In this blog, we’ll guide you through the process step-by-step, sharing essential tips like choosing the right stabilizer, perfecting placement, and gauging your hoop. Whether you’re new to embroidery or looking for a fun project, this tutorial is perfect for beginners!

Want a hands-on guide? Watch the video tutorial below while following along with the blog!

Embroidering Baby Onesie Materials

• Baby onesie Hoop 
• Embroidery thread 
• Pins 
• Scissors 
• No-show mesh stabilizer 
• Soft fusible stabilizer (this is optional, as it just helps to prevent irritation to the child wearing the garment). 
• Painters tape 
• Embroidery design – we use our Racing Car design. Print a design template. 
  • Save 90% on high-quality embroidery designs when you join our Embroidery Legacy Design Club!  

Baby Onesie Embroidery Tutorial

Step 1: Cut your design template as squarely as possible. This will give you the most accurate guide when positioning your design.

Step 2: Find the center of the baby onesie. Fold the onesie in half lengthwise and firmly press down at the seam to create a guideline for lining up your design template. 

Step 3: Pin the design template in place.

Step 4: Pre-determine your hoop positioning. When using a flatbed machine, it is essential to pre-plan the hoop’s orientation to avoid any struggle when hooping the fabric. 

Tip:

• Pre-gauge your hoop.
• Fold the fabric in half and measure its thickness using your fingers.
• Loosen your hoop until the gap is roughly the same as the thickness of your folded fabric.

Step 5: Secure the stabilizer to the bottom of the hoop using painter’s tape. 

Step 6: Line up the hoop center with the center of the design template and secure the hoop in place. 

Step 7: Turn the onesie into a bowl to be easily hooped in the machine. Use masking tape to hold the fabric out of the center of the embroidery surface.

Step 8: Line the needle up with the center of the design template. Once you have lined it up, you can remove the design template and begin embroidering. 

Step 9: Embroider your design onto the onesie. 

Step 10: Remove the hoop from the machine and trim the long threads from the back of the design. Remove the onesie from the embroidery hoop and carefully trim the excess stabilizer from the back.

Step 11 (optional): If you want to use a fusible stabilizer, cut a piece to cover the back side of the design.

Use an iron on high heat to fuse the stabilizer to the onesie. To avoid burning the fabric, use parchment paper over the onesie. 

Note: The fusible stabilizer has a front and backside. The rough side faces down onto the fabric when fusing it onto the onesie. 

Now that you know the basics of embroidering baby onesies, you can add a personal and adorable touch to any little one’s wardrobe! By following the steps discussed above, you can create keepsakes as unique as they are precious. Start stitching and bring your creative ideas to life—happy embroidering!

Whether you’re new to embroidery or looking for a fun, creative project, we’ve got you covered! We’ll break down the process step-by-step, from choosing the right stabilizer to perfecting your hooping technique and nailing that all-important design placement. With these beginner-friendly tips and tricks, you’ll be stitching your way to a perfectly custom bucket hat in no time!

Do you want a hands-on guide? Watch the video tutorial below while following along with the blog!

Bucket Hat Embroidering Materials:

• Bucket hat
• Embroidery hoop
• Pins & ruler
• Threads
• Scissors
• Tacky-back tear-away stabilizer
• Design template print-off
• Embroidery design – we used our “Wave” embroidery design
  • Suggested but optional: add a basting stitch to your chosen embroidery design. This will ensure the hat is secure for proper placement.

Bucket Hat Embroidery Tutorial

Since we will sew on a flat surface and a bucket hat is round, we need to adjust the hooping for single-needle machines. Unlike regular flat items that are hooped, we will float the bucket hat.

Step 1: Hoop your tacky-back tear-away stabilizer with the paper side upward, and ensure the hoop is tight

Step 2: Using a ruler, press down to create a scored line on one side of your stabilizer with a pin. Continue with all four sides until you make a square. (Make the square bigger than your chosen design file size.)

Step 3: You should now easily be able to pick up a corner and start peeling the paper off of the stabilizer.

Step 4: You now have a sticky area that will hold your hat until you continue stitching.

Step 5: Cut out your design template and place it on your hat properly. Pin the template in place.

The center of your bucket hat is on the opposite side of the tag and in the center of the two side seams. Try folding the hat in half to get a center line. Place a pin there to mark the center.  

Step 6: Place your hoop with your stabilizer into your machine. Adjust the needle and find the placement on the stabilizer for the center of your design to stitch.

Step 7: Take your hat and folder over the inner “band” of the hat to prevent any stitching in this area.

Step 8: Hold that inner band towards the brim as you slide your bucket hat under the needle on your machine. Hold the material out of the way of the space you will be embroidering on so you get a flat surface. The printed template pinned to your hat will be your placement guide.

