Disboutiquers Part 28 Kids Disney Boutique / Customs Clothes psst..we sew ;-)

[Teamtori]

Hi all, I'm trying to work my way through all the posts. My name is Michelle and I love custom clothes! My daughter is 6 and is going on a Make a Wish trip to Disney in July. I am going to try to get some tips, but between her treatment and me working, I'm not sure how much I will accomplish!

Here is a dumb question to start with: How do you applique? I have an embroidered machine (a brother low budget one)..but no idea how to do this.

Oh and if you want to see my daughter, her site is torigaga dot com.

I can't wait to learn from you all!

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

Hi again! I joined this thread a while ago, but went MIA for a while! I recently bought an embroidery machine, probably the same one as PP as it is a Brother, and is from Walmart. I love Brother machines. All of ours (5 machines) are Brother.

I am struggling hard with how to embroider letters straight. I bought some CD's with Disney font on them, but I have to do each letter individually, and I cannot seem to get them evenly spaced and straight across. I have tons of shirts to embroider and applique (I will delve into that one when I am comfy with the embroidery itself.) but I am so afraid of messing them up that I am doing exactly nothing with them. I have been practicing a bit on an old shirt, but just can't seem to get it right. I am not used to this as I sew for my karate studio and have been sewing for practically my whole life. This is a new adventure for me. Help please!! I love the applique tutorial btw. I will be using it for sure when I cross that bridge. Thank you!!!

Here are a few dancing bananas as thanx for your help.

 

[Teamtori]

I have a brother machine too, and the best thing I've done is get one of the software deals (I used a free trial) that you can combine the letters into a word, and lay it out the way you want. That way it comes out straight. I used one called embird.

I read the tutorial about appliques but I think I'm missing something. I just don't get it!

 

[Blyssfull]

Hi again! I joined this thread a while ago, but went MIA for a while! I recently bought an embroidery machine, probably the same one as PP as it is a Brother, and is from Walmart. I love Brother machines. All of ours (5 machines) are Brother.

I am struggling hard with how to embroider letters straight. I bought some CD's with Disney font on them, but I have to do each letter individually, and I cannot seem to get them evenly spaced and straight across. I have tons of shirts to embroider and applique (I will delve into that one when I am comfy with the embroidery itself.) but I am so afraid of messing them up that I am doing exactly nothing with them. I have been practicing a bit on an old shirt, but just can't seem to get it right. I am not used to this as I sew for my karate studio and have been sewing for practically my whole life. This is a new adventure for me. Help please!! I love the applique tutorial btw. I will be using it for sure when I cross that bridge. Thank you!!!

Here are a few dancing bananas as thanx for your help.

I second what TeamTori posted. The best way is to use a software program to merge them all together to make them into their "own" design. You can also use it to merge the name/lettering with the designs so you can do everything in one hooping.

Hi all, I'm trying to work my way through all the posts. My name is Michelle and I love custom clothes! My daughter is 6 and is going on a Make a Wish trip to Disney in July. I am going to try to get some tips, but between her treatment and me working, I'm not sure how much I will accomplish!

Here is a dumb question to start with: How do you applique? I have an embroidered machine (a brother low budget one)..but no idea how to do this.

Oh and if you want to see my daughter, her site is torigaga dot com.

I can't wait to learn from you all!

Is there a certain part of applique you're having trouble with or just overall?

This is a great video on youtube to give an idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whwsYFWnhwA

When starting out, it's best to have the steps/thread changes that comes with your design on your computer near your machine or print it off so you can know which step is next. Then as you get more experience you change/rearrange the way things stitch out. HTH

 

[Blyssfull]

Hi all, I'm trying to work my way through all the posts. My name is Michelle and I love custom clothes! My daughter is 6 and is going on a Make a Wish trip to Disney in July. I am going to try to get some tips, but between her treatment and me working, I'm not sure how much I will accomplish!

