Welcome to DBJJ's guide on mastering side seam, cutaway applique, featuring a delightful, FREE bow machine embroidery design! Whether you're a seasoned embroiderer or just starting out, this blog post will equip you with essential tips and techniques to elevate your projects. Discover how to enhance garments with beautiful, professional-looking appliques that add charm and flair, perfect for the holiday season. Join us as we explore this fun and easy on trend.

Have you seen the latest trend sweeping the embroidery community? Embroidered side-seam bows! Feminine, cute, and adorable, these bows take ordinary clothes to extraordinary in a matter of stitches. In today’s tutorial, I will be showing you just how easy side-seam embroidery is. So fire up that embroidery machine and let’s get stitching!

Supplies

Check out the DBJJ team’s favorite supplies in the Designs by Juju Amazon Store.

  • Clothing item of choice (T-shirt, sweatshirt, jeans, dress, etc.)
  • Fabric for bow applique
  • Heat-n-Bond® Lite (for applique pieces)
  • Self-adhesive tear-away stabilizer or self-adhesive wash-away mesh stabilizer*
  • Embroidery thread
  • DBJJ design
    • FREE Cutaway Bow Applique Embroidery Design
      • Included with your download you will find three different size bows (large 5” x 7”, small 5” x 7”, and 4” x 4”). If you are embroidering on children’s clothing, I would recommend using the 4” x 4” size. In this tutorial, I have embellished a 4T toddler sweatshirt using the 4” x 4” size. Both the large 5” x 7” and small 5” x 7” are perfect for adult clothing. Choose a size that fits your personal style and have fun experimenting with these new designs.

*A note about stabilizer: In my testing, I used two types of stabilizer—self-adhesive tear-away stabilizer and self-adhesive wash-away mesh stabilizer. Both stabilizers work great, but I preferred the self-adhesive wash-away mesh stabilizer. I found the tear-away stabilizer left behind lots of furry bits/debris along the satin stitch seams that were time consuming and difficult to remove. Experiment with both stabilizers to see which you prefer before stitching on a project.

Stitching a Side-Seam Bow Applique

I will be embroidering the side seams of a 4T toddler sweatshirt with the FREE Side Seam Bow Applique design from DBJJ. The steps remain the same no matter the clothing item you choose. 

Check out this video for a side-seam applique bow tutorial with added tips and tricks!

Step 1: Hoop tear-away stabilizer. I am using a self-adhesive tear-away stabilizer because it securely holds my sweatshirt in place during stitching, reducing the risk of puckering and stitching errors.

Step 2: Run the initial placement line.

Step 3: Position your sweatshirt on the tear-away stabilizer, making sure to line up the side seam with the vertical midline of your placement line. The bottom hem should line up with the bottom of the bow placement line. Secure your sweatshirt as necessary. This is where sticky-back stabilizer is a huge time saver.

Step 4: Run the tack-down stitch to secure your sweatshirt.

Step 5: Run the inner bow applique placement stitches. (I combined steps 5–8 because I wanted my bow to be all one color.)

Step 6: Place your applique fabric on top of the placement stitches and run the tack-down stitches.

Step 7: Carefully trim around the tack-down stitches, making sure not to cut any stitches.

Step 8: If your bow is two colors, repeat steps 5–7 for the main bow applique.

Step 9: Trim away the sweatshirt fabric located in between the bow tails. Trim as close to the tack-down stitches as possible, but DO NOT cut the stitches.

Step 10: Run the satin stitches to seal in all raw fabric and seams. 

Note: The tear-away stabilizer is perforated by the satin stitches. It should be easy to remove.

Step 11: Remove the sweatshirt from the hoop and gently tear away all stabilizer. Trim any loose threads or excess stabilizer as necessary. 

Step 12: Give your sweatshirt a nice press and show off your fabulous new apparel!

I hope you have enjoyed today’s tutorial and video on embellishing your side seams using the new Designs by JuJu side-seam, cutaway designs. We're working on other fun options so keep watch for more coming soon. These are sure to be a hit this holiday season and well into the new year!

Make sure to join the Designs by JuJu Embroidery Blessings Facebook Group for more inspiration and to share your own creations or use the hashtag #designsbyjuju anywhere on social media. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Michelle Christiansen

Hello! My name is Michelle Christiansen. I am an avid crafter and love doing embroidery projects, especially with my mom. My favorite way to spend my free time is with my husband and my three year old!