Ensure everything is as flat as possible for the best-embroidered results and that the inner “band” is still out of the way. 

Step 9: Drop your needle down and adjust it to the center of the template.

Remove the pins, paper template, and any buckles in the fabric.

Step 10: Start stitching your basting stitch (if you choose to add it) and embroidery design.

Step 11: After your design has finished stitching, remove the hoop from your machine. Turn the hoop over and remove the bobbin stitches from the basting stitch.

Step 12: Tear away your hat from the stabilizer.

Step 13: Remove any loose threads from your design.

Your embroidered bucket hat is finished and ready to hit the beach!

Now that you know the basics of embroidering a bucket hat, you can make stylish, personalized accessories! With the right stabilizer, proper hooping, and attention to design placement, you can turn any hat into a one-of-a-kind piece. Don’t be afraid to get creative—experiment with colors, designs, and patterns to make something uniquely yours. Happy stitching!

In this blog, we’ll show you how to embroider an apron with a single-needle machine—perfect for beginners! From stabilizer selection to the perfect design placement, we’ll cover all the tips and tricks you need to easily create a beautifully embroidered apron.

Want a hands-on guide? Watch the video tutorial below while following along with the blog!

Embroidery Apron Materials:

• Apron
• Embroidery hoop
• Pins
• Threads
• Scissors
• Painters tape
• Tearaway stabilizer
• Design template print-off
• Embroidery design – we used our Whisking Up Some Christmas Magic embroidery design

Apron Embroidery Tutorial

Step 1: Print out and cut your design template. Use the template to ensure your design fits within your hoop and you place it perfectly on your apron.

Please note: To embroider in the center of your apron, fold it in half from right to left. A crease will appear in the middle, and you can iron it out later.

Step 2: Place your design template in the middle chest of your apron using the folded line for placement.

Step 3: Pin your design template in place. Hold up your apron on yourself to ensure you like the placement. Adjust if needed.

Step 4: Hoop your stabilizer and apron. If you are using a single-needle embroidery machine, position your hoop correctly. The part that connects to the machine should face the top neck area of the apron.

Watch the video above to learn how to gauge and preset your hoop for the best results and to avoid hoop burn.

Tip: Use painter’s tape to keep your stabilizer in place on the hoop. This will stop it from moving before you hoop. We will remove the tape before embroidering.

Step 5: Remove the small piece of tape from your hoop after securely hooping your apron and stabilizer.

Step 6: Load your embroidery design into your machine and place your hoop. Move the next strap out of the way and ensure no fabric is under the hoop.

Center your needle in the center of your design template.

Step 7: Remove your pins and template from your bag and stitch out your embroidery design.

Step 8: After stitching your design, carefully remove the hoop from your machine.

Step 9: You can trim the excess threads if you like. Remove the apron from your hoop. 

Remove the stabilizer by tearing it away.

Step 10: You’re finished and ready to use your newly embroidered apron! 

Thanks for cooking up some designs with us! Now that you’ve learned the essentials, you can confidently create your personalized apron! Whether making it for yourself or as a thoughtful gift, these tips and tricks will help you achieve a professional-looking result on a single-needle machine. Happy stitching, and don’t forget to share your finished projects—we’d love to see what you create!

If you’ve seen the viral Mama embroidered sweatshirt trend, you know how popular these cozy, personalized pieces have become. 

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to create your own version of the Mama applique design onto a sweater.

Applique is not only a fantastic way to save on stitch time and stitch count, but it also allows you to create completely different looks just by changing your fabric.

This tutorial will guide you through each step of machine embroidery applique, whether for yourself or as a gift. Great for beginners and experienced embroiderers, you’ll quickly create stylish, custom embroidered Mama sweatshirts that everyone will love!

Mama Sweater Materials:

• Sweatshirt
• Design template print-off
• Applique material
  • We recommend using an interface on the back of your applique fabric if you use a thin material. This reduces fraying.
• Thread
• Scissors
• Cutaway stabilizer
• Applique embroidery design file – we used our Mama applique design file for this sweater
  • You can create your own designs with your embroidery software. Check out the Design Doodler to start creating your own custom embroidery designs without any digitizing experience!

Embroidering Mama Applique Design:

Step 1: Print out and cut your design template. Use the template to ensure your design fits within your hoop and achieves perfect placement on your sweater.

Step 2: Create a hole in the center of your “A” with the end of your scissors. This is so you can easily cut out the small shape after your applique fabric is down.

Step 3: Lay your paper template over your applique material. Pre-mark your two holes with a marker so you know where the placement should be.

Step 4: Cross over your applique fabric where you marked where your hole should go. Cut a small hole in the fabric. Do this to both marker spots.

Put an “up” arrow so you know which way your fabric should face when you place it on your sweater.

Step 5: Place your template on your sweatshirt in the proper position. You can determine this by pinning your template to your sweater and trying it on. Adjust the placement if needed.   

Watch the video above to learn how to gauge and preset your hoop for the best results.

Step 6: Hoop your stabilizer and sweatshirt. 

Tip: Tape the stabilizer to your bottom hoop to prevent the stabilizer from moving when you try to hoop. Put your bottom hoop through the bottom waist of the sweatshirt.  

Step 7: Load your mama applique embroidery file into your embroidery machine & place your hoop in your machine. 

To avoid stitching on unwanted parts of the sweater, keep your sweater material away from the needle. You can use clips to hold loose fabric securely.

Step 8: Embroider your design. You will start with a placement stitch.

Step 9: Lay your applique fabric over the placement stitch. Use painter’s tape to avoid movement.  

Cut small holes in the center of your “A”s on your fabric for applique. Make sure they are in the right spot for your lettering. 

Step 10: After you have finished stitching, take your hoop off your machine with extreme caution. Cut the extra applique fabric from your design. Carefully remove the middle of your “A” lettering. (Good thing you pre-cut your holes ? ) 

Step 11: Place your hoop back on your machine. Stitch the rest of the design.

Step 12: Remove your hoop from your machine and remove your sweater from the hoop. 

Step 13: Use your scissors to trim a few loose threads and remove the stabilizer from the inside of the sweatshirt.

Congratulations! You’ve just completed your very own embroidered Mama sweatshirt using our mama applique design. This personalized piece is more than just a wardrobe staple—it’s a unique expression of your creativity! Don’t forget you can change your applique fabric and thread color to make customized looks.

Whether gifting this Mama embroidered sweatshirt to someone special or keeping it for yourself, the skills and techniques you’ve learned in this machine embroidery applique tutorial will benefit you in future projects. Keep experimenting with different embroidery applique designs, and soon, you’ll customize all your favorite clothing items!

A plain t-shirt makes the perfect canvas to add some creative machine embroidery.

T-shirts stretch, but embroidery designs do not. And what about placement? Where exactly should you place the design on the t-shirt, and how do you make sure it is straight?

How To Machine Embroider A Shirt

Embroidering on a T-shirt is the perfect project for a beginner. T-shirts are affordable and easy to find, with many options available at thrift stores.

If you are considering starting an embroidery business, mastering embroidery on T-shirt fabric is necessary. Many companies and organizations want their employees to wear branded, embroidered T-shirts and polos.

Before starting embroidering, ensure you are using a high-quality embroidery design. Nothing is worse than running your shirt with perfect placement and hooping, only to have it ruined by a poorly digitized design!

Placement Of Embroidery On A T-shirt

When embroidering on t-shirts, the common placement for embroidered designs is in the center or on the left chest.

How To Center A Design On A T-Shirt

First, turn the shirt inside out. Match the side seams and the seams at the shoulder. Then, fold the shirt in half and iron it. Now, you have an apparent vertical line down the center front of the shirt on which you can center the design.

• Baby onesie: The top of the design should hit about 1.5” from the center front of the neck hole.
• Kids’ t-shirts: The top of the design should hit about 2” from the center front of the neck hole.
• Adult t-shirts: The top of the design should hit about 3” from the center front of the neck hole.

Remember to trust your perspective. You can print a paper copy of the design. Place it on the shirt to see how it will look.

Left Chest Design Placement On A T-Shirt

Identifying the center point of a design intended to go over the left chest is also pretty simple. Again, turn the T-shirt inside out and find the center by folding it in half. Once you have a center line of the shirt, the center of the design going on the left chest should fall between this fold line and the left shirt sleeve seam.

Align the original and side seam lines to create another vertical fold line to serve as your center line. Your new fold line will lie between these two lines.

Find the center point of your embroidery design on the t-shirt. Mark it with a pin. Insert the pin from the front to the back of the shirt.

One of the best investments an embroiderer can make is a quality set of magnetic embroidery hoops. Mighty Hoops are designed to ensure consistent, straight placement and make hooping easier than ever.

How To Embroider A Shirt With a Machine

Hooping your shirt is crucial to get excellent results.

Learning to “pre-set” your hoop will reduce both scenarios. Here is a video that shows exactly how to “pre-set” your hoop.

With proper placement and hooping taken care of, it’s time to start embroidering!

• T-shirt
• Scissors
• Painters tape (or adhesive spray)
• Marker
• Measuring tape
• Design template print out
• Iron
• Embroidery design (we used Beach Babe)

Step 1: Fold your shirt in half and iron it to get a good center line to base your placement off.

Step 2: Take your design printout (in actual size) and measure where you want to put it in your shirt. Here we want to be 3″ below the top of our shirt.

Step 3: Use painters tape to surround your template and place small dots as to where your horizontal and vertical axis is. (You can use a fabric marker but this makes less mess!)

Step 4: Take your bottom hoop. Use painters tape to keep the stabilizer from moving on the hoop. Place it under your shirt.

Step 5: Position your design template back on your shirt between all of your markings.

Step 6: Properly hoop your shirt. Use your tape for correct placement.

Step 7: Turn your shirt inside out after hooping and remove the tape.

Step 8: Place clips around your garment to hold extra material. Put your hoop onto your embroidery machine and start your design!

Step 9: Finish stitching your embroidery design.

Step 10: Once your design is completed, remove it from the hoop. Turn your shirt inside out and cut away your stabilizer.

Step 11: Turn the right way out and you have a perfectly placed embroidery design on a t-shirt!

You’re ready to wear your newly embroidered shirt!

Tips For Machine Embroidery On T-Shirts

• Use an appropriate embroidery needle. A ballpoint needle is best when embroidering on a stretch fabric like a t-shirt. It gently pushes away the fabric when stitching instead of shearing it.
• Use a water-soluble topper for a more polished result. Water-soluble toppers are often used on nappy fabrics like towels and can also improve the look of a T-shirt.
• Use Cloud Cover to soften the inside of a t-shirt. The back side of an embroidery or applique design can be irritating when it is in direct contact with the skin. Cloud Cover is a product you iron on the back of the design to cover the scratchy stitches.
• Print out the embroidery design to scale to help with placement. Figuring out how high to place the design on the t-shirt can be tricky. Please print out the design to scale, position it on the t-shirt, and mark the center point with a pin.

Ready to step up your sock game? Let’s cover all things machine embroidery on socks! Explore exciting placements and the best methods to bring your sock designs to life.

From fun patterns to personalized touches, we’ve got ideas to suit every style. We’ll discuss how to embroider your socks with and without a sock hooping aid. Whether you’re new to embroidery or a seasoned pro, get ready to kick off your shoes and dive into a world of creativity with our step-by-step tutorial!

Materials Needed To Embroider Socks

Here are the materials you need:

• Pair of socks
• Cutaway or tearaway stabilizer (we used medium-weight cutaway)
• Embroidery adhesive spray
• Pins
• Embroidery hoop (hoop size is up to you)
• Sock embroidery hoop (optional)
• Embroidery design 

How To Embroider Socks: Pin Tutorial

We’ll start with a sock and lay it flat.

Place a pin at the halfway point of the sock. This ensures that the design stitches on the side of the leg where it will be noticeable.

To embroider your sock, use the floating hooping method. This method is suitable for small items like socks, hankies, patches, etc, but not for large items like shirts, coats, or bags.

Start by hooping a piece of stabilizer. We used a medium-weight cutaway.

Mark a line for the center point of your hoop for alignment.

Lay paper towels over the edge of the hoop to protect it from overspray.

Give a light spray of temporary embroidery spray- remember, less is more!

Attach your sock to the stabilizer, aligning the pin with the alignment mark you made. You will use pins to provide more support. Make sure you use the sock’s ribs to help with alignment. You will want to stretch the sock out slightly so that when worn, it looks natural.

It will look like this stretched out:

And it will look like this at rest:

But trust us, it will look great when worn!

To pin, start by stretching each side of the sock a bit. Then, pin through the stabilizer to hold it down.

When pinned correctly, you will pin in each corner near the top and use two more pins to create a “box .”You will also use a pin to hold back the excess.

The box below is our stitch area:

Now, prepare your embroidery design!

When you lay your design flat, it should be large enough to be seen but not more than ⅓ of the sock. Depending on your design, you can go a little larger or smaller.

If you have embroidery software,  you will want to use a knockdown stitch on heavier ribbed socks to ensure a stable surface.

Match your thread to your sock, and you will have a perfect base for your design. Here is what the laydown stitch looks like on our sock:

Stitch your design on your embroidery machine and then carefully trim the stabilizer.

You have now finished your embroidered sock.

How To Embroider Socks: Sock Hooping Aid Tutorial

A sock hooping aid is a handy wire frame that safely holds back the sock in the machine.

Using this method, we will turn our sock inside out.

While the sock is inside out, insert the sock hooping aid as shown below.

Pull the edge of the sock up over the protected end of the aid. Align the prong with the edge of the sock to make it lie flat while using it.

Prepare your embroidery hoop. We use a lightweight tearaway stabilizer and a slightly larger hoop to give room for the hooping aid.

Cover the hoop with a paper towel, then lightly spray the stabilizer with temporary embroidery spray to protect it.

Lightly spray the sock to give it a little extra stick to hold it firm.

Once you safely attach the sock and the hoop to the stabilizer, you can add a pin for safe stitching.

Place your frame in the machine and stitch out your design.

Remove or trim the stabilizer, turn your sock inside out, and you’ve embroidered your sock!

