How to Digitize a Summer Placemat — Part 2

How to Digitize a Summer Placemat — Part 2: Precutting Appliqué Fabric with Cutwork Needles

Precutting your appliqué fabric pieces before stitching might sound like an extra step — but it's one that pays off every time. Clean, perfectly sized pieces that sit flat, align accurately, and stitch down smoothly make the whole appliqué process more enjoyable and the finished result more professional.

Precutting can be done with an electric cutting machine, with printed templates and scissors, or directly in the embroidery hoop using Cutwork Needles. This lesson focuses on the Cutwork Needle method — an easy, economical option that doesn't require any additional equipment beyond your embroidery machine.

What You'll Learn

• The benefits of precutting appliqué fabric pieces
• How to prepare fabric for cutting in the hoop
• How to precut appliqué pieces using Cutwork Needles

What You'll Need

Tkanina na apliky

• 6" × 4" — Pink, Yellow, and Green (popsicle bodies)
• 5" × 2½" — Dark Pink, Dark Yellow, Dark Green (inner popsicle shapes)
• 3" × 6" — Tan (popsicle stems)

Additional Materials

• Fusible web — Steam-A-Seam 2™ is recommended for this project. It's a heat-activated, pressure-sensitive fusible web that allows for repositioning if needed
• Machine embroidery hoop — this project uses the 360mm × 260mm hoop
• Jehly Pfaff™ nebo Husqvarna Viking™ na řezání

Why Use Cutwork Needles for Precutting?

Not everyone who sews appliqué owns an electric cutting machine — and for those who don't appliqué frequently, it may not be a worthwhile investment. Cutwork Needles offer a practical, affordable alternative that delivers some genuinely useful advantages:

• The cut line is placed exactly where it needs to be — no risk of cutting too close to the tacking stitches or leaving fabric edges that peek through the satin stitching
• Fusible web keeps each piece flat and securely positioned in the hoop, eliminating fabric bubbles entirely
• No freehand cutting means consistent results every time, regardless of the shape complexity

Pokyny

1. Transfer the files. Move the "applique cutwork precuts" files saved in Lesson 1 to your embroidery machine using your preferred transfer method — flash drive, wireless send, or cloud transfer.
2. Hoop the fusible web. Cut fusible web slightly larger than your hoop and hoop it on its own — no stabilizer needed, as the Steam-A-Seam 2™ with fabric fused to it is strong enough to hold in the hoop. Score an X through the cover sheet of the fusible web and peel it back to expose the tacky surface.
3. Place and fuse the fabric pieces. Arrange the cut appliqué fabric pieces inside the hoop, keeping them away from the top and bottom edges (outside the stitching area perimeter). Press with an iron to fuse the pieces in place.
4. Position the designs. If your machine is wi-fi capable, use the Design Placement feature in the Creativate App to send a hoop image to your machine as a background reference. Load the cutwork files into the hoop, matching each design to the correctly sized fabric piece.

   If you are not using the 360mm × 260mm hoop, additional hoopings will be required.

   
5. Cut with the Cutwork Needles. Insert the first Cutwork Needle and start the embroidery — the machine does the cutting for you. Change Cutwork Needles as prompted; the machine will stop automatically when a needle change is needed.
6. Finish and set aside. Once the embroidery is complete, clip the secure points and set the precut pieces aside ready for use in Lesson 3.