Happy Father's Day!  In honor of all of those wonderful dads out there we have digitized a fast and easy design that you can stitch out. The best part? It is completely free. Just visit our store here, add it to your cart and check out.  If you have never done puffy foam, this is a great design to practice with.  

My dad was the smartest man I knew and the "original nerd". He wore pocket protectors before they were even a thing. My brother's teenage friends used to visit our house and I naively thought they were coming to see me, but they were really coming to see my dad and his Commodore 64 computer because he was the first one among all of our friends that owned a home computer and actually knew how to program it. My dad used slide rulers everyday to do calculations and was forever learning. His field was communications and when our family needed extra money, he would climb towers to change out the light bulbs. They paid him by the foot. I am not talking about little towers. No these were on oil derricks out in the gulf of mexico that swayed. He did this all while hauling the heavy bulbs and equipment. He was a Vietnam Navy veteran that  served two tours. When he came home he served in the Army National Guard also.  There were so many other things he bravely did and sacrificed to take care of us.

Here he is on the right in the blue shirt with my husband. Can you tell they are panning for gold?  He was a great lover of the outdoors, camping and hiking.  Some of my best memories include him.  I think of him often and miss him every day as he passed away last October.  I didn't get to say goodbye and that is one of my biggest regrets.  If you still have your dad in your life, don't waste any time. Visit with him. Talk about the old days or just sit together.     
​ I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!

When I purchased my multi needle machine I had visions of easily sewing on caps.  The reality of making that happen took me a little time.  I did have a cap hoop and frame that I added to my machine package but it was difficult for me to use it.  Once it was mounted to a stable table top, I had to almost kneel down while using all of my body weight to hold the cap taut.  Since I was below the frame, I couldn't see if it was lined up correctly.  At the same time I was trying to maneuver the frame to a closed position to lock in the cap.  If all of this worked out, I estimate 95% of the time, I had to re hoop because the cap was twisted or did not line up properly in the hoop. Then the tension on the cap usually loosened and my registration was off. This made me leery to even try to sew caps because each time, my stitch outs were a failure and I was wasting money on caps.

If you are like me, you first get frustrated, blame the machine, blame yourself etc...  Once I got over feeling sorry for myself, I spent a lot of time researching and found the Hoop tech brand.  They have some wonderful videos but I was not fully convinced until I went to a sewing convention and stopped by their booth.  I got brave, grabbed about six or seven different caps and went to town testing each one out on the hoop. I can't stress this enough. Don't be shy. There is nothing worse than buying something you don't try and then it becomes a very expensive paperweight because you don't like it or can't remember how to use it. Trust me, if you have tried hooping caps on conventional hoops, you will know immediately if you like this product.

  The price tag of the hoop/frame scared me a little bit. I am not going to post what I paid for it because you can find that information online, but it will give you a momentary pause.  I can say that if you are considering doing cap embroidery, you will definitely say it was a worthy purchase once you have practiced a little bit. The T bar lever arm is what makes this frame different.  It hooks into the back of the cap and uses downward force. Remember pulleys and levers in grade school science class?  It will come back to you once you see this in action. All of this happens with you standing fully upright so you can actually see what is going on with the cap.   I would advise you to buy several different types of caps and play with them because each one will react a little differently in the hoop.  The way the front of the cap angles down to the bill,  the way the sweatband is sewn in, structured or unstructured all determine how easy it will be to place your embroidery design. I have even seen different results in a batch of caps from the same manufacturer because the materials were thicker or thinner.  So some playtime on your machine will help you feel much more confident. A great place to pass on your practice stitches is your local nursing home, homeless shelter or give them to some other local charity. A good cap is always welcome.

I don't keep my frame up all of the time due to space issues, but I do have a temporary mounting system that allows me to set it up and take it down quickly.  Here it is in my studio.

Here is the frame on my 12 needle Happy embroidery machine.  When you purchase a Hoop tech, be sure to tell them the exact model of your machine so they can get you the correct mounting arm.  If you are going to a show, maybe write it down or take a picture of your machine info so they can help you get squared away. Just to let you know, I am not affiliated with Hoop tech in any way. I just really love this product and think it is one of the best investments I have made besides my embroidery machines.  If you want to see how to hoop a cap I have a video you can watch below.  I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!

We have a new design that not only uses puffy foam on the letters, but it also has 3 D stitching on the golf player.  Foam is a great way to make your embroidery stand up and away from the item you are stitching on.  It does need to be be specially digitized for the foam to be totally encapsulated.

For this design we used craft foam that was as close to the thread color we could find.  The piece was cut 2 by 3 inches.

We used a plain unstructured cap to sew the design on. It could also be stitched on many other items also. 

Here is the foam being held onto the cap with masking tape while the letters stitch.  The golf figure sews out first and then a short placement stitch allows the machine to stop so you can get that foam in place.  We are using our multi needle embroidery machine and cap frame but a regular 4x4 frame and flatbed machine can be used also.

 If there are any small bits of foam left over once you pull it off, you can use a hair dryer with warm air to carefully shrink it. The final results really look professional.  If you have a golf lover in your life, they would happily wear this design.  Don't forget Father's Day and Dad's birthday.  You can watch a video of this design stitching out by going to our store here.
​I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!

Have you ever done Fringe Machine Embroidery?  It is not difficult and if the design is digitized to be fringed once it completes, the finished look has a lot of added texture.  We have included this cute design in our free downloads so you can play with fringe.

When the design finishes, it looks like a flat pattern. 

The trick is how the stitches are digitized giving you an area to slide your scissors in to trim the bobbin threads. Here we are carefully making those clips along the body of the caterpillar. 

Then the design is turned over and using a blunt object, the fringe is pulled forward. You will know you have finished when you don't feel any resistance from the thread anymore.

That is one fluffy caterpillar! How fun does that look?  It stitches very quickly and uses a standard 4 X 4 hoop.  How many projects can you use this design on?

Here are the stats on this design showing the height, width and stitch count in case you are interested.  Go to our store and look at our free designs. We will be adding more in the future so come back often!  This little caterpillar will let you try before you buy.

 Enjoy this free design and remember to check out the other Fringe designs available in our store. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create.  Someone will appreciate your hard work!