Embroidering Sock Cuffs

Embroidering a sock cuff is easy, but one step differs from the instructions above.

Remember, the inside of the sock becomes the outside when you turn it over to create the cuff. You will also turn the design upside down. If you stitch on the inside of the sock and then turn it down to make the cuff.

Here is the same design on the same pair of socks, just different placements:

Conclusion: Best Results For Sock Embroidery

Tips to get the best results on your socks:

• Choose smaller, less complicated designs.
• On thicker socks, use a knockdown stitch to create a stable surface. Match the thread color to the base sock color.
• Take time to pin your socks in the hoop for better results!
• Never put your fingers in or near the machine when it is stitching!

Embroidering on socks opens a world of creative possibilities! Add flair to everyday socks or create personalized gifts that stand out; you can show personality with every step!

I’ve got to be honest; when I first heard of embroidering on toilet paper, I thought it was a crappy idea (yes, pun intended). It seemed like home embroiderers were grabbing random household items and stitching on them. I mean, what’s next? The carpet?

After realizing its potential, we decided to join in on the fun of embroidering toilet paper. So why would you want to embroider on toilet paper?

The method we use to embroider on TP may differ from other ways you’ve seen, but we’ve found this less likely to break! Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom for a free embroidery design for toilet paper to try this method yourself!

Why Put Embroidery on Toilet Paper

Embroidering on TP is a great way to add a personal embroidered touch to your bathroom. Whether you’re decorating for the holidays or just giving your guests something to chuckle about while going about their business, it is just plain old embroidery fun.

Embroidered toilet paper can also make an excellent gift for someone hard to buy for, especially if it’s personalized. Who can say they have a personal roll of toilet paper? You can create a personalized roll for any occasion, from a new house owner to a birthday bash; you will never be without a gift!

Did we mention it’s super easy and quick to embroider, too?

Supplies Required for Embroidering Toilet Paper

• Toilet paper (of course)
• No show mesh embroidery stabilizer
• Embroidery hoop
• Exacto knife
• Binder clips
• Felt pads
• Embroidery designs –Tinkle All The Way was used for this project

Tip: Use a higher ply of toilet paper to embroider on. Not only does it feel better to use, but it is also stronger, decreasing the likelihood that it will break while embroidering. Both ways, it’s less of a pain in your rear end (OK, seriously, I’ll stop with these jokes now).

With the items above, you’ll want to add a felt pad to one side of your binder clips (you’ll need 4). This allows the toilet paper to slide on the machine’s surface rather than catch it.

Embroidering On Toilet Paper Tutorial

Step 1: Hoop your no-show stabilizer and run the placement stitch.

• Once your stabilizer is hooped, place your hoop on the machine and embroider the design placement stitches.

Step 2: Cut slits around the placement stitch to insert clips.

• Use your exacto knife to cut four small slits around the placement stitches, as shown below. This allows the clips to be inserted.

• Line the toilet paper to the placement guide stitches.
• Carefully take the clips you created and slide the felt piece underneath the slit, leaving the top binder clamp on top.
• You’ll do this four times, once for each of four of the slits you cut to hold your piece securely in place.

Step 3: Embroider your design.

• Be super careful not to tear your project when placing your hoop back on the machine.

Step 4: Remove the stabilizer and roll up your toilet paper.

• Take the hoop off your machine and carefully remove the clips.
• Remove the stabilizer from your hoop (we can’t stress enough to be careful!)
• Once you remove the hoop, take a pair of scissors and cut away the excess no-show mesh stabilizer from the back of your design.

• Roll up the toilet paper and carefully clean up any loose stitches that might be showing by cutting them away with scissors.
• Thats it. Congratulations, you’ve just embroidered on toilet paper!

Toilet Paper Embroidery Designs -Be Careful!

Designs that are too dense or have too high of a stitch count will create too many needle penetrations and likely cause the toilet paper to tear.

Free Toilet Paper Embroidery Design

Our designs are digitized specifically for embroidering on TP (and they are stinkin’ great)! Don’t just take our word for it; try one of them for yourself!

Now that you’ve learned how to properly hoop, stabilize, and embroider your toilet paper, download your free design to create your own.

Conclusion: Embroidery On Toilet Paper Doesn’t Have To Stink!

Ok, you caught me. I had to make one more joke. I mean, come on, how often do I get to write about this stuff? 

If you follow the steps listed above, you shouldn’t encounter any issues when embroidering on toilet paper, especially when using our low-density embroidery designs, as they’ve been specifically made for toilet paper projects.

Be sure to take it slow, get three-ply toilet paper, and use designs that were digitized with the proper low-density stitch settings in mind so your embroidery machine doesn’t tear your toilet paper to shreds.

