I absolutely love creating embroidered appliqué quilts. Sarah Vedeler is my favorite designer for this type of quilt. I have made many of her block-of-the month (BOM) quilts. Each one increases my learning exponentially! So when she offered the Digitizing Master-Class for 2022 I signed up!!!

I am so excited to be able to turn my own ideas into beautiful, embroidered applique. Knowing how Sarah’s designs stitch-out was extremely helpful as I created my own design. It greatly helps with the sequencing and layering of each design. We are using two different pieces of software for design: Hatch2 and Corel Draw. We just finished Month 01.

For this first month, we learned to setup Hatch2 and create a ‘template’ for our embroidered appliqué designs. We learned how to digitize open/closed objects, use standard objects, and free hand objects. We also learned to use different stitch types, from running stitches, to motifs, and satin stitches.

The hardest part for me was creating holes. This is where you create a filled shape, then add another design on top. The ‘hole’ removes the fill for the object added on top of the bottom object. I finally got the process down after much trial and error. I was able to create my third and final design, for the month 01 challenge, shown on the left above. I am so happy with the concentric circles. I created multiple holes to really get the process down.

Finally it was time to save and export my design. I exported my cutting file (SVG) and digitized design (PES). The cutting file was imported into CanvasWorkspace and then transferred to my ScanNCut. This allowed me to cut my appliqué’ shapes. The design file was imported into PEDesign11, then sent to my Luminaire. My final stitched design can be seen on the right in the picture above.

For Month 02 we were introduced to Corel Draw. The challenge this month will be to create a twin size quilt. Can’t wait to get started!