The Advanced Embroiderer’s Bucket List December 6, 2012 atgadmin Comments (2) Not rated yet Continuous embroidery Since we love embroidery, we also love LOTS of embroidery! Filling a border or quilt strip with continuous embroidery is number one on the advanced embroiderer’s bucket list. There are several ways to attack connecting designs end to end but they all result in the same great look – luscious colorful stitches, stacked end to end. Read more here on how to connect designs, end to end on any machine. Linked Embroidery Linked embroidery takes continuous embroidery one step further. Linked embroidery is when you want to take a single design and turn it into something like this.Linked embroidery involves overlapping the designs in a continuous and predictable pattern. Again, there are a few ways to do this but one of my favorite techniques is explained here: https://dzgns.com/blog/2012/05/creating-continuous-embroidery-with-alignment-marks/Or watch another technique here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9JP7iP-xEk&feature=player_embedded#! Continuous AppliqueThe wave border on the Seashell quilt is made of two fabrics: the quilt top is white and the appliqué is the blue batik– both are 43” long. A fun but challenging technique, continuous appliqué gives the illusion of a giant hoop when in reality it’s multi-hooping on a home embroidery machine. It’s a quite a bit easier with a flat magnetic hoop like Snap-Hoop but here’s how you do in a standard hoop: https://dzgns.com/blog/2010/05/continuous-applique-with-stipple-seashells/ Stitch a matching set of terrycloth towels.It always cracks me up when a brand new embroiderer tells me she bought an embroidery machine so she could monogram towels. I know it looks so simple but boy can it stymie the best of us. Let’s break it down: terrycloth is bulky, loopy and easily damaged by pulls; life expectancy is long and includes frequent laundering; plus towels comes in sets that are expected to be exact replicas of each other and coordinate with other items (hand and bath towels, shower curtains, trash can liners, etc). Embroider a RibbonNow that you’ve stitched a perfectly-matched set of towels, wrap them in tulle and swaddle them with an embroidered ribbon. If that doesn’t scream personalized – then nothing does! Select a sheer ribbon, use water soluble stabilizer and hoop on a cutting mat to get the ribbon square in the hoop. Add a personalized message and voila! Instant gift card! Reverse appliquéHow do you do reverse appliqué? Add the appliqué fabric to the wrong side of the garment and trim the garment away. Sounds scary but if you’ve mastered ordinary appliqué then this is a no-brainer. CutworkIt’s beautiful, timeless and time-consuming. Each opening is cut away by hand before the beautiful satin stitches are added. But oh wait, it’s not that time consuming anymore. Today, your machine can transform with a cutting device. Learn how Bernina and Baby Lock and Brother 10-needle owners do it. Insert a Zipper with the Embroidery MachineMany sewists struggle with inserting a zipper between two pieces of fabric. No wonder, it can be a daunting task. If you use your embroidery machine, be confident that you’ll get professional results. Just remember to keep the zipper tab AWAY from the embroidery foot. Download the zipper design here. Design and stitch an embroidery layout for a jacket (front bodice or jacket back and other details such as collar points, cuffs, hemline, etc). You’ll have to rely on your fashion design skills to pull this off. Keep in mind that wherever the embroidery is placed, you’re bringing added attention to that area of the figure. All fashion should be flattering so if the embroidery is going to accent a figure flaw, then change it up! Frame the face, create long, slimming vertical lines or sprinkle designs delicately across the canvas. Have fun but remember, you’re trying to improve the jacket. You tell me. What did I overlook? If you need a refresher on the newbie and intermediate bucket lists, just click here and here. Leave a comment and tell me what task you think should be added to the Advanced Embroiderer’s Bucket List. Thanks for reading! Reprinted with permission from Eileen's Blog.