Step-by-step instructions exclusively if you've never created an ITH pattern before
Stitch out Time: 4-6min Approx
Ever been too nervous to try an ITH (In The Hoop) Embroidery plush pattern? Let's take that fear away and jump into a very beginner friendly pattern! I promise you it's not hard at all. First make sure you have the proper supplies in the list below.
Materials
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To start out with ANY in the hoop embroidery patterns it is essential to first hoop your stabilizer. You can cut a size from a roll that will fit between both embroidery hoop frames. The frames should fit snuggly and not easily pop apart. You can adjust the frames via a small turn knob on the top or bottom. I prefer to only ever open and close the bottom one.
When creating using ITH (in the hoop) patterns it is also essential to only use tear away stabilizer. I prefer the lighter weight of 1.5 oz's so that it doesn't hurt my hands pulling it away later. If you use cut away it will be more frustrating and time consuming.
TIP: It is cheaper to buy a whole roll of stabilizer than pre cut sheets for certain hoop sizes. The roll will last a lot longer in you're considering the cost of materials.
2. Most embroidery machines in todays age have access to USBs thus enabling direct access to any made patterns. Be sure when loading a pattern onto your machine that you are using the proper format. If you use the wrong format on mistake sometimes it either will not read OR it will only partially read leading to some stitches that may disappear from original design.
Eg. Babylock and Brother machines are both made by the same manufacture - thus they both read PES. files
3. Some embroidery machines that are larger have nice LED monitors on them. These monitors have some benefits such as being able to see the design stitch in real time as well as the colors per step.
Starter machines will not have these larger monitors to save on cost to you as the consumer.
4. Let's get started shall we? The first thing you get to do is lay 1 piece of 4"x4" minky down into the hoop. We are using a technique called "floating embroidery" where we do not actually hoop the minky fabric.
Minky fabric can easily get "hoop burn" where it will destroy the fibers/softness because the hoop is so tight.
In order to keep your minky from rolling/moving about in the hoop my patterns usually incorporate a "tacking" stitch that will attach the minky to the hoop. You can go ahead and do that now - but watch your fingers as you gently smooth the minky to keep it flat while it tacks it to the stabilizer!
TIP: When making plushies always take a moment and consider which direction you want the "nap/pile/fur" to be going. For the Luma I put my fur direction downwards so that when you pet it it feels nice to the touch. You don't want to be petting fabric against the fur
5. Before we start stitching details on the Luma take a moment to lay a small piece of water soluble stabilizer on top of the project. This stabilizer is crucial as it prevents the thread from sinking down into the fur fabric! It boosts quality of the finished product.
When you're ready you can stitch out the eyes first. I used a brown but any color would work well here.
It's also important to note that if you have a beginner embroidery machine it will leave "jump strings" when it moves from one area to another. In between stitching colors I would recommend cutting these to keep the area clean and tangle free while embroidering. Higher priced machines will cut those strings for you.
6. Next we will stitch out the adorable little pink blush. I am a sucker for a "cute" aesthetic and love adding blush cheeks to literally everything!
When you change colors also note that you only need to change the top thread color. The bottom is always white as it should never show through to the top of your project. Be sure the bottom thread is also meant for embroidery in the bobbin!
7. The final step to this keychain plush is adding his eye whites. Pretty quick right? We are literally almost done!
Once you are finished stitching all the face details as shown to the left you may remove the water soluble stabilizer. Just tear it away slowly - as easy as that!
8. Because we are creating a keychain with this lovely guy it is important. to use something to be able to attach a keychain clasp later on. I enjoy personally using 3/8" ribbon bought from my local Walmart. You can use fun colors if you'd like too! Cut a small piece and make a loop by folding it in half.
9. Take the folded ribbon loop and place it so that a small amount is INSIDE the star design. This is important!
To attach a ribbon I lower the presser foot and hand crank the needle down just before it enters the machine to make sure it's placed properly. Then I hit the "go" button and your machine will tack this down into place.
10. This is what the ribbon loop should look like once tacked into place.
11. to "close" the plush so that it is something we can actually stuff - you can lay the second 4" x 4" piece of minky down over the whole design.
Make sure that right sides are touching!
Also make sure that the fur/nap is going the same way as the first piece we laid down in the beginning!
The machine will now stitch the Luma closed.
12. removing the whole project from the hoop is kinda the fun part now. You can literally grab the heck out of it and tear it off quickly. It's a nice anger management tool XD
Then take the time to remove the rest of the stabilizer from INSIDE the Luma as I am doing here.
Don't be too gentle - just rip er off!
13. Now you can take your small scissors and cut around the design.
Leave a small rectangle around the opening at the bottom too! This allows a cleaner closing seam that we hand stitch later.
14. If you ever have a pattern that has sharper corners such as the Luma's arms and legs be sure to make a small snip with your scissors towards the corner.
Carefully not to actually cut the thread!
This will prevent puckering once stuffed :)
15. Again I like to grab the inside with hemostats - these are the best alternative tools that everyone should have plush making. They are literally hand savers.
Just do it - make the purchase lol
16. I also use these bad boys to stuff EVERYTHING. As well as my random trusty flat head screw driver. Again they save your fingers and hands from aching due to stuffing at times.
Anyways - grab that poly fill and start stuffing! Stuff your Luma to your desired fluff factor.
17. Grab your hand sewing thread and needle. It's time to close the only hand sewing seam on the keychain at the bottom.
For reference I prefer to use 100% polyester sewing thread as it is more durable than 100% cotton thread. Thus it's less prone to snap and fail later on down the road.
18. To close the Luma we are going to be sewing a very basic stitch called a "ladder stitch". You will NEED to learn this as it is the essential stitch in all plush making. Because I suck at explaining ladder stitching via photos I am attach a lovely YouTube tutorial. When in doubt head there for oodles of tutorials!
19. When you get to the end of the ladder stitch tie a knot. To hide the rest of the string and knot partially drive your hand sewing needle in beside where you ended. Bring it out a random spot on the back and pull the needle the full way through removing it from the thread at the same time.
20. Pulling taught on the thread coming out the back you snip down close to the minky fabric. The thread should in theory now disappear inside the plush!
Thus creating a nice finished style.
21. To finish the keychain plush we need to attach our jump ring now and the keychain clasp. Some jump rings you buy can be already opened and just need twisted shut with pliers.
I again can use my trusty hemostats to hold the jump ring on one side and slide it through the ribbon on the top of the plush keychain.
22. Then to finish you can place the keychain clasp onto the open jump ring.
In one hand I hold the hemostats that are clamped onto the jump ring. In the opposite hand I use a small set of pliers to bend the jump ring into a closed circle.
FINALLY we are done! Congrats on finishing the adorable Luma. I hope that in the future you can now enjoy more ITH patterns without being as nervous! Of course pattern levels will differ too so be sure to look for beginner friendly ones if you want to gain even more confidence!
If you're feeling creative you can also purchase mini rattles off places like Etsy and aliexpress to insert inside of the Luma! I find them very cute and charming as an alternative
Want to check out a few more beginner friendly patterns? Here are a couple below that people tend to enjoy. You can check them out on my website under the patterns section! Thanks for being here with me and happy stitching!
I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU for this pattern! It is so easy to follow and perfect for the beginner embroidery machine user.
on my 4x4 the finished product is palm sized, kids just love them.
This is so cute! Thank you so much for sharing, I'm excited to try this. :)