Create Your Own Holiday Gift Tags
Materials used:
- BES4 Dream Edition Software
- 2 pieces of Water Soluble Stabilizer
- Double sided fusible adhesive
- ScanNCut
or Printed template - 4x4 inch hoop
- Fabric and Embroidery Thread
would be a fun one to share. One of the fun things about it is that it can be used as a tree ornament for future holidays.
Open the BES4 Dream Edition Software.
- Select Create a New Design from the Welcome screen.
- Select Add Design.
- Choose Add Appliqué Shapes from the Drop-down menu.
- Scroll through and find and appliqué shape that you would like to use.
Note: Not all designs lend themselves well to this process. You may have to play with some more than others.
For this project, I decided to choose the Ornament (Appliqué 065). Select the Ornament and then left mouse click on the design page to insert the design onto the design page.
- Click on the Select tool. The ornament will automatically be selected.
- In the Properties window, scroll down to the Transform area.
- Place a checkmark in front of Absolute, change the Width of the ornament to 2.0 inches (50mm) and then click Apply.
- The Height will adjust proportionally if you keep Maintain Aspect Ratio checked.
Now we need to do a little drawing with our drawing tools.
- Click on the Zoom Tool and draw a square around the top part of the Ornament so you can see the area better. You can move around the area while drawing with the scroll bars on the side and bottom of the window.
- Click on the Tools Tab at the top of the Window.
- Choose the Line tool. This will allow us to draw around the shape. If you have upgraded to the Power Pack, you may select the Curve tool instead.
- Select a color on the color ribbon that isn’t in the design and that is dark, so you can easily see the line after it is drawn. I selected purple.
Note: For this to be a freestanding project, we need to draw around the shape just inside it. Left mouse click to draw around the shape. To switch to a curve point, hold down the Control key on the keyboard while you click around the shape. (if you are using the Curve tool, to switch to a line, hold down the Control key when you click.) Stop just before you close the shape. This doesn’t have to be perfect, you are creating a base for the stitches to grab onto, so they don’t fall apart.
- Click on the Select tool and then choose Close Shape.
- After you draw around the outside, draw around the circle at the top of the ornament to create the hanger hole using the Line tool. If you have the Power Pack, you can use the arc tool and click four times to create the circle.
- Click on the Select tool and then choose Close Shape.
There is a brief video without sound on how the tools work to illustrate the drawing.
Watch Video:
[youtube id="sVI4RD2Erug"]- In the Sequence window, click on the artwork segments. If you drew them both in the same color, you will be able to select them together without holding down the Control key.
- Hold down the Control key on the keyboard with the C on the keyboard to create a copy of the drawn area.
- On the Quick Access toolbar choose New (it looks like a sheet of paper).
- On the new tab, right mouse and choose Paste or hold down the Control key with the V key on the keyboard to paste the artwork onto the new page.
- Click Export FCM.
Tip: If you don’t have a ScanNCut, instead of Exporting the FCM file you can select Print Preview from the Pacesetter menu. In Print Preview window, click on the Settings button. Turn off all the options except Print Actual size. This creates a template that you can cut around for your ornament. Click Print, select your printer and then Press OK.
- Click back on the ornament tab. There are a few more things we need to do to our gift tag.
- In the Sequence window, click on the artwork segments. If you drew them both in the same color, you will be able to select them together without holding down the Control key.
- Click on the Tools Tab if you have moved to a different tab by mistake.
- Choose Convert to run.
- This creates a running stitch for you to place your cut fabric. In the Properties window, change the Stitch Length to 2.0mm.
- In the Sequence window, right mouse click on the drawn areas as in the image and choose Move and then First.
- Click on the Home Tab. It is now time to add a name to your gift tag.
- Click on the Zoom down arrow and choose Zoom to Fit. If your display has the zoom slide bar (this is computer resolution dependent) you can select the square to instead, it is Zoom to Fit as well.
- Click on the Normal Text tool.
- Click inside the ornament to activate the Text tool.
- Type in the gift recipients name. Left click away from the text to set it, or click Apply in the Properties window.
- Click on a color tile to change the color of the text.
- In the Properties window, click on the down arrow next to the current font. Use the up and down arrows on the keyboard to see a preview of the font style. Left mouse click on a font style to select the font.
- Click Apply.
- Click on the Question mark next to the selected font to see the recommended sizes.
- Based on the information in the window, in the Properties window change the Height for the font to fit the parameters and then click Apply.
- In the Sequence Window, click on the running stitch line you drew, hold down the Control key on the keyboard and click on the ornament pieces.
- Right mouse click and choose Group. This will keep the parts in place when you align the ornament with the name.
- Click on the name to select the text. You can do this in the design window or in the Sequence window.
- Move the name into the approximate vertical center of the ornament.
- Click on the Arrange Tab.
- Click on the Select tool down arrow and choose Select All.
- Click on the Horizontal Center tool.
- From the Pacesetter menu, choose Save As.
- Name the design and choose the location where you wish for it to be saved on your computer.
Note: If you have set your preference to automatically save the brf file, you can save one time in your machine format and your brf file will be saved automatically. If you haven’t set your preferences up for this feature, save two times, the first as a brf file and the second in your machine format. If you have a machine that is compatible with wireless feature in the BES 4 software and you have set up the machine card, click on the Pacesetter button and choose Machine and then Send to Machine.
Note: Your machine must be powered on and have the wireless card inserted. If you aren’t using the wireless feature, be sure to save to a media device that your machine will accept.
How to Embroider:
- Fuse a double sided adhesive to fabric for the ornament.
- Cut out 2 of the ScanNCut Artwork files, one needs to be mirrored. You can do this on your ScanNCut or from a printed template as mentioned above.
- Hoop two pieces of water soluble stabilizer in the 4x4 hoop.
- Stitch the running stitches.
- Remove the hoop from the machine. Be sure not to push or pull on the stabilizer.
Insert Image Stabilizer
- Place your front piece on the front of the hoop inside the stitch lines. Press with an iron into place.
- Flip the hoop upside down (be sure to support the interior of the hoop). I usually fold fabric the depth of the hoop and sit the hoop on that to support the stabilizer. You may wish to trim the thread tails. I usually do to keep the back of the project clean.
- Lay the back piece on the stabilizer inside the lines. Press gently with an iron.
- Insert the hoop back into the machine and complete the embroidery.
- When the embroidery is complete, remove the hoop from the machine and the project from the hoop.
- Trim the stabilizer close to the project.
Note: To remove the rest of the water soluble from the outer edges, you can use a wet cotton swab and wet the edges or a wet small paint brush. I usually use a paint brush. Tie a ribbon through the loop at the top and attach to your package. I used 1/8 inch ribbon and threaded it through the hole with an upholstery needle (it has a large eye). This is a picture on another one that I completed. For some reason I forgot to take a picture of Sarah’s, but took a closeup of Erin’s.
Tip: If you use a larger hoop, you can do quite a few of these at one time. You can use Name drop and the software will create a file for each of the names you insert (be sure to choose your machine format, for the Save formats, by clicking on the ellipse button – the …). You can even select different fonts and sizes in the Name Drops window. The best part is that with the Power Pack installed, you can send them all the the machine at one time from the Pacesetter menu by choosing Machine and then Batch Send to machine! I LOVE this feature!
Another Tip: You can fit 6 of these in a 5x7 hoop. From the Pacesetter menu choose Merge, select the designs you want to add. Arrange them in the hoop and then choose Color Sort on the Home tab.
Have fun personalizing your packages and creating memories!
Have a wonderful holiday season,
Cindy Hogan
#brandambassador
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