Machine Appliqué and Patches
With Voyager
This lesson demonstrates useful features with
HAPPY’s HCS Voyager that make applique and
patches easier.
Our project: we’ll be creating this sample
applique on a garment. The design is posted on
our website to try out.
Machine Appliqué with Voyager
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NOTES
?ABOUT APPLIQUE: “A technique of apparel decoration in which material is
cut out and sewn or pasted onto a garment as all or part of a design.”
? In Home/Craft Projects it opens up worlds of creative flexibility
especially using creative/contrasting fabrics or media
? In Commercial Projects it creates many practical advantages by (1)
saving on sewing time otherwise spent sewing large fill stitches
?ADVANTAGES WITH HAPPY’s HCS VOYAGER:
? Large sewing field means larger applique shapes or larger projects –
fewer hoopings for large projects
? Sturdy construction means Voyager handles heavy applique materials
and large garments with ease
? Multi-Needle system – time saver for more complicated designs, plus
programmable auto-stop after the mark stitch.
?Run-Down of the Steps:
? Create or buy the applique shape.
? Create or buy a design matched to the shape with a “mark” stitch,
“tackdown” stitch and/or finishing satin.
? Sew the mark stitch onto the garment. Machine automatically stops.
? Place the applique shape onto the marked area on the fabric. (Use
adhesive to hold the shape in place)
? Finish sewing the tack-down and satin stitch by pressing START.
Machine Appliqué with Voyager
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MATERIALS
Materials List
?Material to use for appliqué
? Adhesive (fusible web, or spray-on adhesive such
as 505)
? Appliqué design itself
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Getting the Applique Shape: 2 Ways
1.
Buying Pre-cut Shapes
?
?
2.
Well-Known Sources including DALCO ATHLETIC and STAHL’S
Can be ordered with a “sew disk” that contains the mark stitch, tack-down and
finishing stitch
Making your own Applique Shapes
a)
b)
c)
Find an embroidery design (or make your own) suitable for applique. The shape
of the design is used to “sew” the shape into the applique material. The design must
have these parts in order for it to work as applique:
(1) the outline stitch, in a separate color
(2) (optional) the design itself
(3) a tack-down and optional finishing border stitch.
Find a suitable material that will work for the shape. Most commercial jobs use
tough, nylon twill-type fabrics, but just about any type of fabric that won’t stretch or
fray easily can work.
Use the design to mark and cut out the shape using your embroidery machine. On
the next page, we’ll talk about how to do this with Voyager.
Machine Appliqué with Voyager
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Typical Commercial Applique Project
Marking and cutting out
the shape
1.
Unthread one of the needles. We’ll use that
needle to create a pattern to cut the applique
shape.
Figure 1: To turn off the thread break sensors,
go to Option, choose Machine Options then set
TRD Break detect to “OFF”.
2. Turn off the thread break sensors. This will
let Voyager “sew” without stopping and
reporting a false thread break from the unthreaded needle. (see figure 1.)
3. Tell the machine to stop after “marking” the
pattern. This is done in the Needle screen by
selecting the “mark” stitch and pressing the SET
key, causing an asterisk (*) to appear next to that
color block. (See figure 2.)
4. Sew the “mark stitch” onto a piece of
cardboard. Setting the “mark stitch” to the unthreaded needle will cause it to punch the outline
of the pattern onto the cardboard.
Figure 2: In our example, the marking stitch
block is the first color change. Select it, press
SET, and an asterisk appears, causing the
machine to stop after “sewing” the mark stitch.
Figure 3: Marked pattern on cardboard. Cut
out and use as a template to trace onto
appliqué material.
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Typical Commercial Applique Project
Sewing the Design Itself
1.
Prepare shapes with adhesive. In this
example, we’re using spray-on adhesive.
(figure 4)
Figure 4: Spray-on adhesive
2.
Hoop garment and begin sewing as
normal.
3.
Machine will the “marker” or “basting”
stitch has been laid for the appliqué shape,
then stop. (figure 5)
4.
Position the shape(s) onto the fabric. (It’s
okay to remove the hoop if you need to, but
don’t turn off the machine). Apply heat/iron if
needed. (figure 6)
5.
Press START to let the machine finish
sewing the tackdown stitch and finishing
satin.
Figure 5: Marker stitch on garment
Figure 6: Position the shapes.
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Typical Commercial Applique Project
Sewing the Design Itself
Figure 7: Tack-Down Stitch
Figure 8: Finishing satin stitch
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Some Notes on Patches
-
-
-
Patches work similarly to Applique – use the Color Stop
option in the Needle menu to sew the marker stitch.
Voyager’s Large Sewing Field means you can
“manufature” a large number of patches at a time on the
12” x 12” hoop.
Create the patch with stable material (such as several
layers of cut-away backing). Sew the emblem but don’t
sew the tack-down and border stitch.
Back the patch with adhesive backing (iron-on type)
and apply the patch with heat to the fabric
Sew the tack-down and satin stitch to sew the patch
permanently onto the garment. No need for a merrow
machine if you’re happy with the results!
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