**Oooops! Correction to Monogrammed Hat Post**

I do not use cutaway stabilizer for these.  I use TEAR AWAY!  Item #TM20A at www.sewingmachine.com  So sorry for the confusion! 

Monogrammed Straw Hats

I was re-inspired over the weekend when I walked into church & saw my Aunt waiting for my family to join her in her straw hat from last year.  She had been in Savannah the weekend before & said that she got so many compliments on it.  One lady even told her, "It looks so expensive!"  Shhhhh, no secret telling here!  Then later in the afternoon, I see this picture on Facebook where teenagers are enjoying some of the hats I've monogrammed this year on their Spring break trip.  They have been & continue to be a huge hit!


Now, on to the reason you're here.....

Here's a "how to" on my method.  I've seen lots of these in FB groups that I follow, so I know many ladies have their own methods.  Hopefully, this will help some "newbies" get started and then you may be able to develop your favorite ways too.

Here's the hat on the hoop.  I keep it simple & always use my 4x4 hoop with a 3" tall center letter.  I've lost count of how many I've done like this.  Customers seem to be happy with this size, so I stick with it.  If I changed the monogram size now, it may cause an uprising!  I hoop 2.0 oz tear away stabilizer purchased from  Sewing Machine.com.  Then I lay the hat on hoop eyeballing (is that a real word ?) each side to make sure it's square in the hoop.  Then I put 3 pins through the hat & stabilizer.  I do NOT use spray.  I used to until about 6-7 hats ago.  But it just became too much of a burden to pick away the stabilizer from the back.  I tried without it & it works just fine!  Step skipped=I love it! 

This is the hat on the hoop on my machine.  I have a Brother Duetta 4500 D.  Yes, she's "topless" in a sense due to some auto threading issues, but that's a post for another day.  I have the cover off so I can see how to manually pull the thread up & around & through the tunnel.  If I ever catch up on hats, I'll get this fixed.  For now, I'm making do.

I almost always use Monogram Wizard Plus' Master Circle or MC Center fonts.  I change the letter width to 200 & I choose to use the underlay stitches for good coverage on the hat.  I move the needle down to where the bottom of the monogram will be & I adjust so that the needle is in the middle of the second "lane" around the hat.  I've recently taken up running & this reminds me of a track.  (Sad & weird, I know.)  Oh!....don't forget to rotate your design either in your software or once you get it to the machine! 

Before I start stitching, I lay a precut piece of Solvy on top & away we go!  With a 3" tall center letter & underlay, usually my hat monograms are about 8,000 stitches & this takes about 16 minutes on my machine.  I don't run it on 1000 spm because it just makes me nervous. 

And in the time it took me to write this post, another hat is done! Thanks for stopping by & Happy Stitching!

How to cut a straight edge on burlap

If you've spent any time around me lately, you may have picked up on my interest obsession with burlap.  Burlap flowers, burlap pillows, burlap table runners, burlap Pinterest boards....Burlap is even used to decorate my Sunday School room, but I take no credit there, although it does make me very happy!

On my mission to incorporate burlap into so many projects, I've learned some things along the way.  #1 - you can iron burlap (just not with your good iron that you iron Hubby's white dress shirts with) and #2 - how to cut a straight edge on burlap.  And this is what I'm sharing today....

Burlap is known for fraying.  A little fraying is good, but you don't want strings hanging off of your projects to constantly monitor & trim.  This technique gives you a good straight edge and just the right amount of fraying.

First measure the length you'll need.  I needed a 20x20 square.

If you look closely, you'll be able to see the threads in the loose weave of the burlap.  You're going to separate one of those threads next.  Just snip on each side with your OLD scissors.           

Choose a nice thick one thread!

Then, you want to gently pull it out.....all the way out.  Or in my case, a little more than 20".

Just keep pulling, just keep pulling.....take your time.

The first time I did this, my immediate thought was "Ooooh, burlap ruffles....how pretty!"

Now, when you have the thread pulled out, see what is left for you? 

A perfectly straight line for cutting!  Magic!

If your thread breaks when pulling, just cut to where it broke, grab it again & keep on pullin'...

Now cut straight up that line.  (and excuse the blurry pic)

Now, when you've gone around all 4 sides using this technique, you'll have a square piece of burlap ready for your project. 

Remember you can iron burlap.  But I'd recommend using a pressing cloth or an old iron.

And here is it!  An outdoor pillow with 2" flange.  Ok...so there's some sewing in there, but that's for another post.

I hope you'll be able to use this technique in your burlap endeavors.  If you try it & love it, I'd love to hear all about it!