Embroirdering Oilcloth

Photo Credit: Forshee Designs

My Twitter friend, April Forshee, got hooked on oilcloth when we asked her to be a tester for my book Sewing with Oilcloth. When we meet in Atlanta last October we got to talking about embroidering oilcloth, and now she's got the 411 for us. Be sure to go over to her blog and read more.

While your there check out her new beach bags!!

Before you try it, there are some things you need to know, though:

1) DO NOT hoop the oilcloth. Hoop the stabilizer and stick the oilcloth to it. Sticky stabilizer or temporary spray adhesive can be used.

2) The embroidery needles will wear out more quickly when stitching on oilcloth, so be mindful of that.

3) Since oilcloth should not be pinned down, I usually babysit the machine while stitching oilcloth due to the chance the oilcloth can come off the stabilizer from the movement of the embroidery arm.

When I embroidered my beach / pool tote, I used:
~ A fill stitch. Since this bag will get a lot of use and the lettering was large, I opted to not use a satin stitch.
~ Medium weight cutaway stabilizer
~ Temporary spray adhesive to stick the oilcloth down
~ Titanium Organ sharp embroidery needle

~ Gunold polyester embroidery thread. I would stay away from the rayon on oilcloth. It tends to break easily.