Here is a dumb question to start with: How do you applique? I have an embroidered machine (a brother low budget one)..but no idea how to do this.

Oh and if you want to see my daughter, her site is torigaga dot com.

I can't wait to learn from you all!

Just checked out your website.. OMGosh What a precious child!

 

[Piper]

Hi all, I'm trying to work my way through all the posts. My name is Michelle and I love custom clothes! My daughter is 6 and is going on a Make a Wish trip to Disney in July. I am going to try to get some tips, but between her treatment and me working, I'm not sure how much I will accomplish!

Here is a dumb question to start with: How do you applique? I have an embroidered machine (a brother low budget one)..but no idea how to do this.

Oh and if you want to see my daughter, her site is torigaga dot com.

I can't wait to learn from you all!

Hi Michelle,

My name is Piper and I am a 67 year old with NF1 (like Tori.) I was diagnosed in 7th grade when my PE teacher recognized that I had scoliosis and Juvenile RA. My mother was told to take me to a pediatric rheumatologist who fortunately recognized my few "bumps" as neurofibromas and the scoliosis and lordosis as well as the cafe au lait spots as a manifestation of NF1. I only have 1 "freckle" under each arm! Biopsies of three tumors confirmed the diagnosis.

Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your website and what you are doing to educate the public. As you know, we all manifest in different ways. I haven't had vision or hearing problems and I just have 3 very small spots in my brain. I do have some tumors in my sinuses and stomach and duodenum, as well as a few on my skin. I have been very fortunate! Tori and your family will be in my prayers.

 

[PurpleEars]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to pop in and say that I have been reading back threads ( I just finally finished all of thread 27) and I have been learning a LOT. I have been sewing, but I'm a teacher and between state testing craziness and normal end of the year stuff, I haven't had much time.

I have made some napkins, a pair of easy fit pajama pants (capri length), and a zippered coin purse. They could all be way better, but I learned a lot along the way. I have also become an expert at seam ripping

My biggest (current) issue seems to be my inability to reverse stitch over my seam, thus my stitches fall out. How can I make it work better? Is it just a matter of practice (and learning how to sew straighter??)

Thanks for the help and inspiration!
Tara

I messed up the zipper, but I know how to fix it next time. Oh and appliquing is WAY harder than it looks.

I had a problem with the elastic, epsecially the part that gets sewn after you put the elastic in. I think it's just a matter of having a bit more patience.

I am glad that you dived right in. It looks like from your applique that you used the basting stitch (one with LONG stitch setting). I would recommend making the stitch length shorter (I think "regular" is 2.0 to 2.5mm on my machine depending on which stitch I use and basting stitch is 5.0mm). I would also recommend using tight zigzag stitches for applique (just decrease the stitch length and increase the stitch width). The other thing you may want to look at is your thread tension. If the tension is off, then one thread will pull out easily. Unless you are very comfortable with your machine, I would say only adjust the tension for the top thread (usually a dial) and don't play with the bobbin tension at all.

Welcome!! I'm a middle school teacher and yep, the state testing craziness is here. I hate it! I need to do the creative stuff just to let off my stress from my job.

I appliqued Bolt onto what will be a shirt for my 7 year old DS.

Bolt is very cute!

Hi all, I'm trying to work my way through all the posts. My name is Michelle and I love custom clothes! My daughter is 6 and is going on a Make a Wish trip to Disney in July. I am going to try to get some tips, but between her treatment and me working, I'm not sure how much I will accomplish!

Here is a dumb question to start with: How do you applique? I have an embroidered machine (a brother low budget one)..but no idea how to do this.

Oh and if you want to see my daughter, her site is torigaga dot com.

I can't wait to learn from you all!

For applique "by hand", I would suggest reading the tutorial on the first page. For "machine applique", I would suggest looking at some of the recomended digitizers from this thread and look at their sites. You can buy files from them that your machine can read and place stitches in the right places for your appliques. (Warning: please check your machine has a way of taking external files before buying any applique files. You need special software and a special card for older machines. Newer ones would have a USB port to take files).

