from the editor

The kids are back in school after summer break and football season is in full swing! I love high school sports. The kids are playing because they love the game, the whole city turns out to watch them and it’s a great time for socializing (my specialty).

To show my spirit, I’ve embroidered my uniform for the season: T-shirts and sweatshirts (here in the Midwest it starts out warm and is cold by the end of football season). While there are plenty of screen printed shirts available with the school name, I like to express my individuality with my own version. I embroidered the school name on the front of the shirts using the original CME alphabets:

      monogram alphabet
      alphabet #2

Because the name conatins the letter “o,” I embroidered that letter in the shape of a football (which could also be used in place of an “a” or “e”). On one version I added beads and sequins around the name; on another version, I made the football an appliqué from sparkly felt then applied fusible crystals around the front. And just so I’ll be ready for basketball season, I did the same thing using a basketball in place of the “o.” I get many comments and compliments on my fan gear asking, “Where did you get that?” To which I smile and say, “I made it myself.”

Share what you’ve been embroidering in our Reader’s Gallery. Drop me a line and a .jpg image at info@cmemag.com. I love to hear from you; and your fellow readers will love to see what you’re making.

Until next time,
Annette Gentry Bailey
Creative Machine Embroidery Editor

better embroidery:
template making

Use templates for exact design placement. Make them in one of two ways:
Print a template from embroidery software. (Most embroidery software allows for the printing of templates.)

• Load the design on screen and choose “File” and “Print” from the menu options.
• Print directly onto vellum or transparency film found at local office supply stores. (Vellum and transparency film offers a see-through option so that you can see the fabric or pattern for marking ease.) Print the cross marks and hoop boundaries if this is an option in software.

Be cautious with flat templates for embroidery on lofty fabrics or for quilting. The flat templates do not take into account the loft of the fabric when printing. In this case, it’s best to stitch templates by embroidering the design on a mocked-up swatch of the final project fabric.

• When the embroidery is complete, remove the hoop from the machine, but do not remove the fabric from the hoop.
• With a permanent marker, mark the hoop notches, the hoop inner perimeter and a directional arrow to indicate which way the design is embroidered.
• Remove the fabric from the hoop and photocopy the fabric onto vellum or transparency film using an all-in-one printer or a copy machine at a local office supply store.

reader gallery

Faye H. of Osceola, Ark. was inspired by our article on embellishing denim jeans (“Denim Details,” September/October ’07). Faye found a fun use for her jeans that are beyond their makeover days: turning them into denim bags. She utilizes pieces of the jeans as a focal point, such as the pockets; or strip-pieces a base for embroidery. Then she sews them into cute bags.

Yours could be the next reader project featured in this special e-Update column. Send me a .jpg image and a note about the projects you’ve been making to info@cmemag.com. You can inspire other readers with your embroidery!

order back issues & original designs

Looking for a back issue of CME? In addition to CME’s original embroidery designs, you also can purchase copies of past subscriber issues, and current and past newsstand-only issues of Quilting & Embroidery, Paper & Embroidery and Holiday Embroidery on our secure shopping site at www.sewnshop.com. For phone and other ordering options, click here.

...and the winner is

Thank you for being a subscriber to our CME e-Update. To show our appreciation, each month we randomly select from among our subscribers a winner of a special embroidery-related prize. This month it’s five 1100-yard spools of Floriani Mixed 2-ply embroidery thread from RNK Distributing.

If you’re already a subscriber, you’ll automatically be entered in the drawing. Congratulations to Marilyn L. of Portland, Ore., the winner of the book Creative Beginnings in Machine Embroidery by Patty Albin.

Sound good? Be sure to tell your embroidery-loving friends to subscribe to our e-Update newsletter so they’ll have a chance to win each month, too.

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