Quilters will recognize the inspiration behind this week’s new “Orange Peel” POP designs right away for sure! The Orange Peel quilt pattern design is very popular among quilters, but it’s also perfect for anyone who just loves a great design to feature some of your favorite fabrics! In this tutorial, we’ll break down the steps for how to complete an in-the-hoop applique design using the new Orange Peel Bag Tag as our example.
Supplies Needed
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Sharp, curved tip or duckbill scissors (for trimming applique pieces)
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Vinyl for base front and back of bag tag. We use Mypunkembroidery.com
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Quilting cotton fabric for applique pieces. Show in LullaBee by Art Gallery Fabrics
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Jen's list of Bag Tag supplies can be found HERE.
Let’s Make It!
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Hoop cutaway stabilizer.
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Run step 1 directly onto your stabilizer. This is the placement stitch for the vinyl of your bag tag.
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Cut a piece of vinyl large enough to cover the placement stitches with about a half inch or more overlap around the outside of the placement stitch lines. (This is a great time to use up larger scrap pieces of vinyl!) Secure vinyl with tape outside of the stitch line.
- Run step 2. This will run the placement stitches for your four pieces of applique fabric.
- Apply Heat and Bond Lite (following package instructions) to your four fabric pieces for the applique. I cut my four pieces of fabric into rectangles approximately 2.5 inches x 2 inches and that was definitely plenty big enough.
Heat and bond lite helps minimize any fraying when trimming around the perimeter of applique pieces. It also is makes trimming easier AND you can fuse your fabric to your bag tag once finished. Simply cover your vinyl project with a pressing cloth and iron on medium heat. This will secure the fabric to your project. More on Heat N Bond on The Thermoweb website.
- Place one piece of fabric over the top right quadrant of the bag tag. Run step 3. This will tack down fabric piece one.
- Carefully trim around the perimeter of the stitch line as close as you can without cutting the stitches. I use Kai Scissors that have a curved tip and they’re my favorite! A lot of people also like to use duck bill scissors when trimming applique pieces.
- Place a second piece of fabric over the bottom right quadrant of the bag tag. Run step 4. This will tack down fabric piece two. Trim around the perimeter carefully and closely.
- Place a third piece of fabric over the bottom left quadrant of the bag tag. Run step 5. This will tack down fabric piece three. Trim around the perimeter carefully and closely.
- Place a fourth piece of fabric over the top left quadrant of the bag tag. Run step 6. This will tack down fabric piece four. Trim around the perimeter carefully and closely.
- Run step 7. This will run the satin stitches on the inside of the bag tag.
Run step 8. This will run the outline circle of satin stitches of the bag tag.
- Flip your hoop over to the back and place a piece of vinyl completely covering the placement stitch lines from step 1 with at least a half inch of overlap around the perimeter. Secure with tape.
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Slide an extra piece of tear-away stabilizer between the back side of the embroidery hoop and the bed of your embroidery machine to prevent any dragging of the vinyl.
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Run step 9. This will run an outline stitch around the entire design and will secure the back piece of vinyl to the front piece.
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Remove design from hoop and carefully trim around the bag tag with sharp scissors. It’s easier to move the bag tag itself rather than the scissors to help keep your cutting smooth.
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Finish up by punching a hole and setting an eyelet with a tool such as the “We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile for Eyelets.
Choose your favorite way to hang a bag tag and attach it to your favorite bag! These same applique steps can be followed for the Orange Peel snap tab and charm as well. We love to see everyone’s finished products and can’t WAIT to see what fabrics you choose to feature with this weeks’ new releases. Be sure to head over to the POP Facebook page and share with us!
*Fun bonus fact for history lovers- Legend has it that the orange peel design was inspired by a French man named Marquis de Lafayette. At a party to celebrate American independence, Marquis sliced an orange into four quarters and removed the peels. Apparently those peels caught the eye of a guest of the party who was a quilter and thus the first orange peel quilt pattern was created!*
