Creating a machine embroidered postcard to mail to a friend

Well, what did you think of that double-sided machine embroidery done with the Husqvarna Viking Designer Ruby 90? Imagine how awesome your embroidery can look on a jean jacket or other piece of clothing.

Husqvarna Viking Designer Ruby 90

Today, we’re going on an adventure! A friend of mine recently moved to a somewhat remote northern community. Someone thought it would be awesome if we sent her postcards that would be waiting for her when she arrived. Alas, my postcard will get there a bit late, but that’s OK. And you get to see it before she does!

The outdoorsy themes in the signature collection of the Designer Ruby 90 inspired me. Wait! There are other outdoorsy designs unrelated to trees and camping in the signature design collection. I’ve got an idea that I’ll be exploring tomorrow, so watch for that.

I found five designs in the Designer Ruby 90 that could work for my postcard. I knew that I couldn’t use them all simply because the postcard is only 4” x 6”. I could’ve brought them directly into the Embroidery Edit screen, but I knew at least one had to be modified. And I could’ve saved myself some time, got them all into the Embroidery Edit, and saved them as one file in the mySewnet Cloud. Instead, I saved each one individually.

Some of the saved files are in my mySewnet Cloud

If I were only sending one file to the mySewnet Embroidery Software, I could do that directly through the mySewnet ecosystem without saving. But then I would have to save the other files separately as each time you send a file, a new window opens in the embroidery software. Let’s say that there are many ways to get the files from one device to the other.

Here’s the file sent from the Designer Ruby 90 to the mySewnet Embroidery Software.

Embroidery design sent from the Designer Ruby 90 to the mySewnet Embroidery Software

If you have multiple computers with the embroidery software installed, make sure you know which is which. The first time I sent the file, I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t on my laptop. Later that afternoon, I went to my desktop computer, and there was the file! I sent it to the wrong device. So the moral of that story is to make sure your devices are clearly labeled!

The menu to send an embroidery design through the mySewnet ecosystem to connected devices

In total, I brought five designs from the signature series of the Designer Ruby 90 into the mySewnet Embroidery Software. I wanted to play with the sizes, and I wanted to eliminate one bear as I knew I wasn’t going to have room for both. I quickly realized that the two larger trees would be too large, so I selected them and then deleted them. Because the designs were still separate, as shown in the filmstrip on the left, it was easy to select the ones I didn’t want and hit delete.  Again – there are many ways to make this happen.

Five designs from the signature collection on the Designer Ruby 90

I went into Edit Design and removed the large bear. This is what I have left to play with.

The three machine embroidery elements for my postcard

So it looks pretty good, but when I used the measuring tools in the embroidery software, my design was just a wee bit too tall. Hmm – what to do? So I went back into Edit Design and moved the word ‘AWAITS’ so it sat further to the right, allowing me to move the bear image further up. I measured again, and the design was just a fracture too tall. This time, I shrank the tree and the bear, being mindful of the density of both designs. I scaled them down to 95%, and that gave me the proper dimensions.

Wow!! Wow!!! I love being able to change the designs like that. I just needed a bit more space, and editing the files gave me that option. I remember when I first got access to embroidery software. I was so excited and then totally lost when it came to making it work. I’ve since learned that it’s super easy (with a little bit of practice) that you can do practically anything. What I did in this file is so simple! I used the Platinum version of the mySewnet Embroidery Software.

Now that the design is the correct size and the elements are where I want them to be, I used the Export function to create a stitchable file.

The File menu of the mySewnet Embroidery Software

Alternatively, I can send the file directly to the Designer Ruby 90 through the mySewnet ecosystem.

Using the Send feature to transfer a file through the mySewnet ecosystem

Remember that all devices (sewing machine, computers, smart devices) need to be logged into your mySewnet account for that to work. And to prevent anything weird from showing up on your embroidery machine, you have to permit it to receive a file.

Pop up message asking permission to receive the embroidery file from mySewnet Embroidery Software

I chose my thread colors and a fresh pre-wound bobbin. I have a story to tell about both of those choices, so stay tuned for that.

A pre-wound bobbin and threads for my embroidery design

Now I’m ready to stitch out the embroidery design, so I go to the Welcome to Embroidery Stitch Out screen.

I left the deLuxe Stitch System on as the back will not be visible. I also chose the Automatic Thread Cutter and Automatic Jump Stitch Trim as there are little letters in the design, and I didn’t want to cut the thread between them.

I also selected something else on this screen, and I hesitated before I did it. I chose Color Block Sort, which is fine because it sorted the colors and placed them in sequence by color. So all the black color changes occur one after the other, with a color stop between the various elements of the design.

However, I also selected Color Block Merge without paying attention to my design. This feature merges the colors and eliminates the STOP commands. Wait for the lesson!

The Welcome to Embroidery Stitch Out screen

I hooped the fabric with INSPIRA Tear-A-Way Stabilizer in Do All Quilter’s Hoop, which is a traditional two-part hoop, and was the perfect size for my postcard.

