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Merged Embroidery Techniques — How to Combine Machine Embroidery with Hand Stitching for Unique Designs
Discover merged techniques: blending machine embroidery with hand stitching and embellishments to create unique designs.
I love machine embroidery, but sometimes I’m not by my machine. I can be waiting in the car for a kid’s activity, taking a long road trip, or just watching a movie with my family. And in these moments I like to have something to work on. So let’s try a “merged technique” where we start an embroidery project with a machine and finish it by hand! Your creativity is the limit in a project like this. Come along and see if I can inspire you to try this on your next project.
Supplies
Check out the DBJJ team’s favorite supplies in the Designs by JuJu Amazon store.
Supplies.
- Designs by JuJu+ magicMESH Cut-Away Stabilizer
- Machine embroidery threads
- Fabric
- Hand embroidery threads
- Hand embroidery needles
- Water-soluble pencil
- Optional: hand embroidery hoop
- Optional: frame
- Optional: fabric for pillow
- DBJJ designs used in this project:
Directions
Hoop your magicMESH Cut-Away Stabilizer and fabric.
Stitch out your design.
And continue through your color changes.
When the design is finished, remove the hoop from the machine.
You can also use an applique design with the merged technique.
Finish out all the applique steps.
While the design is still in the hoop, I like to sketch my hand design on the fabric.
You can make the design be anything you want. For my princess I wanted to add some design to her dress, a flower in her hair, and shoes.
If you’re comfortable using your machine embroidery hoop you can stitch right in it. Mine was a little bit unwieldy, so I changed to a smaller one that I felt a bit more comfortable with.
Then continue with your stitches. I used a variety of stitches in my designs. A backstitch for some greenery stems worked great.
I incorporated some lazy daisy stitches for leaves and flower petals.
I added french knots as berries and parts of the flowers around the design. These add a little three-dimensional pop to your design.
And some satin stitches to finish out some of the flower petals.
On my princess I wanted to add some embellishments to the design also. I strung some small pearl beads and made her a necklace.
And some buttons also added a small amount of flair to the design.
To finish off my designs, I decided to frame the butterflies to hang in my home.
And the orange Princess became a pillow for my daughter’s room.
You could use this technique on clothes or in any project that you’d like to make portable and add a little bit of your own design flair to. I would love to see what you come up with using the merged technique. Join us in the Designs by JuJu Embroidery Blessings Facebook Group and share your projects there, or anywhere on social media using the hashtag #designsbyjuju. I’d love to see how your creativity joins JuJu’s designs and creates a unique project!