Our easy step-by-step guide has just what you need to transform your bucket hat into a one-of-a-kind embroidered piece. We’ve got some great tips and tricks to make the process a breeze and make them stand out.

Bucket hats are easier to embroider than caps. You can do them on a flatbed hoop, magnetic, or cap driver.

Your bucket hats are about to become your favorite canvas – let’s embroider them together!

Bucket Hat Embroidery Designs

Bucket hats are not heavily stabilized, which is great because they can be easily embroidered.

You can embroider anywhere on a bucket hat, but in this article, we’ll focus on the front crown and brim.

Most designs stitch great, even on the brim, because they make most of these hats from cotton. Please ensure the brim is created with soft fabric before embroidering.

Because bucket hats have smaller front crowns, the design you embroider should not be larger than 2.5 inches tall or exceed 4 inches wide.

Though the vertical part of the bucket hat appears straight, it is not. Adjust your design if you’d like to fit this slight curve.

If you use letters, curve them if possible.

Materials To Embroider A Bucket Hat

• Stabilizer: We suggest using a medium-weight cutaway, but you can use any type that works for you.  Just remember that you need to stabilize your work so it wears well.
• Scissors
• Temporary embroidery spray
• Tape to secure your hat
• Ruler
• Pins
• Fabric marker (optional)
• Embroidery software (only required if you want to edit your embroidery designs to curve perfectly on the brim of your hat)
• Embroidery design
• Bucket hat

How To Hoop A Bucket Hat For Embroidery

You can hoop a bucket hat on a cap driver for a multi-needle machine in the same fashion as you would a cap. Since not everyone has a cap frame, we’ll focus on how to hoop these by “floating” on the stabilizer.

You will want to choose a firm stabilizer, like a medium tearaway or sticky stabilizer.

Start by hooping your piece of stabilizer.

Pin the center of your bucket hat in the hoop. You can find the center point by folding it in half.

Mark the center point.

Line up your points to mark a center line on the hat.

Line up your hat brim’s center point with the hoop’s center point and pin near the seam. Align the top center point and pin to the hooped stabilizer.

How To Embroider A Bucket Hat Brim

Lay your hat flat and take a picture of the brim curve. You’ll use this to create a placement line for perfect results.

Hoop your stabilizer and stitch the placement line. Remove your hoop from the machine.

Spray your stabilizer with a light spray of temporary embroidery spray.

Align the bucket hat along the placement line and pin it in place. Secure the remaining fabric of the hat using tape, pins, or clips to hold it away from the embroidery machine’s touch.

Place your hoop in the machine and embroider!

Do you want to embroider on the front crown of the bucket hat? Here’s how you do it…

How To Embroider A Bucket Hat

Fold the sweatband towards the brim of the hat. Secure it with a pin. This will prevent it from coming into contact with the machine.

Turn it right side out and pin the center bottom and top of the hat side on your hoop (align the center line with the center of your hoop).

Fold the hat over to expose the stabilizer. Lightly use a temporary adhesive spray to spray the hat fabric to the stabilizer. Do the same for the other side.

Smooth out the hat, but remember to let the fabric curve naturally.

Secure the excess fabric close to the hoop using pins, clips, or tape to prevent the machine from embroidering it.

Place your hoop in the machine (be sure to trace or check correct placement), and begin to embroidery. Watch the machine carefully to ensure the fabric is not close to the needles or your presser foot.

After you finish stitching your design, voila, you have finished your personalized bucket hat!

Create Your Own Embroidered Bucket Hat

For those of you who like a challenge, why not create one from scratch? Many easy sewing patterns are available online. You can use a picture of your pattern in embroidery software to make a placement line for a custom bucket hat.

Insert your artwork inside those lines and embroider before you put the hat together.

You can create small designs or multi hoop if you have smaller hoops. Here is a truly unique hat made from an old throw pillow. What are you going to revamp?

Conclusion

Bucket hats are a fun way to personalize your style. Using the floating method allows multi- and single-needle embroidery machine users to embroider.

Here are a few important tips to remember:

• Pin the sweatband away from the front crown when embroidering.
• Make sure to smooth the lining and the hat fabric.
• Revise your design accordingly because of the curved brim.
•  When embroidering, ensure the hat material isn’t in the way of the machine presser foot or needles.

You can transform a basic hat into a unique accessory that reflects your personal style with practice and creativity. Give it a try, and we can’t wait to see your results.

Although the explanation above is rather simple, I assure you that there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Embroidery digitizing is like painting with stitches, and just like painting, certain rules apply.

Digitizing is all about understanding how thread interacts with fabric and learning how to use software to get the results you want. Choosing the appropriate stitch type, settings, & direction is where the real learning curve is involved.

What All Can I Digitize into Embroidery?

This is where the real fun is involved.

For example, you can digitize things like your kids’ drawings, a company’s logo, or an internet image.

