Project instructions: Machine embroidery in the hoop key fob/keyring

Hey guys! I have a tutorial for you today, for machine embroidered key fobs! They're a fun and easy little project that will take no time at all.

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First things first, the things you will need are your embroidery hoop, a piece of vinyl/leather/faux leather, and a piece of cutaway or tearaway stabilizer. I've used cutaway but some people prefer tearaway. For this project, either will work. You will also need applique scissors or thread snips, regular scissors, a keyring, a hot glue gun, and some pegs or a heavy object.

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Hoop up your vinyl and your stabilizer.

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Load the design up on your machine, and stitch it out.

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Unhoop the fabric. Grab a pair of scissors and loosely cut off the excess.

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If you're like me and have a machine that does not read trimming codes, take a pair of thread snips and cut off the jump threads. Make sure that at least one photo is blurry!

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Take your scissors and carefully cut around the design, keeping a millimeter or two extra outside the outer stitch line.

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Next, grab a keyring and push half of the design through it so the keyring sits in the centre, like so. 

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Turn the design over and cover the back in glue (NOT THE MIDDLE STRIP! Just the 'ímage' parts of the design). I would recommend using a hot glue gun but mine wasn't working at time of writing so I've just used white glue.

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Fold the design over so it lines up (don't worry if it's not perfect, you can always trim off the extra). Grab some clips/pegs and clamp it down, or place it under a heavy object so it holds together while the glue dries. Don't forget to wipe off the glue you managed to drip onto your cutting mat before it dries.

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Aaaaaand you're done! Enjoy your finished key fob or have fun giving it away as a gift!

To see the available designs for in the hoop key fobs in my Etsy store, please click/tap here: BelsEmbroidery Etsy store