Appliqué/Embroidery Hoopless Finish

While on retreat with Central Florida MQG a couple weeks ago, I worked on and finished stitching "Dream Flower Posy", a design by Jo Avery from the February issue of Homespun magazine.

If you're looking for the pattern, I suggest checking your local library. I was surprised to find an E-publication of that magazine issue available through the Cloud Library app on my phone! So, this was a free pattern!

Anyway, since I'd enlarged the design by 20 percent, the piece ended up needing to be finished in an 11" hoop. After checking online and not finding a hoop that size, I admonished myself to "Put on your thinking cap and figure out something you can use that you already have." I'm so glad I pushed myself to do that!

Knowing I'd need something to reinforce and stiffen the embroidery, I went through my bin of fusibles and found a folded-up piece of Peltex (fusible on one side) a stiff Pellon product usually used in bag-making.

With my 11" round acrylic ruler handy (owning a set of Quilter's Rule Nested Rulers - I sure didn't pay this much! - has proven invaluable) it was easy to draw an 11" circle on the Peltex - twice. I used the 11½" side of the ruler to mark the embroidery circle and a fussy-cut circle of Anna Maria print I had on hand (from a fat quarter bundle I'd won at QuiltCon in 2023). I then ironed to fuse a Peltex circle to the back of each piece.

With my sewing machine set to basting stitch length, I sewed along the edge of each circle. Then I drew up the bobbin thread so the edges were taut against the Peltex, and tied knots. 

I clipped the two circles together, put edge stitch foot #10D on my Bernina, and picked utility stitch #19 - set at mirror image - to zig-zag with a straight edge, around the circles. 

I'm delighted with how it turned out - a hoopless finish with a pretty edge stitch.

The hanging loop is a fabric bundle tie from a long-ago MassDrop purchase. (Gosh, I miss that company.) MassDrop is printed on one side of the tape, but I folded the tape in half and edge-stitched to keep the printing on the inside.

See? Being creative.

I like the Anna Maria fabric for the back because I can't imagine I'd ever use such a print in anything else.  

I want to thank my Florida friend, Nancy, for her unique suggestion to finish this piece to hang from the ceiling! I sure didn't think of that! 

So here's my sewing room ceiling. A clear Command hook, and voilà! Linda