Now keep in mind, there are some limitations in place. Unlike printing something, machine embroidery has more limitations in place because we’re dealing with physical mediums like thread and fabric. That said, you couldn’t digitize the Mona Lisa onto a 2-inch patch and expect the same level of detail.

Do I Need To Be Artistic To Digitize?

I can barely draw a stick figure, yet I’ve won 30 awards for digitizing in the commercial industry and have done work for thousands of large corporations. Although I’m not an artist, I would certainly consider myself ‘creative’.

You can be a very creative person and still not be an artist. Every machine embroidery hobbyist I’ve met I would consider to be creative. This means that you’re just as qualified to become a digitizer as anyone else!

How Long Does It Take To Learn Embroidery Digitizing?

Like any hobby, having proper instruction & experiencing positive results will reflect the amount of interest you have in learning. Things like underlay stitches, understanding the three basic embroidery stitch types (running stitch, fill and satin stitches), push & pull compensation, and density are all key aspects that must be considered when learning how to transform artwork into an embroidery design.

I understand that some of these words (or all of them) might be new to you and seem foreign. The main thing to remember is that like painting, digitizing is an art form that simply requires patience and, of course, a guiding hand from the right instructor.

What Do I Need to Start Embroidery Digitizing?

There are a few things you will need to start your digitizing journey.

Access to an embroidery machine is essential. Without stitching out your digitized designs, you will not see where your errors are. As I always say, what you see on your screen isn’t always the same as your stitched outcome. Trial and error will be your new motto!

If you went for a run, would you wear your flip-flops or your running shoes? Using a mouse in digitizing is like wearing flip-flops. You can still run, but you’ll likely take longer. Using a pen tablet not only helps with your creativity, but it makes digitizing faster and more fun!

Embroidery Digitizing Is Not New (Sort of)

Although embroidery software and embroidery file formats are new and constantly evolving, the age-old rules of how thread interacts with fabric are not. In fact, they’re thousands of years old!

Now keep in mind that machine embroidery (compared to hand embroidery) is still somewhat new, starting in the nineteenth century. But still, contrary to popular belief, embroidery digitizing didn’t start with computers.

No, machine embroidery used to be done on Schiffli looms that were 10-15 yards long and produced hundreds of pieces at a time. These machines were operated by Schiffli master digitizers who manually commanded and traced each stitch in live time (each master apprenticed for 10 years to learn their trade)!

I’m proud to say that as far I know, I am the last Schiffli master digitizer still alive and teaching in North America (I know most of you know my story, so I’ll stop it there)…

The point I’m trying to make is that although these days software makes things A LOT easier by putting most of the digitizing process on “autopilot” for you, embroidery is an artform dealing with the physical mediums of thread and fabric which are governed by rules.

Because of this, there is some basic embroidery theory that every embroiderer should learn to really understand how embroidery designs are created and how to get the best results, even if you don’t want to learn how to digitize fully!

I Want To Try Digitizing. Where Do I Begin?

Conclusion: Is Embroidery Digitizing For You?

The thing about embroidery digitizing is that it’s like olives… some people really like it, some people really don’t. Either way is fine! I realize that digitizing is not for everyone; it’s either you love it or hate it.

So is machine embroidery digitizing for you? Well, there’s only one way to find out…

Before you invest any money in digitizing software, check out our Free Embroidery Digitizing 101: Video Course & Cheat Sheet. Whether you want to digitize or not, the theory you’ll learn will help improve every aspect of your embroidery…

… Plus, it’s 100% free! What do you have to lose? Best of luck in your digitizing journey and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions! Remember the name of our site says it all EmbroideryLegacy.com

Have you ever thought about giving your sleeves a stylish twist with machine embroidery? 

Discover the creative options of machine embroidery on sleeves, adding personality to your clothing. This guide will show you how to add style to your sleeves using different methods depending on what equipment you have. We will also share versatile styling ideas.

Ready to roll up your sleeves and stitch your style?

Types of Sleeve Embroidery

Sleeve embroidery can jazz up a boring sweatshirt or sweater and add elegance to a crisp cotton shirt.  

You can place your embroidery design virtually everywhere, depending on the size and type. Still, considering how those viewing them will perceive them is best.

If you have team spirit, you can place your favorite mascot on the outside shoulder, almost like a badge of honor. A longer saying or bigger letters can run down your arm vertically or horizontally.

If you have a meaningful quote or name (such as your kids or pets) you want to see all day while you work, place it on the inner forearm. You can also place a smaller logo or monogram near or on the cuff. Personalized sweatshirts also make great gift ideas!

Placement is up to you; you can embroider on virtually every area of the sleeve.

Upper Sleeve Embroidery

Center the upper sleeve on the shoulder seam and let it run down the sleeve. You can align the lettering vertically or horizontally. People often get embroidery on their upper arm, from shoulder to elbow, to show it off on the side.

