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 What could be fresher with those warm weather outfits and the pinks of spring than a necklace and bracelet of watermelon motifs? Other small “even-edged” designs, about 1” to 1-3/4” across, will work equally well.
Materials and Supplies
- Brother Petite Designs card No.20, SA320
- Organza for bracelet (can be stitched in small oval hoop if your machine has one)
- Firmly starched medium-weight fabric for necklace (large enough to fit in a 4” x 4” hoop)
- Brother embroidery thread (red, green and black) and bobbin thread
- Poly fleece or thin batting
- Non-raveling fabric such as faux leather or suede for necklace back ties
- Purchased bracelet with flat section to wrap embroidery around
- Tearaway stabilizer for necklace
- 1 yard cording (satin finish rat tail to match green thread was used)
- Seam sealant (optional)
Level of Difficulty: Beginner
These project instructions are specific to a Brother sewing machine; however, the project can be adapted for use on other machines.
Software Preparation
1. Insert Card 20 into your reader/writer box. Open File Utility and then click on the right arrow under “Install Embroidery Card.” Use the “Browse” button to select where you want to place the design you will be downloading to your computer.
2. Press “Install” and type in a prefix to help you know where these files came from. Since this is card 20, type in 20 and then OK. You will be reminded to connect the card writer module and insert an embroidery card. Click OK. All the designs on Card 20 will be transferred to the folder you designated. Files will be brought in as .pec files. Unless you want to transfer designs from another card, click the Close button in the Install Embroidery Card dialog box and then select from the drop down menus, File > Exit to get out of File Utility.
3. Open Layout & Editing. Select File > Import > from File (or press F8) to bring you to the “Import from” dialog box. Make sure .pec is the type of file you are looking for and browse to the folder where you placed the Card 20 designs. Click on 20069.pec and you will see a preview of the design (if the preview button is checked). Once you find the design you want, click Import. Once the design is on the screen, you may need to change the hoop size to match what you plan to use. Click Option > Design Page Property and select 3.94” x 3.94” (if your measurements are set to inches) or 100 x 100 (if your measurements are set to millimeters). Note: If you want to change from one measurement system to another, select Option > Select System Unit and then whichever unit you want to use and then OK.
4. You will want to use this design in its original small size for the bracelet, so select File > Save As and give it a name you will recognize like watermelon1. If you haven’t established a folder for your project, click on the “Create New Folder” button (third icon from the left on the Save As dialog box), give the folder a name and double click to open it. Name your file and make sure that version 4 PES is the format you are saving to, and then “Save.” The original size design is .99” wide x .46” high.
5. To make the necklace, you will need to make changes to this design to make it larger, so make a second copy by selecting File > Save As and this time call it Watermelon2.
6. Using the Watermelon2 file, click on the design to highlight it (black dots form around it) and then select Sew > Stitch to Block. To match the sample, move the sensitivity setting to the left to halfway between normal and fine. (This gives better coverage as you enlarge the design.) The look of the design will change slightly. While it is still highlighted, select Edit>Numerical Setting>Size. With the “aspect” button checked, click on the second row of Region buttons and move the left setting to 1.74”. The corresponding measurement will be .82” high. Click OK to match the size used in the sample. Use other settings if you want smaller or larger units. Save your resized design.
7. To make the necklace as in the sample, you need five of the larger watermelons. Select File>Save As and give the file a new name, such as Watermelon3. With this new file open, click on a watermelon design and press Control+D to duplicate the design. Repeat this so you have five copies on the screen. Arrange the designs to give you room to cut out the embroidered designs. Our sample lined up three designs to the left of the screen with two on the right, staggered between the left designs. Once the hoop is removed, there will be extra fabric outside the embroidery area, so move the designs as far right and left as your hoop allows. (The 4” x 4” hoop was used for this project.) Save your design.
8. Transfer your designs to a diskette (if using a ULT2001 or ULT2002D) or card for all other machines. You can transfer one design to a card at a time from Layout & Editing (File > Write to Card) or multiple designs with File Utility. Note: Writing to a card will erase your read/write card so make sure you transfer any designs you want to save from the card to your computer before you do the next step. See Step 1 for instructions on downloading from the card.
9. Insert your card into the reader/writer box and make sure your unit is connected to the computer properly. To use File Utility from Layout & Editing, select Option > File Utility and then click the arrow under “Write to Embroidery Card.” This brings up a dialog box allowing you to select the designs you want to transfer. Add Watermelon1 and Watermelon3 (or whatever you named the files) to the right hand side of the screen and click Write. Close File Utility and Layout & Editing and take your card to your machine after the transfer steps are complete.
Assembly
1. Insert diskette or read/write card into your embroidery unit and turn on the machine. To make the bracelet, hoop with organza and stitch the small watermelon. Remove the hoop and cut a strip about 1/2" wider on each side than the design and long enough to overlap on the back of the bracelet. Fold the sides to the back, finger press. Test the placement on your bracelet; turn under one end and pin to fit. Hand-sew to finish. Depending on the curve of your bracelet, you may need to add a bit of glue under the back to hold the embroidery in place.
2. To make the necklace, hoop your fabric and stabilizer and stitch the file with multiple larger watermelons. Remove the embroidered fabric from the hoop and press, embroidery side down. Trim stabilizer close to embroidery. Extra stabilizer left outside the frame stitching will make finishing the necklace more difficult. Trim the fabric, leaving 3/8" on all sides.
3. Finger press the fabric edges to the back, bending the fabric close to the design edge. With edges tucked under, lay the medallion on top of your thin polyester fleece or thin batting and cut two shapes slightly smaller than the watermelon. It is not necessary to be exact, just inside the frame stitching. (If you do not have access to thin polyester fleece, use thin cotton batting; in which case one layer is sufficient for a medallion because cotton batting is thicker.) Place two layers of the thin fleece on the back of the embroidery and loosely hand sew the turned back edges to the fleece. You may need to trim the second piece of fleece slightly to stay within the design area. Keep the unsewn fabric pulled to the back over the fleece as you will be sewing the backing to the embroidery edge to hide the base fabric.
4. Lay the backing fabric face down with the watermelon face up on top. Mark the size of the backing by tracing around the unit with chalk or washable pen. Allow about a 1/16" outside the motif. Black faux leather was used as the backing fabric to match the outline edge. Cut the backing material. Pin the backing to the pendant (wrong sides together), first on four sides and then with additional pins to see if trimming is necessary. Adjust as necessary. Start hand stitching at the top using the same thread you used to embroider the outside edge (black). Use matching fabric pens to touch up any spots where the fabric shows through your hand stitching, or add extra stitches to pull the frame stitching closer to the backing.
5. When all five motifs are finished, use black thread and tack the corner points of each watermelon until five are connected. Cut two lengths of rat tail (about 18" each) and tie an overhand knot in each end. Trim any extra cord and apply seam sealant. Let dry and then tack one piece to each end to finish.
Project by Early Irwin, Education Consultant,
7/04
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