In the Hoop Doily

There are many different types of In-The-Hoop projects available to sew with your embroidery machine these days.  Most of the fabric or applique based projects, consist of embroidered panels that are finished off with a satin stitch outline for each design piece.  The individual design pieces can then be easily combined together with a zig zag stitch to make into larger projects.  This sewing needs to be done on your sewing machine, and not your embroidery machine.

Anne has featured her Divine Doily 01 set in these steps to show you how easy the In the Hoop projects are to make.

The Divine Doily 01 set consists of 3 designs as shown below:

Each panel is embroidered onto two layers of water soluble Vilene. Fabric choice is important to ensure good results. I used a medium weight white cotton (it's almost the weight and thickness of denim) for my doily. Anything too light or flimsy is likely to shift in the hoop. The appliquéd roses and leaves were made from cotton scraps - red, pink and green.

I recommend washing the fabrics beforehand to check for shrinkage and whether the colors bleed.

The background is stippled in cream. The stippling is decorative and also helps stabilize the panels in the hoop. This doily is not intended as a quilted item, so no batting is required.

Each panel is also lined with a backing fabric, so all the stitching at the back is neatly hidden from view.

Once all the panels are embroidered, clean the edges with a damp cloth to remove the excess Vilene.

I then arranged the side panels as shown above. The panels are zigzagged together on your sewing machine, using the same color embroidery thread as was used for the satin borders. 

Recommended machine setting: W = 3.5 L = 1.