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Machine Embroidery on Things that are Fluffy

blanket done 1

In my life, spring always seems to be baby season. In the next few weeks, I have 3 sweet babies that are getting gifts! The first one is a girl that will be the third child of one of the pastors at my church. Since I did very simple panel quilts for the little boys, I thought a fluffy pink blanket with the name on it would be good for the little girl. I picked this very fluffy fabric.

fluffy fabric

I love how this fabric feels, that is is the same on both sides and all I need to do is embroider on the name, bind it and I am done. Fast yet thoughtful gifts really are my favorite. (*Disclaimer: this is a blanket, not a quilt. The fabric is fluffy on both sides so I simply have the fabric with the binding on it. A quilt is three layers, quilted together, so don’t get mad at me for calling it a blanket.)

This fabric is a little strange though. It isn’t exactly a woven or stretchy fabric. It is somewhere in between. On top of that, I need the back of the embroidery to look good too, since it will show. I decided the solution was Sulky Tear-Easy. I love Tear-Easy because I can layer as many layers as I need to increase the stability and still tear it away so the back of the blanket will still look nice. I also love that Tear Easy isn’t too stiff, especially after it’s washed, so I know that it won’t be scratchy for this new little baby!

Sulky e-commerce catalog shoot

For this project I hooped 2 layers of Sulky Tear-Easy on the bottom and one layer of Sulky Solvy® on the top. Solvy helps keep the pile down of the fabric so the embroidery can actually be seen.

solvy with fluffy fabric

I was a little nervous that 2 layers of Sulky Tear-Easy wasn’t enough, but this this was a pain to hoop so I wasn’t about to unhoop it to add another layer of stabilizer. I just floated a layer under the hoop when I stitched.

embroidery on fluffy

It turned out great! I used Sulky 40 wt. Rayon in Hot Pink #1109 on top and Sulky Prewound Bobbins in white in the bobbin. If it bothers you that a little bit of white bobbin thread will show on the back, then you can always use the same Sulky 40 wt. Rayon in Hot Pink in the bobbin as well.

Sulky e-commerce catalog shoot, table 2

Prewound Bobbin

I had this cute stripe fabric that I cut using my Binding Buddy ruler for the binding.

binding buddySince this is going to a baby and I expect it to be used and washed a lot, I decided to sew the binding on by machine. When I do this, I start by sewing the binding on the back of the blanket with my walking foot.

binding step 1

Next, I use my Clover Wonder Clips to turn the binding to the front.

binding step 2

Finally, I just sew the other side down with my walking foot. Since I used Sulky 60 wt. PolyLite™ thread, the line of stitching will all but disappear in the pile of the fabric on the back.

binding step 3

It turned out great! I can’t wait to meet this sweet little girl and see her all cuddled up in her new blanket.

blanket done 2

Happy Sewing!

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