This is the full you tube tutorial link Baby Lock Altair Tutorials | How to Embroider an Ornament https://youtu.be/dIE0CLXDf1I
Cassie Cartmell – Faodail Creation
Table of Contents
Learning How to Embroider an Ornament is a fun way to create personalized Christmas decorations for your tree. In this tutorial, I’m going to show you How to Embroider an Ornament using IQ Designer on a Baby Lock embroidery machine. We’ll create the ornament design directly in IQ Designer, add a personalized name, stitch the design, and then finish the ornament so it is ready to hang on your Christmas tree.
This project is also a great way to use your embroidery machine to make personalized Christmas gifts. You can add a family member’s name, a favorite word such as “Joy” or “Christmas,” or personalize ornaments around a particular theme.
For my ornament, I’m creating an Oilers-themed Christmas tree and adding player names to the center. However, you can easily adapt the same technique for your own Christmas tree.
How to Embroider an Ornament – What You’ll Need
Before learning How to Embroider an Ornament, gather everything you need so you can work through the project without stopping.
Supplies for How to Embroider an Ornament
- Baby Lock embroidery machine with IQ Designer
- 4 x 4 embroidery hoop
- Three pieces of cotton fabric
- Embroidery thread
- Matching bobbin thread
- Approximately 5 inches of ribbon
- Masking tape
- Iron
- Pinking shears or fabric scissors
- Hot-fix crystal setter and crystals, optional
- Stabilizer appropriate for your fabric and embroidery project
I use the same color thread in the bobbin as I use on top. This gives the finished ornament a neat appearance from both sides.
How to Embroider an Ornament in IQ Designer
The first part of learning How to Embroider an Ornament is creating the embroidery design. IQ Designer gives you a lot of flexibility because you can create the basic ornament shape, add a decorative fill, and personalize the center with lettering.
Step 1: Create the Ornament Design in IQ Designer – How to Embroider an Ornament
Open IQ Designer on your Baby Lock embroidery machine and begin by creating a circle.
- Select the shape option.
- Choose a circle and press OK.
- Resize the circle to approximately 3 inches. I used a size of about 330.
- Use the zoom function if necessary so you can see your design clearly.
- Select the fill option and choose a decorative fill.
- Press inside the circle to apply the fill.
- Adjust the size of the fill design until you like the appearance.
If you wanted to make a simple embroidered ornament without a name, you could stop with a decorative filled circle and use the same construction technique to finish it.
For my personalized ornament, however, I want to create an open area in the middle for the name.
Step 2: Add and Customize the Name – How to Embroider an Ornament
Clear the previous design and bring the circle back into IQ Designer.
- Resize the circle to approximately 330.
- Press Next and select the running stitch.
- Add your lettering using the Add function.
- Choose the font you want to use.
- Enter your name or word.
- Adjust the lettering size so it fits inside the ornament.
- Use the lettering arrangement options to curve or tilt the name.
- Preview the design and make any necessary adjustments.
You can use a person’s name, initials, “Joy,” “Christmas,” or any other word you would like.
For my Oilers-themed Christmas ornaments, I’m using player names. The same idea would work beautifully for a family Christmas tree.
Step 3: Create the Open Area for the Lettering – How to Embroider an Ornament
Once your lettering is positioned correctly, create a stamp from the lettering.
- Select the stamp function.
- Adjust the distance between the stamped elements.
- Press Memory and save the design.
- Return to IQ Designer.
- Open the original circle.
- Bring the saved design back into the project.
- Add the decorative fill again.
The saved design creates an area where the decorative fill will not stitch, leaving space for your lettering.
You can adjust the size of the decorative fill until the individual shapes look the way you want them to.
Take some time to preview the design. If you see stitching that you don’t want, remove or turn it off before moving forward.
Step 4: Save the Complete Embroidery Design – How to Embroider an Ornament
Once you are happy with your design, save it into the embroidery side of the machine.
- Preview the complete design.
- Press Memory to save it.
- Press Set to move the design into the embroidery section.
- Add your lettering if it needs to be added separately.
- Check that the lettering is the correct size and position.
- Preview the complete design one more time.
- Save the final design to memory.
Saving your work throughout this process is important. If you leave the IQ Designer screen without saving your design, you may not be able to retrieve the elements you need later.
How to Embroider an Ornament: Prepare the Fabric
Now that the digital design is complete, it’s time to prepare the fabric.
Step 5: Prepare the Fabric, Ribbon and Hoop – How to Embroider an Ornament
For this project, I use a 4 x 4 embroidery hoop and three pieces of cotton fabric.
One piece will be the front of the ornament, while the other two pieces will cover the back.
Prepare the two backing pieces by folding the edges over to create a hem. You can stitch these hems if you prefer, but I simply pressed mine into place.
Next, prepare the ribbon.
- Cut approximately 5 inches of ribbon.
- Fold the ribbon in half to create a hanging loop.
- Place the loop toward the inside of the ornament.
- Use masking tape to hold the ribbon in position.
I use the same color bobbin thread as my top thread for this project.
Step 6: Stitch the Placement and Tack-Down Stitches – How to Embroider an Ornament
Place your hoop into the embroidery machine and begin stitching the design.
