Christmas Embroider Buddies

Christmas Embroider Buddies

by Kelly Nagel

Do you want to know a secret? I love being the girl who always gives the perfect gift. I especially like it when I give the perfect gift to a child. The look on their sweet face, the big hug and the look of envy from every other adult in the room just makes my heart happy. This is why I often give Embroider Buddies as gifts. An added bonus is these guys can be personalized, and if you know anything about me, you know I love to personalize things!

Embroider Buddies are super easy to do machine embroidery on, but there are a couple things you need to do to be sure they look great (They have to look great if you want your gift to be the envy of all other gift givers!). So I am stepping out the process for you here:

Supplies:

You need an Embroider Buddy, Sulky Solvy, Sulky Soft ‘n Sheer, Sulky Cut-Away Plus, Sulky KK 2000 Temporary Spray Adhesive, and Sulky 40 Wt. Rayon thread.

The Process:

Hoop two layers of Soft ‘n Sheer and one layer of Cut Away Plus, then spray the top with KK 2000.

Unzip the bottom of the Embroider Buddy and take out the stuffing.

(He is even cute flat!)

Stick his belly to the hoop. Be sure to center him so the embroidery will stitch out straight and exactly where you want it to be. Take a piece of Solvy, spray one side of it with KK 2000.

Stick the Solvy to the front of his belly. This will help the pile of the Embroider Buddy lay down under the stitching so you don’t get anything poking out between the stitches.

Now let’s chat about needle, machine foot, and thread. When I am using Sulky 40 Wt. Rayon Thread in both the top and bobbin, as I did with this project, I usually use a 90/14 embroidery needle. If you can’t remember the last time you changed the needle on your machine, then change it before you start sewing on this cute little buddy. Let’s face it, needles are cheap compared to the frustration, heart ache and overall angst of thread breakage, and the possibility of having to rip out stitches and start over because we tried to embroider this with a dull, worn out needle.

I put the open toe, spring-loaded machine embroidery foot on the machine as well and, as I mentioned, I used Sulky 40 Wt. Rayon in the bobbin and on top.

When you load the hoop into the machine, be sure you lock the hoop into place. It is also best for his head to be to the left of the machine. Trying to embroider this with his head crammed between the needle and the machine would not produce the best results.

Be sure to check that all of his arms, legs, back, etc are out from under where you will be stitching.

Stay and watch it stitch out. If your machine is anything like mine, the second I step away she gets jealous and starts to mess up. For this kind of project, there are also times that I need to hold parts of the Embroider Buddy out the the way just to be sure everything stitches out cleanly.

It is also really fun to watch!

Almost hypnotizing…

Here is another tip for making this the perfect gift. When the stitching is finished, hit start and stitch over it one more time. Especially on things with any kind of pile, like the Embroider Buddy, a towel, fleece, the second layer of stitching really helps the embroidery to stand out. Think of that first layer of stitching as the crumb coat of a cake and this second layer is the one that will look perfect.

Doesn’t he look great?! Carefully tear away the Solvy on top, tearing towards the stitching and being sure to hold the body stable.

Unhoop him and then cut down the backing stabilizers so they will fit nicely inside the body.

Add the stuffing back in, zip him back up and be ready to be the favorite gift giver at the party!

Look at that face! That face is what makes my heart happy.

Happy Sewing!