How to Applique with Your Embroidery Machine So you’ve bought some machine applique embroidery designs and you’ve realized…now what? As a quilter, I just LOVE the impact I can achieve by appliqueing beautiful fabrics to my embroidery projects. I’ve written this tutorial to help get you started using your embroidery machine to applique. I certainly don’t profess to be an expert; in fact, some of my methods are probably a little quirky. This is just what works for me. This cute popsicle design that we’ll be making has some filled-stitch details both under the applique (the popsicle sticks) and over top of the applique (the filled-stitch detail stitching between the two halves of the popsicle and the little filled-stitch highlight on the right side of the it.) This tutorial offers a general outline regarding my method of machine applique with satin-stitched edge. For more detailed information, Rockin Robin Applique designs come with a Stitchout included and some of our designs also have a tutorials included. (For a more detailed explanation of what our Stitchouts are, see the Stitchout example included in our FAQs.) And now, on with our tutorial! What You Will Need (in addition to your threaded machine with applique design transferred):          Foundation fabric (or whatever you plan to applique onto) Applique fabric(s) for the design Stabilizer appropriate to the design (see Stabilizer note, below) Sharp-to-the-tip, curved tiny scissors, like cuticle scissors Wooden bamboo skewer, or something other than your finger to hold your applique fabric Temporary adhesive spray, like Dritz Quilting Spray Adhesive Pins Fusible web (optional), such as Heat’n’Bond Lite Spray starch (optional) Hooping: I never hoop my foundation fabric…I’m always afraid I’ll stretch the fabric out of shape when I hoop it. Instead, I hoop the stabilizer and attach the foundation fabric to it with adhesive spray and, if necessary, pins. Stabilizer: Remember my quirky methods? Well, this is one of them. I like to hoop a piece of lightweight tear away stabilizer (such as Sulky Tear-Easy) the way you would normally hoop your stabilizer. Then I give the hooped stabilizer a light spritz of spray adhesive and then top it with a smaller piece of heavier stabilizer, like Sulky Cut-Away. Why? I just don’t like how the heavier stabilizer hoops. If you try this, just make sure your smaller piece of the heavier stabilizer is big enough to cover the entire design area. Thread colors: Pay no attention to the thread colors in each step. The purpose of thread color changes is to make sure your embroidery machine stops at the end of each step. If your embroidery machine has any tension issues (bobbin thread visible on the right side of your Directions: 1. Hoop your stabilizer using whatever method works for you 2. Use your pencil to lightly mark the center of your hooped stabilizer. If your hoop does not have a placement guide with a centering hole, measure the inside of your hoop both ways and make a small crosshatch in the center of the hoop area. 3. Fold your foundation fabric in half, right sides together, both ways to find the center. 4. Spritz some adhesive spray on the hooped stabilizer. 5. Fold your foundation fabric in half either way and align the center crease with the center mark you made. Pat the folded fabric down. 6. Flip the folded edge open and pat the whole thing down flat to adhere it, being careful not to distort the fabric. If your foundation fabric is heavy or bulky, you may also want to pin the fabric to the stabilizer. Just be SURE the pins are not inside the embroidery area. 7. Stitch out Color 1 onto your foundation. Consult your Stitchout to be sure, but this is usually a placement line so you can place your first piece of applique fabric. 8. Cut a piece of applique fabric that will generously cover the area you just stitched out.  To reduce fraying, you can treat your applique fabric with a spritz of starch and then iron it dry before you use it.  To increase the durability of your finished design, you can apply a fusible web, such as HeatnBond light, to the BACK of your applique fabric before you use it and then iron the whole design AFTER you unhoop it. Be aware that if you use a fusible web on a raggy applique design, it will change the look of the design because the raggy edges will probably be adhered to the foundation.  If you are appliqueing a light fabric over a darker or brighter one, you may need to use a layer of white fabric under your applique fabric, as a color block to prevent the background fabric from shadowing through.  Another way to color-block is just to use two layers of the applique fabric. That’s what I did in this popsicle design. 9. Lay your (treated) applique fabric in place, covering the placement stitches and, using your wooden bamboo skewer to keep it from sliding around, stitch out Color 2. This is the tackdown stitching to hold the applique fabric down. 10. Carefully remove your hoop from the machine. DON’T UNHOOP ANYTHING. In fact, try not to touch the hooped stabilizer/foundation fabric if you can help it, because if you move anything out of alignment, the rest of the design might not line up with what you’ve already stitched. 11. Using your curved cuticle scissors, cut the excess applique fabric from around the edge of your appliqued area.   If it’s a satin-stitched applique, try to get as close as possible to the tackdown stitches. The tackdown stitches in our Rockin Robin Applique designs are done with a small stitch length in order to hold your qpplique fabric securely and minimize the chances that you will accidentally cut the stitches. And our satin stitching is wide, to help cover any areas of excess fabric you were unable to trim closely. When I do a raggy applique design, I stitch the tackdown stitches (and any other edge stitches), remove it from the hoop, trim the fabric (leaving a little excess fabric) and I would be DONE right now! But for our satin-stitched design, read on… 12. Return your hoop to the machine and stitch out the next color. Normally, this would be the satin stitching to cover the raw edge of the applique. In this case, however it’s the detail stitching between the halves of the popsicle. 13. The next color in this design is the satin stitching. 14. The final color in this design is the little highlight on the right side of the popsicle. 15. If you use the double layer of stabilizer, as I do, unhoop your creation, flip it over, tear off the Tear-Easy and then cut off the excess Cut-Away. I usually just cut an oval or circle around the outside of the design. You are DONE!! I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial!