Embroidered Key Fobs, Part 2

This is part 2 of how I make key fobs, you can find part 1 here.

Ok, so up to this point I've shown  you how to stabilize your ribbon for embroidery.  Once you've embroidered the ribbon, remove from the hoop.  Don't worry if there's a little bit of puckering along the top & bottom of the ribbon where you embroidered.  It should be fine once you iron it and sew down on the webbing.   That reminds me, make sure when you lay out the letters in your software that you don't use too tall of a letter, you don't want it to get too close to the edge of the ribbon. 

Next step is to press the backside of the ribbon again.  That will help with little puckers you might have.  IMPORTANT:  make sure you're ironing the backside of the ribbon--where you put the fusible stabilizer prior to embroidery.  If your ribbon is a printed one like the swiss dot you see in my fobs, the iron will ruin the print on the ribbon!

Time to sew that ribbon to the webbing.  I cut my webbing a tad bit longer than the ribbon.

 I like to use clear thread for this part. I want the ribbon and webbing to show, not my stitches. Fill a bobbin with the clear thread too.

My sewing machine came with a few of these little nets for thread. I have to use it with the clear filament thread or it wraps itself around the spindle and breaks off. 

This is my very favorite sewing foot, well, other than the regular one we use for most everything. It's called an Edge stitch foot. Seriously awesome stuff here. I love it for topstitching ruffles down on clothes I make for Giana.

Start stitching it down. Don't forget to backstitch when you start at the end to secure the thread in place. You may have to move your needle a little to the left or right before you start to line it up along the edge of your ribbon.

Take your time and slow down your machine, trust me it will help keep you from sewing off the edge of your ribbon.

Cute, huh? 

Fold your webbing in half and sew it together, I like to go back & forth several times. 

Before you sew it together, make sure that you're happy with the size your fob will be, you might want to shorten it a little bit. 

Trim all the little bits off after you sew the ends together.  Pay attention to the edges.  I hate it when stray threads hang off the edges, plus you wouldn't want someone to pull a thread and have the webbing come undone.

I like to put a good amount of Fray Check on the edges.  Let it dry for a few minutes.

Go get your hardware, time to finish it up!

My hubs found these great little Flat Jaw pliers for me at Harbor Freight.  I love them because I can close the hardware at once.  I started out using regular pliers but found that the hardware didn't always close evenly and looked wonky.   Whatever you use, make sure that you cover it with some duct tape or you risk scratching the hardware on your pretty key fob that you've worked so hard to make.

All covered up!

Put your hardware on the end and squeeze gently.  Once you've got it in place go back and give it a good squeeze to make sure it's set properly in place.

Notice that the hardware has a front & back.  Pay attention that you put the teeth side on the back of your fob. 

 All done!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Embroidering on Ribbon for Key Fobs

Several questions have popped up recently on various forums I'm a member of on how to embroider on ribbon.  I thought I'd show you my method.

I use 7/8" wide ribbon for my key fobs - you can find that most anywhere. The webbing & hardware come from MamaSheCrazy which is on Etsy & also a website of the same name. AllIslandWebbing is the same company too and has wholesale prices.

I cut my ribbon in 12" lengths which makes for a nice wide wristlet, but go with whatever size you like best!

Cut fusible stabilizer in the same length and a little over 1/2" wide, you want to make sure you don't extend out past the edge of the ribbon.  Iron it onto the backside of the ribbon.  You can use any kind of fusible - tear away or cutaway.

Hoop Sticky Tear Stabilizer and embroider placement lines.  You can find a free download with various size placement lines from Embroidery Garden or just put straight lines about .75" apart.  These are a guideline for where to put the ribbon and also helps with centering your lettering. 

Peel back the paper between your lines where the ribbon should go.

Fold the ribbon in half and then place it on the sticky.

Open it up and place back on your machine.  Be careful not to bump the ribbon while putting it back on the machine or they'll be crooked.  You could also put a pin on either end for more security but I find it's not necessary.

Here's the final product!  I'm sorry I don't have the pictures between hooping and final product, my kids distracted me while I was working on these and I failed to get the rest of the pictures.  For now, this post is just on how to hoop the ribbons to stabilize them for the embroidery.  I promise to come back and make this a full fledged how to make a key fob post! 

:)

Zipper Bag photo tutorial

(click to enlarge)

I've made lots & lots of "In the hoop" zipper bags by Pegboard Crafts. My friends over at Sew Forum keep asking me to make a photo tutorial so here it is! I posted a basic one on the forum that is just the bag itself, no personalization. But here, in my space, I'll give you all the juicy details! :)

For the 5X7 size bag, I use Tear-Away Stabilizer, double sided quilted fabric, and a zipper that's 9" or larger. You could also use a fibrous water soluble stabilizer too, if you want to wash the bags after construction. I just stick with Tear Away.

The instructions give you specific sizes for cutting your fabric.  I just wing it.  I made a fancy cutting guide from the clear grid for my embroidery hoop and I just the fabric a little larger than the template.

If you're using pre-quilted like I am, pay attention to the direction of the diamonds if you're making a set.  The piece on the left is for the Lady Bag/Sunglass case and right is the Small Cosmetic Bag I'm making here.  The bags stitch out in different ways in order to fit in your hoop.

See the difference in the direction? 

Big note, before we move on.  The are 2 files for each bag: front & back.  The actual front of the bag is what I consider the backside (no zipper showing).  If you want to embroider that, you should do that first.  Otherwise, if you want the name on the zipper side just load the side B file and add your personalization after the first stop.

 Ok, let's get down to business.  Hoop your stabilizer.  Lay your fabric on top.  You can spray a little sticky on the stabilizer if you want to, but it's not really necessary.

 Snap your hoop in place.

Step 1:  Tack down your fabric.  Note that I used a contrasting color for visibility.  You should use what matches your fabric, I'll show you why at the end.

Step 2:  Stitch out the monogram & zipper placement.  

I find it easier to stitch out the personalization BEFORE the zipper placement lines stitch.  When I do it the other way (like above), the foot doesn't return directly over the zipper lines and when it moves to start Step 3, it tends to bump the zipper out of place. 

Here's what it looks like after the 2nd set of stitches.

Now you need to place the zipper over the placement lines.  My dealer taught me to put tape over the zipper to hold it down.  You can also spray the back of the zipper with Sticky and press in place with your fingers.  This is my preferred method now, I got tired of pulling away the tape with tweezers but wanted to show you an alternate method.

Tape it down, put the tape at an angle & it will be easier to remove.  Snap back into your machine and start stitching Step 3.

See the straight line that's tacked down the zipper?  Stop your machine right here, you need to remove that tape before it finishes the decorative stitches.  The stitches perforated the tape and with it on an angle it's easier to tear away.  Grab any little bits with a pair of tweezers and start your machine back up to finish the decorative stitching.

Remove your hoop when it's finished.

Almost done!.

Open the zipper about halfway

This is optional, but I think it makes life easier.  Take your seam ripper or a pair of scissors and cut a small hole in the bag fabric, about an inch'ish will be just fine.

What it'll look like from the backside.

Turn the hoop back over and lay your other piece of fabric on top. 

Make sure you've left that zipper open about halfway or you'll have a zipper bag that's permanently zipped up!

Step 4: Stitch out the last set of stitches.  Here's what it will look like.

Trim excess threads & remove the stabilizer.

Trim around the edges of your bag making sure you don't cut the edge stitches.  Trim the thin strip out behind the zipper, where you cut the hole with your seam ripper earlier.  Don't cut your zipper!  Go slow here, I like a medium size pair of scissors for this.

Reach in the zipper area and open it the rest of the way and turn your bag right side out.  A chopstick works great to help push the corners out. 

See the silver thread?  That's why you should use a coordinating color.  It's tight, but when you push out the edges, sometimes you can see the stitches a little bit.  Of course, I pushed out a little more than usual so you could see.

And here's the final product!

You could add a zipper pull to make it a little bit more fancy.  I usually tie a small piece of ribbon on the zipper.

Hope this photo tutorial helps you out. 

Update:  My Blogger feed shows people from all over the country checking out this tutorial.  If you have time, please leave a comment and let me know how you liked the tutorial and where you're from! 

Gotta start somewhere, right?

Here's the first project I started with on the new embroidery machine. These adorable zipper bags are done completely "In The Hoop"! 

They are from PegBoardCrafts:  Click here for her website

In fact I went a little crazy making them.  These were gifts for my kids teachers.  They are the perfect size for holding credit cards, driver's license, etc.

Then I moved on to more for my family

Before I knew it my best friend was having a birthday.  I didn't have any pre-quilted material left so I found a pattern to stipple quilt the material for me.

This is my favorite set so far!

When I had some time I made a few more for friends & family

Got a little crazy here with my new font.  It's called "Vintage Chloe" and is from SWAK Embroidery.

 SWAK is definitely one of my favorite sites!  I've learned so much about embroidery, quilting, & sewing too!  (More on quilting & sewing later!)