroidery options of the Megan blouse. Two designs are available for the Megan blouse. One for the collar and one for a decorative buttonhole.

Embroidery files

The designs used can be downloaded from the BERNINA website. Again the files are packed in a Zip file. Extract the files and save them to your computer. The files which you can use directly have the extension EXP.

Naar de Nederlandse blog

Put these on a USB stick and you can use them on your machine. In my case the BERNINA 590 Crystal Edition.

Image of BERNINA 590 Crystal Edition.

BERNINA 590 Crystal Edition

It’s your time to shine! Experience the beauty of the B 590 Crystal Edition. With an incredible inspiration kit including dazzling Swarovski® crystals, extra feet and exclusive embroidery designs, this limited edition will let your artistic side shine. The handy trolley set and embroidery module make this Crystal Edition complete!

Learn more

 

Click here to download the embroidery designs.

 

Are you new to machine embroidery? Then read this handy blog that will guide you through the basics. (In Dutch, so select the translate option)

A trial. Which colour to go for?

Embroider collar

Collar design

To embroider the collar, use the midi hoop. Hoop the embroidery stabilizer in the embroidery frame and embroider the placement line. This line determines where you will fix the collar. Make the pattern line coincide with the placement line

Stitch placement line

Fix the right corner of the collar with spray adhesive. Embroider the attachment line and the design.

Right corner collar attached

Mirror the embroidery pattern on the machine for the left corner of the collar. Repeat the above steps. Start by re-hooping new embroidery floss.

For the collar I did not use the recommended soluble stabilizer, which dissolves in water, but cut-away stabilizer. I therefore cut away as much of the stabilizer as possible before the collar part is further processed. Then construct the collar. See previous blog: Megan sew-along part 3: Instructions and tips.

Fray stop at the ends, just to be sure

Push out

Quilted and ready for further processing

Embroidery buttonhole

With the blouse ready to add the buttonholes, it is time to embroider the decorative buttonhole. I was a bit hesitant about this step, what if it goes wrong… That’s why I brought this step forward, different than the description tells. I embroidered this buttonhole before I put the collar on. Worst case scenario, I would have to replace the button placket. In hindsight, I also found it more convenient to do it at this point, before the sleeves are in. All that extra fabric that can get in the way. Fortunately, it went well in one go.

For this pattern you will use the oval hoop. Hoop 2 layers of soluble stabilizer  in the embroidery frame.

On the button band, mark the placement of the top of the buttonhole. This decorative buttonhole is the second buttonhole seen from above on the button band. I determined this at 10 cm from the neckline. This leaves enough space for the first buttonhole. First embroider placement lines and fix the button band lengthwise with spray adhesive.

Placement line with buttonhole indication

Spray glue (do this outdoors or by keeping the embroidery frame in a box)

Place top of buttonhole on top cross line

Then embroider the attachment line and then the design.

Attachment line

Attachment line stitched

When you have embroidered the design, remove the attachment line and cut away some of the soluble stabilizer. Then wash away the stabilizer with water.

Remove attachment line

Cut away

Done!

Personally I thought it was a shame that so much of the soluble fleece goes unused, so before I removed the embroidery frame I embroidered a few lace designs. Just like I used to pimp this basic t-shirt.

I had to be careful not to embroider anything from the Megan blouse.

 

No waste

Additional embroidery

Do you want to embroider more on the blouse? Then you can go wild with the same patterns on the pocket flaps, cuffs or by embroidering even more buttonholes on the button placket.

I embroidered the strip on the back of the blouse. You do this before you put the front and back together. I made a combination of the collar and buttonhole designs. It was a bit of a jigsaw on the machine that the designs aligned nicely, but in the end it worked.

In the middle

I started by applying auxiliary stitching in the middle of the strip. This helped to get the strip nicely in the marked centre of the oval hoop. After stitching the attachment lines I removed the auxiliary stitching before the designs were embroidered.

Auxiliary stitching ready

Collar designs at the top and mirrored at the bottom

Tilted buttonhole in the middle

Strip at the back

Topstitching

Back detail

Do you want to see the end result of this pink Megan blouse? Then be sure to read the latest blog in this Megan sew-along. I also explain which hacks have been applied in this version. Until then!

Love,

 

Marlies

@madebyLIESL

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