Perfect Applique Placement with Scan the Hoop & Projection Tools

Did you check out my review of how I used the Husqvarna VIKING Large Magnetic Hoop on the Husqvarna VIKING Designer Epic 3 for the edge-to-edge quilting on that table runner? I know I’ll not be going back to using a traditional hoop! This Large Magnetic Hoop is a game-changer!

You also saw how important the paper templates and the Exact Positioning tool are. Today, I’m working on two different positioning tools while I put together a small wall hanging.

Just before the end of the year, I decided to pick one word to represent 2026. That was a challenging task, and I finally settled on the word “goals”. Now that I have my word, I wanted to make a small wall hanging for my design wall to remind me of the goals I set for 2026. Trust me, it was tough to choose just one word! I should write them down, so I can use one of the others for 2027.

I used the Quilt Block Wizard in the Creativate Embroidery Software to quilt a background for my applique letters. I could have incorporated the letters into the quilting, but it wasn’t working out the way I wanted, so I ended up creating two separate files, one for the quilting and one for the lettering.

I made it as large as I could fit in the Large Magnetic Hoop. It didn’t take long for me to get used to using that hoop. Hooping all three layers is a snap, no shoving, no pressure on the hands to close the clamp – it’s super easy!

I cut some of the letters on the Singer Momento (24” digital cutter), but I chose to trim a couple of the letters in the hoop, to see how that would work and if there were any challenges with the magnets and metal scissors.

I love using the Husqvarna VIKING Easy Snips. They’re lightweight, sharp to the tip, and I found them perfectly fine to work with the magnets on this hoop. They were attracted to the magnets only when I needed to trim something very close to the edge of the hoop, but overall, they worked great with the magnetic hoop.

I also remove my hoop from the embroidery unit when trimming. This allows me to rotate the hoop in all directions, making trimming easier. Note that I lean the hoop against the table, so I don’t stretch the fabric in the hoop by, let’s say, balancing it on my knee!

When you have a lot of appliqué shapes to trim, that ergonomic connection on the embroidery arm is a dream! And there’s a satisfying, loud click every time that hoop snaps into place. I LOVE this!

And before I knew it, the wall hanging was done! I didn’t need to use any positioning tools for this, as it was created in the Creativate Embroidery Software. Both the quilting and the lettering were centered in the hoop, and the positioning tools weren’t necessary. I also used the Creativate Ecosystem to wirelessly send the design separately to the Designer Epic 3. Love the Ecosystem!

The fabric had been in the hoop for several hours while I worked on something else, and I noticed there were significant creases when I removed the magnets. So, like any hoop, you must be careful not to bruise the fabric. But the creases were soon gone, as this is quilting cotton.

I randomly chose the fabrics for the wall hanging, giving them little thought beyond matching the greens. The lettering style, grid background, and color made me think of football. I’m not much of a team sport fan, but this was screaming football to me. I thought of adding some embroidered footballs, but I didn’t want that dense stitching on the back. Then I thought of buttons.

And then it hit me, why not soccer? I’m not a soccer fan either, but I have some fabric with soccer balls on it, and it’s sitting right on my worktable. It’s the backing for a quilt that needs quilting; however, I think I can steal a few soccer balls from along one edge.

OK, now we’ll have some fun and try out a couple more of the positioning tools. And seriously? Even though I’m not a soccer fan, I LOVE the soccer balls!

It was easy to rehoop the piece, which I had not trimmed, back into the Large magnetic Hoop. I didn’t care about getting it lined up.

Yes, I could satin-stitch those soccer balls in sewing mode, but WAIT! I have some incredible tools in embroidery mode, and I’m going to use them!

I’m appliqueing the soccer balls down with a satin stitch in embroidery mode. The first thing is to create the circle. That’s too easy, since I can use the Create Applique tool to make a circle.

Using the Autofill Stitches tool in Create Applique, I choose a satin stitch as the decorative stitch for the circle’s outline. The Applique Shape tool automatically creates the placement line, the tack-down line, and the decorative stitch. What’s new in the Designer Epic 3 is the increased number of stitches that can be used for the decorative stitch! Oh my…that was exciting!

And here’s my applique circle, the same diameter as my soccer balls.

Now that I have the applique shape and decided where I want the soccer balls, how do I tell Designer Epic 3 EXACTLY where I want them stitched?

Let’s use this fabulous tool, called Scan the Hoop, which you’ll find in the Hoop Options menu.

I decided to leave my three soccer balls where I had tossed them and see what would happen if I left them in the hoop during the Scan the Hoop function. This was actually very beneficial because when I blew the bits of thread away while trimming, the shapes also blew out of position! I just found another way to get the shapes exactly where I want them.

