Multi-Needle Monday: Back to School Accessories

The three new products that I will debut for the upcoming back to school season for college students are: laundry bag, cosmetic case and a towel/shower wrap. All the items are purchased from the same vendor therefore extra shipping costs are minimal. My research for colorful, quality and easy to embroider items led me to the cotton waffle weave accessories. Take into consideration the vendor’s inventory; call and ask or look at the inventory levels online if the website supports that feature. Sell items that can be bundled with each other as a set. Think of other products in your inventory that might help with add on sales to this set in the future.

The design selection for my sample was a simple monogram that I like to call a “stacked” monogram. The first and middle initials are stacked on top of each other and the last name initial is increased to be the same size as the two stacked initials.

Get into the habit of always testing your embroidery design first on a sample fabric to check for density and appropriate size. The cosmetic case monogram measures 3 inches tall but the laundry bag is 4 inches tall so save the design in two sizes.

Towel/shower wrap: I used the large target ruler for precisely placing my monogram along the bottom edge. The Multi-needle Monster 5×7 hoop was used to hold the bulky waffle weave fabric without over stretching the fabric towel wrap. Place the hoop on the machine so the bulk of the fabric is hanging in front of the machine and not in the back. Position the needle directly over the cross hair on the target sticker and remove the target sticker. Add a piece of water soluble stabilizer on top of the fabric to hold down the pile and medium tear away stabilizer.

Cosmetic Case: Locate the inside side pocket and mark the opposite side for embroidery. Place the large target ruler on the front of the cosmetic case and position the target sticker in the center hole. You can use a standard 4×4 hoop to embroider the case. Slide the bottom frame of the hoop inside the case and attach the top frame. Keep the target sticker in place until the cross hair on target sticker is aligned with the needle.The bag portion of the case fits easily around the bobbin throat. Medium tear away stabilizer was used.

Laundry Bag: Use the large target ruler for positioning the embroidery along with the target sticker. Increase the size of the monogram to 4 inches tall. Medium cut away stabilizer was used because of the size of the monogram. Place the monogram approximately 10 inches down from top edge of bag and centered. Notice the handle strap should be placed in the back of bag. Hoop the bag in the 5×7 Multi-needle Monster magnetic hoop. Position the bag so the bulk of the fabric is hanging in front of the embroidery machine.