Next, I fuse a piece of fusible poly mesh onto the approximate area where I'm going to place my design, like this:
I then use a ruler and chalk pen to mark a "t" in the center of the design area:
This particular t-shirt is a child's size XS/4-5. I decided to use a 4x4 design with my granddaughter's name underneath it--which turns it into a design that will fit into a 5x7 hoop. However, I don't have a 5x7 hoop for the machine I'm going to use today so, instead, I'm going to hoop a piece of tear-away washable stabilizer in this 8x8 hoop:
Next, I find the plastic template do-hickey thing that came with this hoop, place it inside the hoop, and fill in the circles with my pink Sewline mechanical pencil:
Now I connect the circles with my ruler:
(Hopefully, you can see the pink "t" on the hooped stabilizer)
For the next step, I'm going to use this roll of double-sided adhesive tape:
I cut two pieces of tape the approximate length of the sides of the hoop. So if you use a 5x7 hoop, one piece of tape would be about 5" long--and the other piece would be about 7" long.
Next, I cut those two pieces of tape down the middle:
Now, I press those four pieces of tape down onto the hooped stabilizer just inside the edges of the hoop:
Next, I peel the top layers of paper covering the tape off of all four pieces of tape:
If you look closely, you can see yellowish areas just inside the edges of the hoop. That is the newly-exposed, top sticky side of the tape.
The next step would be best shown with a video--but I'm limited to photos, so I hope you can get an idea from this:
I'm taking the "t" shape I made on the fusible poly mesh (on the inside of the shirt) and lining it up with the "t" I made on the hooped stabilizer. Before you do this, you can spray the poly mesh with spray embroidery adhesive--or not; it's up to you. I kind of "roll" the shirt down onto the hooped stabilizer.
Once it's down, I smooth out any wrinkles--and press it firmly to the tape that's next to the hoop edges. So now, the shirt is ready for embroidery! 😃