Hi again! I joined this thread a while ago, but went MIA for a while! I recently bought an embroidery machine, probably the same one as PP as it is a Brother, and is from Walmart. I love Brother machines. All of ours (5 machines) are Brother.

I am struggling hard with how to embroider letters straight. I bought some CD's with Disney font on them, but I have to do each letter individually, and I cannot seem to get them evenly spaced and straight across. I have tons of shirts to embroider and applique (I will delve into that one when I am comfy with the embroidery itself.) but I am so afraid of messing them up that I am doing exactly nothing with them. I have been practicing a bit on an old shirt, but just can't seem to get it right. I am not used to this as I sew for my karate studio and have been sewing for practically my whole life. This is a new adventure for me. Help please!! I love the applique tutorial btw. I will be using it for sure when I cross that bridge. Thank you!!!

Here are a few dancing bananas as thanx for your help.

Welcome back! Since I only have a 4x4 hoop, I need to do multiple hooping for projects from time to time. I would say a metre stick (ok, yard stick to most of you) is a must! I just draw a straight line across where I want to embroider, divide them up into the correct increments, mark the centres for each hooping. I only hoop the stabilizer and float the fabric on top. I line up each centre to the centre of the embroidery foot, pin them, and check with the plastic template with the hoop. I then do tack down stitch, remove the pins, and proceed with the embroidery. I hope this makes sense to someone other than me...

Andrea Thank you for posting the update from Judy. I have been thinking about her family today. I hope the surgery was successful and everyone is on the mend.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Andrea Thank you for posting the update from Judy. I have been thinking about her family today. I hope the surgery was successful and everyone is on the mend.

Actually the surgery has been postponed....Lisa has a rash over her body due to a reaction to a new med....they will be getting her coumadin levels back to theraputic and then hopefully discharged in a couple of days....they will be rescheduling the surgery down the road.....please continue to keep Lisa and her family in your prayers, thanks

 

[RMAMom]

Actually the surgery has been postponed....Lisa has a rash over her body due to a reaction to a new med....they will be getting her coumadin levels back to theraputic and then hopefully discharged in a couple of days....they will be rescheduling the surgery down the road.....please continue to keep Lisa and her family in your prayers, thanks

Oh how awful! after all the stress leading up to the surgery, to have to postponed it must be devastating. I will keep everyone in my prayers.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Here is Judy's post from earlier on their thread......sorry the photos didn't copy over



Thank you again for the amazing messages and support, what a comfort!

