Embroidery Machine Appliqué

Embroidery

Machine Aliqué

Just EMBROIDER It!

eBook

SERIES

Getting started

Pattern method

Trim-in-place method

Helpful tips

Getting Started

Appliqué created on the embroidery machine takes

a time-honored technique to a whole new level. Not

only is machine embroidered appliqué fast and easy,

you will nd that every curve and corner is absolutely

precise and perfect.

As an added bonus, using fabric as the background

of a design instead of a stitched ll reduces the stitch

count of a design drastically, so you can stitch a larger

design with fewer stitches. Appliqué designs are also

good choices for children’s wear because the low

stitch count reduces the amount of bobbin thread

on the back of the project that could irritate a child’s

delicate skin.

To get started, you will need an appliqué design

created specically for the embroidery machine. There

are many choices in the marketplace when it comes

to purchasing a commercially digitized design. Many

of the BERNINA Exclusive Design Collections have

appliqué. You can also create your own appliqué

design elements using BERNINA DesignerPlus

Embroidery Software 7 or the BERNINA DesignWorks

Software.

Commercially prepared appliqué designs differ in the

way that the appliqué fabric shape is cut. One of the

two methods discussed below will be used, but if

you prefer one method over the other, refer to the

instructions on the last page to customize the design

to your specic preference.

There are two primary methods for cutting the

appliqué fabric for the design. They are:

• Pattern Method – the appliqué fabric will be cut

prior to stitching

• Trim-in-Place Method – the appliqué fabric will be

cut during the stitching process

Pattern Method

Pattern Method Steps

1) Placement Line

2) Tackdown Stitch

3) Cover Stitch

Hoop the background fabric or garment with the proper

stabilizer. (Download the Just Embroider It! eBook, All

About Stabilizers.)

Placement Line

• Attach the hoop to the machine and stitch the

Placement Line. The Placement Line stitches out the

shape of the appliqué piece. The machine will then

stop.

• Remove the hoop from the machine and place the

prepared appliqué fabric shape inside the stitched lines.

(See Preparing the Appliqué Fabric Shape Using the

Pattern Method on page 4.) Take care to place the piece

as precisely inside the lines as possible.

Tackdown Stitch

• Stitch the Tackdown which will tack all the edges down

with either a straight stitch or a zigzag. This will hold

the appliqué in place until the nal Cover Stitching.

BERNINA Exclusive Design Collections or OESD designs

call this Cut Line & Tackdown. This gives you the option

to either use the Pattern Method or the Trim-in-Place

method. See Tips section on page 8 for details.

The Tackdown is usually omitted if the nal Cover Stitch

is a decorative outline that would allow the Tackdown

to be visible behind the stitches (i.e. a blanket stitch).

placnt line

tackdown stitch

cover stitch

place aliqué shape

Cover Stitch

• Stitch the Cover Stitch.

This may follow immediately

after the Tackdown or later

in the design’s stitching

process. The Cover Stitch

is commonly a satin stitch,

although other decorative

stitches also may be used.

Prepare the Appliqué Shape

Print the pattern using one of the methods below and

then roughly cut around the printed appliqué piece.

Print from an existing PDF that may be included

with the design collection

• Open the PDF and locate the page that contains the

desired pattern piece

• Set your printer to print at actual size (page scaling

set to None)

• Print just the page where the particular pattern is

located

Print the pattern using BERNINA Embroidery

Software

• Open the design in the software

• Hold the Alt key on the keyboard as you select the

Placement Line in the Color Film (if using an earlier

version of the software, you will need to Ungroup

the design before selecting the Placement Line)

• Select File > Print Preview

• Select the Options button

• Under the Selection eld, check the radio dot in

front of Selected Objects

• Select Artistic View under Design Worksheet

• Select 100% of Actual Size in the Zoom eld

• Select Print Now

• NOTE: If you create your own appliqué in BERNINA

DesignerPlus Software 7, you can easily print an

Appliqué Pattern. Select Print Preview and select

the Options tab. Under Other Worksheets, select

Appliqué Patterns.

Create the pattern by tracing the stitched

Placement Line

• After the Placement Line is stitched, place a piece of

LightWeight Tear Away Stabilizer or tracing paper

over the stitched lines on the hooped fabric

• Use a ne-line marker to very carefully trace the

stitched shape

• Draw an “R” on the top of the pattern to indicate

the right side of the pattern

Cut the appliqué fabric

Cut the fabric shapes manually

For best results stiffen the fabric with spray starch or

a starch alternative such as Best Press and apply an

appliqué backing product such as OESD Fuse & Fix or

Steam-a-Seam II.

