Project instructions: Machine embroidery in the hoop door hangers

Hey guys! I have another tutorial for you, this time for in the hoop door hangers! Great for kids gifts or as holiday decor.

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First, you will need your embroidery hoop, a piece of tearaway stabilizer, and two pieces of fabric the size of your hoop, one for the front and one for the back. I've used plain white for both sides but you could use a plain for the front and a print for the back, for example. Optionally, you might also like to use temporary adhesive spray.

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 Grab your stabilizer and hoop it up. DO NOT hoop your fabric! Just the stabilizer.

Smooth the front piece of fabric onto the top of your hoop. If you prefer, you can use a quick spray of temporary adhesive to hold the fabric down. I find that by using a piece that fits inside the hoop, the stabilizer is grippy enough to hold it.

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Load the design up in the machine. The first thing to stitch is a dieline for the outside edge.

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Next thing to stitch will be the design in the centre.

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Remove the design from the machine and flip it over. Smooth the back piece of fabric so it overhangs the dieline. You can use a quick spray of adhesive to hold it down if you like. Take it back to the machine.

 Another dieline will stitch out over the first. Remove the hoop from the machine.

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Take your applique scissors and cut the excess fabric off as close as you can to the stitching. Don't panic if you accidentally snip the stitches.

Do the same for the front. Take the hoop back to the machine. At this point it's a good idea to wind a bobbin with the same thread you'll be using for the satin stitch border so the back looks just as neat and pretty as the front.

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The machine will stitch a zig zag around the edges. If you've got overhanging fabric at this point (like I do at the bottom edge and around the top of the loop), try to snip that off. You might notice your tearaway is starting to get perforated at this point, that's normal! Just be a little gentle with your hoop. Back to the machine!

 Last step is a satin stitch border. This should cover all the stitches and fabric edges. The hanger is really starting to separate from the tearaway now, which makes the next step really easy.

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Remove the hanger from the hoop and tear away the excess stabilizer. You're done! You might have some fuzzies sticking out from the stitching (if you use a good quality stabilizer like this one you won't get as much as I did, I had to use an old piece as I'd run out), you can (carefully!) cut these away or grab some tweezers and pull them out.

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