This tutorial shows how to embroider and assemble our embroidered rulers and then attach them onto fabric embroidered with other designs to make a personalized growth chart.

Cut a piece of medium cutaway stabilizer and a piece of the ruler fabric that are both bigger than the embroidery hoop. Spray the cutaway stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive and smooth it on to the wrong side of the fabric piece.

Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together. Make sure everything is hooped tightly and there are no wrinkles or puckers in the fabric.

Load the first embroidery file on the machine, and attach the hoop. Embroider the entire first design.

Once the embroidery is finished, unhoop the embroidered fabric, and set it aside. Do not trim the fabric or stabilizer yet.

Press the embroidered panel with a pressing cloth on top. Try and remove any wrinkles, and make the sides as straight and flat as possible.

Repeat the previous steps to embroider and press all of the panels that will make up your chosen ruler.

After pressing, measure your chosen seam allowance away from all the edges of the design and cut away the excess material. This will leave an even border of fabric around the edges of the embroidered design. This outer border of fabric will be the seam allowance. Feel free to use whatever seam allowance measurement works best for you. We used a 1/2in seam allowance for our ruler.

The easiest way to measure and cut the seam allowance around the design is by using a quilting ruler and rotary cutter. If preferred, you can also measure and draw the seam allowance around the outside of the panel, and simply cut on that line with scissors instead.

Repeat the steps to cut out all of the embroidered pieces, leaving the seam allowance (1/2in for our example) border of fabric around all edges of every piece.

After all the pieces are pressed and cut out, carefully arrange them on the work area to show what pieces go next to each other when the ruler is all lined up. Keeping them arranged like this while you work will help prevent them from being mixed up or sewn to the wrong pieces.

To begin assembly, take the top two pieces, and lay them on top of each other with right sides together. Match up the edges of the fabric.

The trick to perfectly lining up your pieces and seams with the edge of the embroidery is to pay close attention to the embroidered outer box of the designs. When pinning any pieces together take extra care when matching up the outer borders and corners of the two pieces as best you can on top of each other. The closer they are lined up, the better the panels will be aligned once sewn.

When sewing, you want to always sew with the backside of the embroidery facing up so you can see that outer box while you sew. Then, simply sew right along the inside edge of the embroidered border. Sewing there will look best, and leave no gaps. Since we measured the seam allowance from this line as well, sewing here also acts as a guide to sewing the correct seam allowance.

Place the pieces on the machine with the wrong side of the embroidery facing up. Sew the two pieces together following the outer box of the embroidered design and the edges of the applique.

After sewing the seam, press the seam so it lays nice and flat using a pressing cloth. Using a pressing cloth when ironing protects the stabilizer and fabric from the iron.

Once pressed the top two pieces will be sewn together and all lines up with one another.

Repeat the previous steps to pin, sew, and press all of the pieces together.

For all of our rulers, each individual panel is 2.5in x 6in tall (or 6.35cm x 15.24cm) without the seam allowance. Once assembled, each ruler is made up of 8 panels. The rulers will be 48in (121.92cm) tall and 2.5in (6.35cm) wide without the seam allowance.

Using these measurements from the previous step, create a decorative strip of fabric that is the same height as your ruler (including your chosen seam allowance). This panel can be as wide as you like.

One fun option is making the decorative piece out of multiple panels and fabric strips like we did with our UT Book Stack Buddies.

You can even make one long strip of fabric that is the correct height and embroider it with multiple designs.

Finish the growth charts with bias tape or as a stitch and turn. You can even add a little batting inside or quilt them.

Embroider them with different designs, themes, and layouts to create the perfect personalized growth chart for your family or friends.