Why they postponed surgery:
Last week I became very concerned about Lisa’s surgery. Timing was NOT making me happy and I had a horrible, nagging feeling. I felt deep in my soul SOMETHING HORRIBLE was going to happen. I don’t know if I mentioned it here; however, those IRL heard nothing from me but how concerned I was. I sent an email to all of her physicians that were involved with this hospital stay/surgery. I had a list of concerns/questions, I had been feeling VERY nervous and out of sorts about this being done today. They all acquiesced that there was nothing to worry about and we would proceed as planned. You may recall that Thursday Lisa was sick, then Friday Rachel was. We had a plethora of things occurring, that I will not get in to...suffice it to say, I kept thinking we should postpone the surgery; however, the docs kept wanting to move forward. Even after we arrived on Sunday, there were huge red flags to me. The biggest occurred last night when LIsa told me that she thought she would die if she had the surgery now. I spent the better part of the night praying, then I FINALLY was able to post an update this AM, asking for prayer. As I waited for Lisa to wake up this morning, I fervently prayed for God to stop this surgery to intercede if this was not HIs timing. I was calm as we walked to the OR holding area. I answered two different nurses questions in reference to the rash. The anesthesiologist came in and said he had no worries abut the rash. The nurse anesthetist came in and said she had to defer to the MDs (because of Lisa’ heart, the team to put her to sleep is always huge). Everyone agreed that the rash was NOT a deal breaker and we would proceed. LIsa told me her IV was hurting...a lot. It is a blood draw IV, nothing was going in or out. I looked at her arm and noticed it was swollen. I brought it to everyones attention and no one cared, said they could barely see it was swollen. Then our surgeon walked in...he took one look at Lisa’s entire body covered in rash and her swollen arm and said absolutely not! Where no one else seemed to care that she obviously has SOMETHING going on, he wasn’t about to risk my daughter’s life to “proceed as planned.” THEN the anesthesiologist starts telling me how difficult a case he perceived Lisa to be with her severe pulmonary stenosis. PRIOR to postponing the case, he wasn’t worried about it at all! All I know is IF and WHEN this surgery is rescheduled, I have no intention of letting Mr. Lackadaisical put her to sleep. Yes, Lisa needs to have the surgery; however, as the surgeon said once he saw her, that it doesn’t have to be today! We are i the process of getting her coumadin level back to therapeutic limits and THEN we can exit the hospital and it will not be soon enough for me. I can’t BELIEVE no one told the surgeon about the rash! Even Pete forgot to tell him when he breezed by the room yesterday, I had been sitting in there ALL day with the exception of leaving for Rachel’s MD appt and we took Lisa out to the play-yard and THAT is when he showed up. When Pete came out and told me he stopped by I said did you tell him about the rash and he had not. We came in to try and find hie; however, he was gone and we were told that someone would have already told him...apparently not! I have even more respect for him than I did, he didn’t get paid for that time and he still erred on the side of my child’s health, {raise the Lord. I will not be surprised to discover this rash is one of those many “unknowns”...but I DO think it was God’s way of forcing them to stop the surgery. There are many who are disappointed it didn’t happen today...I am NOT one of them, it just reaffirmed my Mom’s intuition and instinct should always be followed.

So NOW we are Prisoners! After three days we have been LOCKED IN! In spite of asking repeatedly if we needed to be worried about Lisa’s rash being contagious or infectious OR if we should postpone surgery and hearing a resounding NO from everyone, they NOW have confined Lisa to her room...of course if she has fifth’s disease (also known as Parvo 19), it is NOT contagious once you see the rash.

We now must wait and see how long it takes for Lisa’s coumadin levels to become therapeutic...please pray it is not long! I am NOT upset over this postponement, Many do not understand why I am not upset or why I AM so relieved... I know God’s hands are alL in this and while I may not be explainINg it clearly enough for anyone else to UNDERSTAND...I get it, loud and clear. God IS faithful and he is in control, never doubt that!

One happy thing today, Lisa’s ballet teacher stopped by to see her and that was a treat. We were very thankful! She brought some gardenias from her garden and they make the room smell wonderful!

I thought I would share a few pics of Lisa in some her new gowns and out and about at the hospital...choosing which gown to wear has been difficult for her, since she loves them all...I will put two behind my back everyday and she will pick a hand and that is the one she wears for that day....


With Gov, the therapy dog.


in the OR holding area this AM. They made her wear a hospital gown.


Playing with her bed, UP in the air!


This has been the most insane day with things changing rapidly. The dermatologist was just in (the one they said wouldn't be able to see us for several weeks). He is 100 percent sure Lisa is having a drug reaction to the omeprazole they put Lisa on for her gastric leaking...WHY have we waited three days for someone to figure this out...we are in a HOSPITAL for crying out loud! Lisa is now OFF of isolation...this is unbelievable....

 

[Sandi S]

Praying for Lisa and your family...things do happen for a reason.

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

I have a brother machine too, and the best thing I've done is get one of the software deals (I used a free trial) that you can combine the letters into a word, and lay it out the way you want. That way it comes out straight. I used one called embird.

I second what TeamTori posted. The best way is to use a software program to merge them all together to make them into their "own" design. You can also use it to merge the name/lettering with the designs so you can do everything in one hooping.