Lower Inside Sleeve Embroidery

The orientation of the “inside” sleeve embroidery is between the center line of the sleeve and the seam under your arm. This places it so that you can see it when you look down.

Lower Sleeve Embroidery

Lower sleeve and upper sleeve placement are the same on the center line of the sleeve.

Cuff Embroidery

You can directly do cuff embroidery on the cuff or the bottom of the sleeve by the cuff. We will discuss the best way to do these narrower sleeve parts.

What Do I Need To Embroider On Sleeves

Let’s discuss the equipment you will need to create sleeve embroidery. Sleeves are long and skinny, so having a sleeve hoop is extremely handy if you’re embroidering lots of them. But we have some tricks “up our sleeve” to allow everyone to get great results, should you choose to use regular hoops.

• Seam ripper: great for removing the serged edge of sweatshirts (better than scissors to avoid cutting fabric by mistake).
• Marking chalk. 
• Ruler or measuring tape. 
• Embroidery stabilizer (use one of the following depending on the method you use).
  • No-show mesh
  • Sticky stabilizer
• An embroidery hoop (we’ll go over both methods to embroider using the two hoops below).
  • Sleeve hoop: long and skinny.
  • Regular hoop: great for cuffs and smaller areas; the hoop size depends on the size of the design.

How To Embroider A Sleeve Tutorial

The design placement on your sleeve can be anywhere.

We’ll discuss three different methods of embroidering on your sleeve below.

How To Embroider On A Sleeve Using A Sleeve Hoop

Start by finding the center point of your sleeve. We need to know this no matter where you place your embroidery.  

Lay out your garment folding on the center seam (align with the shoulder and underarm seam). 

Mark the center with pins or tape.

Open and flatten the sleeve and, using a ruler, put a mark (with chalk or water-soluble pen) between your two center points.

Turn your garment inside out. Combine medium cutaway stabilizer and no-show mesh. Attach them to your sleeve using temporary adhesive spray. (The cutaway is touching the sleeve fabric).

Turn the garment inside out (the stabilizer should stay in place from the spray adhesive) and insert the hoop bottom into the sleeve.  

Center the hoop with the markings you made, and apply the top half of the hoop.

Insert your hooped sleeve into your embroidery machine and embroider.

Remove the hoop from your sleeve, and you’re done! That was easy!

These are two examples of what vertical and horizontal embroidery look like.

Don’t have a sleeve hoop? No problem, we can help you with that, too!

How To Embroider On A Sleeve – Sewing Involved

Sometimes, your embroidery hoop does not fit in your shirt sleeve. Perhaps you have a smaller sweater or bigger hoops. To start embroidery hooping, we will have to open the sleeve so we can get a hoop in – Please note there will be sewing involved.

Following the first few steps in the sleeve hoop method above. You will still want to center and outline where you’ll place your design. Use scissors or a seam ripper to remove stitches from the closest area to where you want to embroider.

Remember, you do not have to remove stitches in the whole arm! You just need a space large enough for your hoop to fit. Sometimes, you may not have to open the cuff.

Print a template of your design to help with proper placement.

Pin your template to your desired location.

Now that you know the exact location for your design make sure your starting needle lines up with the center of your design.

Put your embroidery hoop in your machine and let it stitch!

Now, close up your sleeve.

Fold your sweater so it is inside out. Use clips or pins to hold the seam together, and use your sewing machine (on a straight stitch) or serger to sew the gap shut.

Once you finish, turn your sweatshirt right side out.

How To Embroider On & Near A Sleeve Cuff

Follow the same centering rules we discussed above. 

Flip your sleeve and cut open the part closest to where you’ll embroider the design using scissors or a seam ripper.

Pin the template of your design in the area you previously marked.

Use a sticky stabilizer and remove the paper to which you want your garment to stick.

Center the design of your template with your machine.

Remove your template and pin, and let your design start stitching! Carefully watch to ensure that the needle does not hit your clips or sides of the sleeve.

Once you’ve finished embroidering, tear away the remainder of the sticky stabilizer and turn the sleeve inside. Sew the side of your sleeve back together.

Once you finish embroidering, sew the side of your sleeve back together, and voila, you finish!

Conclusion: What Shirt Sleeve Are You Embroidering First?

Trying new things can be scary, but this tutorial should help you feel more comfortable. Remember these tips for embroidering sleeves.

• Know who is going to view this: you or others? An easy way to gauge is to create a template, place it on the sleeve, and view it in a mirror.
• If opening a sleeve, use a seam ripper to clip the top stitches of the serged edge.
• When embroidering near the cuff, avoid the cuff and sleeve seam.
• Practice on old garments until you feel comfortable hooping and stitching. When you’re comfortable, move on to your final garment stitches.