• Cut the appliqué fabric slightly larger than the

pattern piece and back with an appliqué backing

product following manufacturer’s guidelines

• Spray the wrong side of the pattern with a small

amount of temporary adhesive spray

• Place the pattern RIGHT SIDE UP on the RIGHT side

of the fabric and cut out the shape

NOTE: All appliqué patterns from BERNINA Exclusive

Design Collections and OESD Collections are placed

on the right side of the fabric. Check specic

instructions if using an appliqué design from another

source.

Cut the appliqué fabric (continued)

BERNINA CutWork Tool

Instead of cutting the pattern with scissors as

described on page 5, many design collections

including all of the recent BERNINA Exclusive

Design Collections include ready-to-use CutWork

les for each of the appliqué designs. If you have

the BERNINA CutWork Tool you can cut out many

appliqué fabric layers at one time which saves a lot

of time when cutting intricate shapes or stitching

multiples of the same design.

You will achieve much better results using the

CutWork Tool if you prepare the fabric prior to the

cutting process. Stiffen the fabric by spraying with

spray starch or a starch alternative such as Best Press

and adhere a fusible appliqué product such as OESD

Fuse & Fix or Steam-a-Seam II to the back of the fabric

following manufacturer’s recommendations prior to

cutting the fabric.

• Hoop a heavy stabilizer such as HeavyWeight

TearAway Stabilizer or HydroStick Stabilizer by itself

in the hoop

• Cut prepared fabric pieces larger than the appliqué

design

• With the prepared appliqué fabric right side up,

stack the desired number of layers over the hooped

stabilizer.

• Import the chosen CutWork design into the

machine

• Attach the CutWork plate specic to your machine

• Stitch the Basting Stitch to securely hold the fabric

layers to the stabilizer

• Remove the needle and thread and attach the

CutWork Tool and Echo Quilting & CutWork Foot

#44 to the machine

• Refer to the instructions that came with the

CutWork Tool for specics

• Cut the appliqué pieces, following the prompts on

the machine to rotate the CutWork Tool’s blade

• Set the pieces aside until you are ready to place the

appliqué pieces inside the stitched Placement Lines

of the embroidery design

Trim-in-Place Method

Trim-in-Place Steps

1. Placement Line

2. Cutting Line

3. Tackdown Stitch

4. Cover Stitch

Hoop the background fabric or garment with the

proper stabilizer. (Download the Just Embroider It!

eBook All About Stabilizers.)

Placement Line

• Attach the hoop to the machine and stitch the

Placement Line

• Cut a piece of fabric larger than the stitched

Placement Line

• Place the fabric right side up over the Placement

Line, ensuring that the fabric covers all the stitches

Cutting Line

• Stitch the Cutting Line

• Remove the hoop from the machine but do not

remove the fabric from the hoop

• Place the hoop on a at surface

• Using a sharp curved pair of scissors or appliqué

scissors trim away all fabric outside the line, cutting

as close to the stitching as possible

Tackdown Stitch

• Reattach the hoop to the machine and stitch the

Tackdown

• This will secure the appliqué as the machine stitches

by stitching a zigzag stitch or a straight stitch

slightly to the inside of the appliqué

Cover Stitch

• Stitch the Cover Stitch

• This may follow immediately after the Tackdown or

come later in the design’s stitching process

• The Cover Stitch is commonly a satin stitch,

although other decorative stitches also may be used

placnt

line

tackdown

stitch

cuing line

cover

stitch

Helpful Tips

If you prefer the Trim-in-Place Method but your design

does not have four steps:

• Stitch the Placement Line

• Place a rectangle of fabric over the stitched lines

• Back the machine up and restitch the Placement

Line. This will now be used as the Cutting Line

• Trim away the fabric outside the stitched lines and

nish stitching the design

On some BERNINA Exclusive Design Collections, the

Cutting Line and Tackdown are combined into one

color change consisting of two stitching lines in the

shape of the appliqué. There is no need to back the

machine up. If you wish to use the Trim-in-Place

Method, you will cut away the excess fabric after

this color change.

If you prefer the Pattern Method but your design is

created with four steps for the Trim-in-Place Method

and does not have a pattern for the appliqué:

• Stitch the Placement Line of the design

• Create your own pattern

−Open the design in BERNINA Embroidery

Software 7. Select and print the Placement Stitch

as described in the Appliqué Pattern section on

page 4

−Trace over the stitched Placement Line as

described in the Appliqué Pattern section

• You can then either stitch or skip the Cutting Line

and nish the design

There are a couple of instances where the Pattern

Method is the best choice:

• If the design has very intricate shapes, it will be

easier to cut the fabric from a pattern than to try to

trim around the details

• If your design has a blanket stitch or other very

open stitch for the Cover Stitch, use the pattern

method. Otherwise the Tackdown and Cutting Line

Stitches may show

Enjoy your next appliqué project!

intricate

shapes

open

cover

stitch