The image on the Embroidery Edit screen is EXACTLY what’s in my Large Magnetic Hoop. How cool is that? You can also use the Design Placement feature in the Creativate app if you don’t have Scan the Hoop. I much prefer Scan the Hoop.

You can also see the design for my applique shape, but it’s not in the correct position for any of the three soccer balls.

Now it’s super easy to grab that circle and drag it over the soccer ball on the embroidery edit screen. Use the Move Function in Embroidery Edit to fine-tune the placement of the appliqué exactly where you want it.

Now I’ll turn the Projection System on in Embroidery Edit mode, so I can see where that circle will be positioned. Notice that the projection window opens, but there’s no design. That’s because the projection window is situated in another part of the embroidery hoop.

You cannot move the projection window, so you must move the hoop so the design you want to stitch appears in it. Take a moment to think about this – the projection window is stationary, and if you want to see how your design will fit on your project, you’ll move the hoop to bring that area into the projection window. This is strictly for visual purposes. Unless you move the design on the embroidery edit screen, the design stays put.

Here’s the Move Hoop pop-up. It’ll pop up automatically when you turn the Projection System on in EMBROIDERY EDIT. Remember, you are positioning the hoop so that the projection window (which can’t move) reflects the area of the hoop you wish to check.

Now I’ve positioned the hoop so the first soccer ball is in the projection window. Remember that on the Embroidery Edit screen, I moved the applique shape motif to where the first soccer ball was located. It was easy because I had scanned the soccer ball fabric when I scanned the hoop. What you’re seeing in this photo is the REAL soccer ball fabric inside the hoop. It’s hard to see the projected stitches because of the soccer ball fabric.

Once I remove the soccer fabric, the satin-stitch circle for the applique shape becomes obvious. I see the design is not exactly where I want it. I want it to be more centered between the letters, so because I’m in Embroidery Edit, it’s easy to use the Move Tool (or drag the motif) until it’s in the correct location.

Yes! This is where I want the soccer ball to be. See how easy that was using these amazing tools on the Designer Epic 3?

Then I can do the placement and tack-down stitches. OH MY! That’s so perfectly positioned! I LOVE the placement and the creative tools on the Husqvarna VIKING Designer Epic 3. I can do anything!!!

Then I used the Easy Snips to trim away the excess fabric. Now I only made one shape, and I have three soccer balls. I moved back into Embroidery Edit and repeated the steps until all three soccer balls were secured with satin stitching.

In the two photos below, you can see that I moved the hoop so the other two soccer balls would fit inside the project window.

It took me a bit of time to grasp that you are moving the hoop to bring the area you want to see into the projection window. It does NOT affect the stitching at all. If you need to move the design, you do that on the Embroidery Edit screen. This is something you need to be sitting at your Designer Epic 3 to play with. It’s fascinating, and the more I use it, the more I love it!

Here is the finished wall hanging. Well, it needs trimming and binding, but the machine embroidery is done. OH, MY GOODNESS. I’m so glad I added the soccer balls – it adds a whole lot of whimsy and fun to the piece. And I’ll smile every time I look at it. Maybe I’ll even become a soccer fan (probably not!). But this gives me an idea for the future word of the year – what can I add to it to make it more fun than just a word!

This is an excellent example of just going with your instinct. While I like green, it’s not necessarily my go-to fabric color. But I needed fabric, and that just seemed to jump off the shelf, so I went with it. Lucky choice or deep down, that’s what I wanted? Let your gut instinct take over some of the decisions, you may be pleasantly surprised!!!

I’ll bind it with the same fabric as the lettering.

I think the last two days give you a good idea of what you can do with the six positioning tools. Learn them, use them, and remember, you may need to use multiple tools together. There isn’t anything you can’t get down to pinpoint precision!

OH!!! I love this piece so much, and it was a great way to showcase some of the fantastic features on the Husqvarna VIKING Designer Epic 3. I’m so excited… is it 2027 yet? I want to make another one!

Tomorrow is a toss-up between two projects. Hmm – maybe I’ll take a stab at both. I love playing around and learning all the cool things that are possible, and that’s what tomorrow will be all about: learning something new, AGAIN!

Thanks for following along, and be sure to check out the Husqvarna VIKING Designer Epic 3 and the Husqvarna VIKING Large Magnetic Hoop at your local Husqvarna VIKING dealer, or check those links!

Have a great day!

Ciao!

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: Edge-to-Edge Quilting with the Husqvarna VIKING Magnetic Hoop | Perfection!