Let’s celebrate

GIVE YOUR FREEMOTION EMBROIDERY SKILLS TIME TO SHINE WITH A SET OF SPARKLY TOPPERS TO ADORN CAKES FOR CHRISTMAS AND BEYOND

2022-11-23 - Designed by Jane Kent stabilise it with backing or use a hoop.

GETTIING STTAARRTTEEDD

Writing with freemotion embroidery is a fantastic skill to learn, giving you the ability to personalise a whole range of pieces once you’ve mastered the technique. To do this, you will need to lower (or cover) your feed dogs – the teeth that pull the fabric through the machine. The switch to do this is generally at the front or back of your machine (if you are unsure, please check your manual). You will need to swap to a freemotion foot (AKA darning foot). These settings will allow you to move the fabric freely with your hands, which will enable you to write words. Thread your machine with the grey thread at the top and bottom and set your machine to straight stitch. It is

a good idea to practise stitching the text first on a scrap piece of felt. Felt is a great fabric

to use for a first project as there is no need to

MATERIALS

Felt sheet: A4, white

Machine thread: 1 spool each of grey, red, white

Card: A4, white

Wooden skewers

PVA glue

Assorted glitter fabric, felt or card: 7x7cm (per star), gold, red, silver Sewing machine with a freemotion (AKA darning) foot

Basic embroidery kit

Machine Straight Stitch

NOTE

Find the templates on p79.

Begin by cutting a piece of felt that 01 measures 6x22cm. Using the template, draw around the edge with a heat-erasable pen on the right-hand side of the fabric. Make sure you do this on the centre line of the felt as the flag will be folded over so you will need plenty of room. Then, prepare your machine for freemotion work (see our Getting Started guide on the opposite page for more on this).

We freehand stitched the text, but if

you feel more comfortable following a guideline, write the words on the felt using a heat-erasable pen. Start by using Machine Straight Stitch in grey thread to work the straight lines, stitching the two vertical lines close together, then leaving a gap. You want six lines in total, making each of the stems in the letter H. Using your embroidery scissors, trim the connecting threads. Then, work a continuous line of Machine Straight Stitch in grey, going from left to right, to add the horizontal bars of the H letters and to form the swirling O letters in-between.

Swap back to the standard machine foot

and change the thread from grey to red. Without raising the feed dogs on the machine, work Machine Straight Stitch and stitch along the outline of the wavy flag to create a border.

By changing the foot but leaving the feed dogs down, you will have a bit more control over the felt without limiting motion.

Once you have done this, cut a 6x22cm

piece of card. Fold it in half and sandwich it in the middle of the felt. It should be a folded sandwich of four layers – felt, card, then card, then felt. Now, using white thread, Machine Straight Stitch around the edge, taking care to leave a gap along the top-left and bottom-left corners to add the skewer.

Cut out your assorted stars using the

templates. We used a glitter fabric that was quite thick and didn’t shed glitter when being cut. You could also use glitter card or felt if you already have some in your stash. Next, thread your machine with white thread again. Back each of the stars using your remaining felt fabric, stitching around the edges and leaving a gap at the bases to allow you to add the skewers.

Trim the stars and flag using sharp fabric

scissors. Insert the skewers through the gaps in your stitching and use PVA glue to secure in place. Allow them to dry fully before adding them to a cake. After use, wipe the skewers down with a damp cloth and they’re ready to use over and over again.