Applique Trivet (In-the-Hoop)

Sweeten up your kitchen decor with stylish trivets stitched in-the-hoop! An insulated layer between pretty fabrics and embroidered details makes a unique kitchen accessory that's perfect for gifts. We'll show you step-by-step how to create your own in-the-hoop trivets!

First, print the dieline files that come with your design. This file will always have "DL" in the name. (Click here for instructions on how to print or stitch dieline templates.)

To begin preparing the fabric pieces, spray one side of a piece of Insul-bright with temporary adhesive. Smooth the Insul-bright onto the wrong side of the back fabric piece.

Then spray the back side of the printed back piece dieline with temporary adhesive, and smooth it onto the right side of the back fabric.

Next spray the back of all of the remaining paper dielines with temporary adhesive. Then smooth them onto the right side of the appropriate fabrics. These should only be fabric, and should not have Insul-bright on the back.

Cut out all of the dieline pieces and remove the paper dielines.

Once all the fabric pieces are cut to the correct shapes, it's time to embroider the design.

Hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer. Madeira E-Zee 1.5 oz or Floriani Tearaway Medium are good choices. Those brands are more fibrous, less like paper, and is likely to tear cleanly.

Attach the hoop to the machine, and load the embroidery file (not the dieline files).

Use a 75/11 sharp sewing needle instead of an embroidery needle. The sharp sewing needle has a finer point, and it will make smaller perforations in the stabilizer.

Embroider the design. The first thing to embroider will be a dieline (or outline stitch). This marks the area on the stabilizer where the fabric piece will be placed.

After the dieline has sewn, remove the hoop from the machine, but do not unhoop the stabilizer. Lightly spray the back side of the first fabric piece with temporary adhesive and place the fabric piece inside of the dieline.

Return the hoop to the machine. A tackdown will stitch and hold the fabric piece in place for the remainder of the design.

Continue to follow the color change sheet, and place each fabric piece inside its dieline before sewing its tackdown step. Different trivets have different fabric pieces, so look at the color change sheet carefully.

Once all the front fabric pieces (not the back side with the Insul-bright) are tacked down into place, embroider all the inner details.

Make sure to stop before sewing the "back piece tackdown" step.

Remove the hoop from the machine, and turn it over so the back side of the embroidery is facing up. Lightly spray the back side of the back fabric piece with temporary adhesive and place the fabric piece inside the dieline.

As all the bobbin stitching from here on out will be seen from both sides, wind bobbins to match the remaining thread colors used in the design, so the bobbin always matches the top thread.

Place the bobbin into the machine so the bobbin matches the top thread. Follow the color change sheet to embroider the rest of the color change steps.

Once the embroidery is finished, carefully tear the excess stabilizer away from the outside of the trivet.