The machine will first stitch the placement circle. This shows you exactly where the fabric needs to be positioned.
- Stitch the placement line.
- Float your main fabric piece over the placement stitching.
- Make sure the fabric completely covers the placement outline.
- Stitch the tack-down line.
The tack-down secures the fabric to the hoop so it remains in position while the decorative embroidery is stitched.
This is one of the most useful parts of the process because the placement stitch gives you a clear guide for positioning your fabric.
How to Embroider an Ornament: Stitch the Design
Step 7: Stitch the Decorative Fill and Name – How to Embroider an Ornament
Once your fabric is secured, continue with the embroidery design.
If you have extra tack-down stitches in your design, don’t worry. You can use the plus and minus controls on the embroidery screen to move backward or forward through the design.
This allows you to skip sections that you don’t need.
When you reach the decorative fill:
- Change to your chosen fill thread color.
- Stitch the decorative background.
- Change thread color for the lettering.
- Stitch the name in the center.
For my ornament, I use white for the name.
Watch the embroidery as it stitches so you can make sure everything is positioned correctly.
How to Embroider an Ornament: Add the Backing
Once the front of the ornament has been embroidered, it’s time to add the back.
Step 8: Position and Secure the Back Fabric – How to Embroider an Ornament
With the hoop still attached to the machine, position your two hemmed pieces of fabric over the back of the ornament.
- Place the first piece approximately halfway down from the top.
- Place the second piece so it overlaps the first.
- Make sure the fabric completely covers the back of the ornament.
- Place the ribbon loop inside the ornament.
- Secure the fabric and ribbon with masking tape.
Make sure both sides are securely taped.
It’s particularly important to tape across the overlap in the backing fabric. If this area is loose, the embroidery foot can get underneath the fabric while the final stitching is being sewn.
Take a moment to check everything before putting the hoop back into the embroidery machine.
How to Embroider an Ornament: Stitch the Final Edge
Step 9: Stitch the Final Tack-Down – How to Embroider an Ornament
Place the hoop back into the embroidery machine and run the final tack-down stitch.
If necessary, change your thread color before stitching.
For my ornament, I change the thread to orange so it coordinates with the fabric.
Once the final stitching is complete, remove the masking tape. The tape should come away easily.
Then remove the ornament from the hoop.
How to Embroider an Ornament: Finish and Embellish
Step 10: Cut, Turn and Finish the Ornament – How to Embroider an Ornament
The final step in learning How to Embroider an Ornament is finishing the ornament.
- Carefully cut around the outside of the embroidered ornament.
- Use pinking shears if you want a decorative edge.
- Turn the ornament right side out through the opening.
- Gently push out the edges.
- Press the ornament with an iron.
- Add crystals if you want extra sparkle.
I like to use a hot-fix crystal setter to add crystals to my finished Christmas ornaments. They give the ornament a little extra sparkle and can really elevate the finished project.
Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using a hot-fix crystal setter.
How to Embroider an Ornament: Helpful Tips
Save Your IQ Designer Designs
When working in IQ Designer, save your designs to the machine memory before leaving a screen.
This is particularly important when you create a stamp or another design element that you will need to bring back into IQ Designer later.
Preview Before Stitching – How to Embroider an Ornament
Always preview the entire embroidery design before stitching.
Check for:
- Incorrect lettering
- Incorrect capitalization
- Extra stitching
- Unwanted outlines
- Fill designs that are too large
- Fill designs that are too small
- Lettering that is too large
- Incorrect placement
Taking a few moments to check your design can save you from discovering a problem after the embroidery has already started.
Personalize Your Christmas Ornaments – How to Embroider an Ornament
Once you understand How to Embroider an Ornament, you can make so many different versions.
Try adding:
- Family names
- Children’s names
- Pet names
- Initials
- Christmas words
- Dates
- Monograms
- Sports team themes
You could even create a personalized ornament for each member of your family.
How to Embroider an Ornament for Christmas
Making personalized Christmas ornaments with IQ Designer is a great way to combine embroidery and sewing into one fun Christmas project.
The beauty of learning How to Embroider an Ornament is that you can customize almost every part of the design. Change the fill pattern, thread colors, lettering, fabric, ribbon, and embellishments to create an ornament that matches your Christmas tree.
For this project, I created an Oilers-themed ornament with a player name in the center, but you can use exactly the same technique for almost any Christmas theme.
Once you have created your basic ornament design in IQ Designer, you can save it and use it again to make an entire collection of personalized ornaments.
Final Thoughts on How to Embroider an Ornament
I hope this tutorial has shown you just how much you can do with IQ Designer when creating personalized Christmas decorations.
From creating the circle and decorative fill to adding lettering, stitching the design, adding the backing, and finishing the ornament, this project gives you plenty of opportunities to customize your Christmas decorations.
If you’re looking for a fun embroidery project for Christmas, How to Embroider an Ornament is a great project to try. It uses a small 4 x 4 hoop and can be personalized in so many different ways.
And once your ornament is finished, all that’s left to do is hang it on the Christmas tree!
Don’t forget to leave a comment on the YouTube video and subscribe to the Faodail Creation channel so you don’t miss future sewing, quilting, and embroidery tutorials.
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