I also added an extra layer of Tear-A-Way beneath the hoop as the designs were dense and I didn’t want any puckering. You can also use INSPIRA Fuse N Tear on the back of the quilting cotton to ensure that it doesn’t move. Then add a layer of Tear-A-Way beneath the hoop to help stabilize the project.

The second layer of the Tear-A-Way stabilizer positioned beneath the embroidery hoop

Then I moved into Embroidery Stitch Out, and away I went. From time to time, I did monitor the design on the embroidery machine, and I also had a peek at the mySewMonitor app on my phone. Yep – everything is working just fine!

Embroidery Stitch Out in progress

The embroidery is looking fantastic! I love when a design is well digitized.

The embroidery design as it starts to stitch out

In the following photo, you can see how I moved the word ‘AWAITS’ to the right of the design. And see how clean those small letters are? No threads to trim since I used the Automatic Jump Stitch Trim.

No threads to trim between the small letterings

At some point, I wandered back to the embroidery machine to check on the stitching and stop!!!  I thought that the bear and the tree were two different colors, so I would be asked to change the thread. No – the original designs were the same color thread, and by selecting the Color Block Merge, I eliminated the STOP command.

Oh boy – the learning never stops at my house! But that was my fault for not verifying the colors before I did that. Lady Luck was on my side, and it just started to stitch out the top stitches of the tree when I wandered by.

The tree is starting to stitch out

I changed the thread color and backed up the stitches to the beginning of the topstitching on the tree. I didn’t bother with the underlay stitches since they would be covered anyway. And phew – you can’t tell I did that!

The green stitching on the tree completely covers the black mistake

And here’s my final design. I love it! It’s the correct size to be trimmed down and made into a postcard.

The completed embroidery design

Since my blog posts seem to be about learning by doing, I thought I’d share another little blip that happened. Even though I showed you a full bobbin at the beginning of the post, I had a partial bobbin that I wanted to use up. So when the bobbin sensor came on, I sat there and watched the embroidery stitch out. When the bobbin ran out, I stopped the Designer Ruby 90 and changed the bobbin. I backed up the stitches until they overlapped the previous ones and then continued.

Not a problem – right? We do that all the time. But the bobbin ran out right in the middle of that impeccably digitized bear. The fill pattern is so smooth that the wee glitch shows. OK — so I had to take a close-up picture to show you.

The lesson here is to watch where you do your bobbin changes. I didn’t realize the fill pattern on the bear was so smooth. And I probably should have removed more loose stitches before I hit START. It looks fine, and I’m not going to worry about it, but I thought I’d share that little tidbit. Another operator learning experience!

Isn’t the digitizing on the bear amazing?

A loose thread when the bobbin ran out

Remember that I have the Automatic Jump Stitch Trim selected so that the jump stitches appear on the back—no big deal. You can trim them or not. They won’t show through the fabric I used as the background, so I’m not worried about it.

The backside of the embroidery

Then I pulled out my supplies to make the postcard. I used muslin for the backing, and I have a rubber stamp with a postcard image. I used a very heavy stabilizer as the filler. All the pieces (back, filler, and front) were trimmed to 6¼” x 4¼”.

Supplies to make the postcard

It can be a challenge to get all those pieces to fuse evenly to each other, so even for something as simple as this, I plugged in the Singer Steam Press, and it quickly fused all three layers. I love the Singer Steam Press!

Using the Singer Steam Press to fuse the postcard

Then I trimmed the postcard (all three layers) to 4” x 6”.

Trimming the postcard to 4” by 6”

The final step is to finish the edges. There are many ways to do that – you can create a rustic edge using raffia or twine and couching it to the edge. Instead, I chose the Grass stitch and a matching thread for the top and the bobbin.

I decreased the width of the stitch to 5.0, so it wouldn’t cover the top of the tree or the bear’s paws. And I mirrored the stitch, so it was in the correct orientation to stitch to the edge of the postcard.

I also used a larger needle because of the thickness of my project and the Open Toe Foot.

The machine settings to do the Grass Stitch

Stitching the grass stitch along the edge of the postcard

The best part? I didn’t have to remove the embroidery arm to do this simple project. Yep – I can sew with the embroidery arm attached. I don’t want to work on a large project that could damage the embroidery arm, but small projects – why not?

Stitching the postcard with the embroidery unit attached

OH MY GOSH — this is adorable!!! My friend is going to love it – well, I hope she does.

My Adventure Awaits postcard

The back of the postcard

And there you have it – a super simple way to make an embroidered postcard. I decided to modify a couple of designs, but you’re sure to find something that works with over 680 embroidery designs built into the Husqvarna Viking Designer Ruby 90. Don’t want to make a postcard? I could have used the slightly larger trees and some of the other signature designs to make a small wall hanging.

I’m so excited – I want to make more machine embroidered postcards. How fun would it be to receive one of those in the mail?

Be sure to come back tomorrow when I explore some of the other signature embroidery designs in the Husqvarna Viking Designer Ruby 90. There’s so much to embroider and so little time! My brain can only handle so much in a day!

Have a super day!

Ciao!

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: 6 essential tips for double-sided machine embroidery on a placemat

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