Thanx for the responses! I looked into the software program, and was thinking I had better ask if anyone has a certain one that is inexpensive, but does a great job at what I am looking to do. I couldn't even find a price on the embird one for if I wanted to purchase. I only found upgrade costs. I just don't want to waste money!

Welcome back! Since I only have a 4x4 hoop, I need to do multiple hooping for projects from time to time. I would say a metre stick (ok, yard stick to most of you) is a must! I just draw a straight line across where I want to embroider, divide them up into the correct increments, mark the centres for each hooping. I only hoop the stabilizer and float the fabric on top. I line up each centre to the centre of the embroidery foot, pin them, and check with the plastic template with the hoop. I then do tack down stitch, remove the pins, and proceed with the embroidery. I hope this makes sense to someone other than me...

Thanx! I only have the 4x4 hoop as well, and won't buy a bigger one until I can figure the darned machine out! There are some days where I consider taking it back b/c I am frustrated, and then I think about how I have wanted one for 10 years, and it stops me. I really want to tackle it and get moving! That seems to be what people tend to do with the fabric and stabilizer. I had someone type up a step by step instructional in a thread where I mentioned my frustration. I just didn't understand what she was saying when she said she didin't hoop the material. I guess it is common though! i have embroidered some things successfully, but do not feel competent though, especially when it comes to lettering. I hate letting it beat me!! Maybe my problem is that I am trying to do this too late at night! My brain isn't working at full capacity!

 

[miprender]

Hi all, I'm trying to work my way through all the posts. My name is Michelle and I love custom clothes! My daughter is 6 and is going on a Make a Wish trip to Disney in July. I am going to try to get some tips, but between her treatment and me working, I'm not sure how much I will accomplish!

Here is a dumb question to start with: How do you applique? I have an embroidered machine (a brother low budget one)..but no idea how to do this.

Oh and if you want to see my daughter, her site is torigaga dot com.

I can't wait to learn from you all!

Hi I am Michelle also

I used this tutorial when I was first starting out http://www.swakembroidery.com/swak-101-multi-appliquetutorial.htm

What problems are you having?

Hi again! I joined this thread a while ago, but went MIA for a while! I recently bought an embroidery machine, probably the same one as PP as it is a Brother, and is from Walmart. I love Brother machines. All of ours (5 machines) are Brother.

I am struggling hard with how to embroider letters straight. I bought some CD's with Disney font on them, but I have to do each letter individually, and I cannot seem to get them evenly spaced and straight across. I have tons of shirts to embroider and applique (I will delve into that one when I am comfy with the embroidery itself.) but I am so afraid of messing them up that I am doing exactly nothing with them. I have been practicing a bit on an old shirt, but just can't seem to get it right. I am not used to this as I sew for my karate studio and have been sewing for practically my whole life. This is a new adventure for me. Help please!! I love the applique tutorial btw. I will be using it for sure when I cross that bridge. Thank you!!!

Here are a few dancing bananas as thanx for your help.

I have a PE770 and I can never get my letter straight doing one at a time either. Someday I may look at getting a software package

 

[lovesdumbo]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to pop in and say that I have been reading back threads ( I just finally finished all of thread 27) and I have been learning a LOT. I have been sewing, but I'm a teacher and between state testing craziness and normal end of the year stuff, I haven't had much time.

I have made some napkins, a pair of easy fit pajama pants (capri length), and a zippered coin purse. They could all be way better, but I learned a lot along the way. I have also become an expert at seam ripping

My biggest (current) issue seems to be my inability to reverse stitch over my seam, thus my stitches fall out. How can I make it work better? Is it just a matter of practice (and learning how to sew straighter??)

Thanks for the help and inspiration!
Tara

I messed up the zipper, but I know how to fix it next time. Oh and appliquing is WAY harder than it looks.

