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How to Repurpose a Whimsical Sewing Wall Hanging Embroidery Design to Decorate a Shirt (Side-Seam Cutaway Applique Trend)
Looking for a fun, creative way to add some personality to your wardrobe? Why not transform a charming embroidery design into a stylish shirt decoration? In today’s post, I will show you how to repurpose the Whimsical Sewing Wall Hanging embroidery design from Designs by JuJu to create a stunning applique decoration on the front and sides of your shirt. This technique is not only super fashionable but also taps into the latest side-seam cutaway applique trend that’s taking the sewing world by storm.
Whether you're a seasoned sewist or just starting out, this project is perfect for adding some personal flair to your clothes. Plus, it’s a great way to showcase your love for sewing, all while staying on top of current embroidery and fashion trends!
Let’s get started and make your shirt the most stylish one in your closet with this trendy embroidery technique!
In this tutorial I am going to take you step by step through the process of using some of the adorable pieces from the ITH Whimsical Sewing Wall Hanging to decorate a sweatshirt–NO SOFTWARE REQUIRED. We will use the scissors on the side seams and add the sewing machine to the front of our shirt.
Supplies
Check out the DBJJ team’s favorite supplies in the Designs by JuJu's Amazon Page.
- Clothing item of your choice (sweatshirt, T-shirt, jeans, etc.)
- Fabric for applique
- Heat-n-Bond® Lite
- SF101
- Self-adhesive wash-away mesh stabilizer
- Scissors
- Embroidery thread
- Embroidery hoop, 5” x 7” or larger
- ITH Whimsical Sewing Wall Hanging
Stitching the Designs
Once you have all your supplies gathered and the ITH Whimsical Sewing Wall Hanging uploaded to your machine, select the size of the scissors you wish to use. For my shirt I chose the 8" x 12" hoop size of the Whimsical Sewing Wall Hanging design. Using this size, the design for the individual scissors will fit into a 5" x 7" hoop. Apply Heat-n-Bond Lite to the back of your applique fabrics. Before we begin stitching, I recommend lowering the spm (stitches per minute) to 350. This will help to prevent puckering.
Hoop sticky-back wash-away mesh stabilizer and lightly score. Be careful not to cut the stabilizer. Remove the paper top and take it to your machine. If using regular cut-away mesh, I recommend using an adhesive spray on top.
Run the first placement stitch onto the stabilizer. Remove the hoop from the machine and place on a flat surface. This is your guide for placing the side of your shirt.
If you have no visible side seam, mark the center of the side with an erasable pen to help ensure it’s centered between the scissor blades.
Line up the shirt bottom with the bottom of the scissors.
Press flat, making sure there are no wrinkles in the shirt. You want the bottom of the scissors to be at the bottom of the shirt and the scissor opening centered in the middle of the seam. Return to your machine. Gently insert the frame. If need be, reposition the shirt to assure it is centered. Smooth out any wrinkles. Run Step 2 to tack down the shirt.
Lay the prepared scissor fabric on top of the shirt, covering the entire bottom of the scissors. Return the hoop to your machine. Since we are using pieces from a wall hanging, we need to skip some steps that are not necessary. Skip Step 3.
Run Step 4, the scissor bottom tack down.
Trim the fabric close to the stitches.
Skip to Step 6. This will be the handles tack down.
Lay your fabric down and continue with your applique.
Remove the hoop and trim. Take extra time and care when trimming inside the handles. You don’t want to snip your shirt.
Skip Step 7. Stitch out Step 8. This is the decorative stitch around the handles. Run this stitch until you get to the places I circled. These are meant to be slots to hang ribbon. We do not want these on our shirt. Use the forward stitch keys to bypass these stitches. Remove the hoop from the machine and place on a flat surface.
Trim the scissor opening as well as the shirt close to the stitches. Return the hoop to the machine. Continue with steps 9–11 to finish the scissors.
When finished, the side of your shirt should look like this. Remove from the hoop, trim the stabilizer away and use the above steps to do the other side.
Now we will put the sewing machine on the front of our shirt.
Iron SF101 to the front inside of your shirt.
There are four different sizes of the sewing machine to choose from. I like to use a template to show me what the different sizes will look like. I chose the 8” x 12” hoop size and cut my template 10” x 7”. Laying this across the front of the shirt helps me to visualize the finished design. You may want your design to be larger or smaller depending on the size of your shirt and the hoop size you will be using. Try different templates until you find what looks best for you. Load the design to the machine.
The template also helps me determine how far down I want the top of my design to be. Typically I start 2.5” to 3” down.
Iron or fingerpress to find the center of your shirt. Mark with an erasable pen or tailor's chalk. With a ruler, mark the left and right sides approximately the same distance across as the size of the design. Now you have a straight line. We will use these marks to align our shirt straight onto the stabilizer.
Hoop, score, and tear away the paper from your wash-away stabilizer. Take the hoop to the machine. Using the pattern position keys, find the top center of the design.
With the needle down button, mark this placement. Continue to do the right and left corners as well. Remove the hoop and place on a flat surface.
Make sure the top of the shirt is laid on the hoop in the correct position. Line up the three marks on the stabilizer with the three marks on the shirt. Return to the machine.
Using the pattern position keys, check that your three lines on the shirt match up with the machine. Adjust if necessary.
Smooth out any wrinkles and run the first step. This is a placement stitch for the sewing machine. Lay your prepared fabric on top, covering the entire design area. Stitch Step 2. This is the tack-down stitch for the entire design. Carefully remove the hoop and place it on a flat surface.
Trim close to the stitching.
Return to the machine and run steps 3–6. Skip steps 7 and 8. These are not needed. Continue with steps 9–14. These are all your applique steps. I didn’t want to keep removing my hoop and take the chance of my shirt coming loose, so I did all my applique pieces and then removed the hoop to trim.
After trimming all the applique pieces, return the hoop to the machine. Stitch out Step 16. Skip Step 17. Start again with steps 18–37. Skip steps 38, 39, and 40.
Finish with the remaining two steps. These attach your little patch of fabric. Before attaching, I stitched around the entire piece and added fray check to ensure it doesn't fray in the wash. Run the placement line. Lay the fabric right side down so when it flips over it will lay across the bottom of the sewing machine. Run the tackdown stitch.
I added Heat-n-Bond Lite to the back of my small fabric piece and pressed it down to my shirt. This is a personal preference. You may wish for your corner to remain unattached to your shirt. Give the entire shirt a good press.
You have now completed your whimsical sewing shirt. If you make this project, please share it with us in the Designs by JuJu Embroidery Blessings Group on Facebook or anywhere on social media using the hashtag #designsbyjuju. We love to see what you create!