I had a problem with the elastic, epsecially the part that gets sewn after you put the elastic in. I think it's just a matter of having a bit more patience.

I think every looks great. Kudos to you for trying a zipper! I need to get up the courage to try one!!!

I appliqued Bolt onto what will be a shirt for my 7 year old DS.

Love Bolt! Love it on the stripes.






Continued prayers for Lisa and her family. Hope she can go home real soon!

 

[cogero]

Thanks for the update on Lisa. I have been praying for them.

Which machine do you have from walmart. I started with an SE-400 and it was fairly easy to use. I started by buying HeatherSue's Mickey Head which is an easy design to start with only 3 steps.

 

[dianemom2]

Thanks for the update on Lisa. I have been praying for them.

Which machine do you have from walmart. I started with an SE-400 and it was fairly easy to use. I started by buying HeatherSue's Mickey Head which is an easy design to start with only 3 steps.

I started with nearly the same machine, just an older version. The SE-270. HeatherSue's Mickey head was my first applique too. I'd done some embroidery before that but not applique. Lining up letters to make words is nearly impossible without a program on the computer to help you.

 

[Teamtori]

Is there a certain part of applique you're having trouble with or just overall?

This is a great video on youtube to give an idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whwsYFWnhwA

When starting out, it's best to have the steps/thread changes that comes with your design on your computer near your machine or print it off so you can know which step is next. Then as you get more experience you change/rearrange the way things stitch out. HTH

I think I'm having difficulty understanding the whole concept, but that video was VERY helpful! I want to try now!! Thank you for that!!

 

[Teamtori]

I started with nearly the same machine, just an older version. The SE-270. HeatherSue's Mickey head was my first applique too. I'd done some embroidery before that but not applique.

I also have the same machine, the Brother SE400. Where can I find HeatherSue's Mickey head? Also, do you need to buy APPLIQUE only designs if you use a machine embroidery? So it knows where to stop and all?

 

[Teamtori]

Just checked out your website.. OMGosh What a precious child!

Thank you so much! I think she is pretty amazing myself!

Hi Michelle,

My name is Piper and I am a 67 year old with NF1 (like Tori.) I was diagnosed in 7th grade when my PE teacher recognized that I had scoliosis and Juvenile RA. My mother was told to take me to a pediatric rheumatologist who fortunately recognized my few "bumps" as neurofibromas and the scoliosis and lordosis as well as the cafe au lait spots as a manifestation of NF1. I only have 1 "freckle" under each arm! Biopsies of three tumors confirmed the diagnosis.

Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your website and what you are doing to educate the public. As you know, we all manifest in different ways. I haven't had vision or hearing problems and I just have 3 very small spots in my brain. I do have some tumors in my sinuses and stomach and duodenum, as well as a few on my skin. I have been very fortunate! Tori and your family will be in my prayers.

Thank you so much! It is so nice to meet someone else with NF1. I will have to tell Tori! I'm glad you find value in the website..I really want to raise awareness for NF and hopefully find a cure!!

 

[teacher1717]

I am glad that you dived right in. It looks like from your applique that you used the basting stitch (one with LONG stitch setting). I would recommend making the stitch length shorter (I think "regular" is 2.0 to 2.5mm on my machine depending on which stitch I use and basting stitch is 5.0mm). I would also recommend using tight zigzag stitches for applique (just decrease the stitch length and increase the stitch width). The other thing you may want to look at is your thread tension. If the tension is off, then one thread will pull out easily. Unless you are very comfortable with your machine, I would say only adjust the tension for the top thread (usually a dial) and don't play with the bobbin tension at all.



OK...I am very new to sewing, so don't think I'm stupid. I tried the zig-zag stich and i need a lot more practice with it, it was kind of all over the place. I am unsure what a basting stitch is. I have my dial set on 3-which is a straight stitch. it was one of the smaller straight stitches, perhaps I'll try a different one. I am still practicing with the zig zag and satin stitch though.