When tackling a new machine embroidery project it is always important to have the right equipment and material on hand. This article gives tips on how to avoid puckering when using stabiliser in your projects. More ..read more

It’s never too early or too late to get projects made for Christmas. There is also something to special and nostalgic about homemade gifts, decor or decorations for the festive season. Our Christmas Star Table Runner design was originally released as a Sew-Along design in our Sweet Pea Machine Embroidery November 2018 Sew-Along Group. It was an absolute HIT! The creativity of our customers blows us away constantly, and this project was no different. Here are a number of inspirational projects made with the Christmas Star Table Runner design. We hope this provides you with some inspiration fo ..read more

What better way to spread joy than share the gift of handmade gifts using an embroidery machine? If you have a sewing enthusiast to gift for or are searching for unique, fun gift ideas for grandchildren and other loved ones, look no further than the world of In the Hoop Machine Embroidery Designs with Sweet Pea! From helpful and useful creations for sewing friends to fun animal handmade backpacks made for the little ones and practical gifts for adults, we've curated a list of unique gift ideas that will add a touch of magic to your holiday celebrations. This is our list of ..read more

It’s Halloween season! Or at least, it sure feels like it. Even down under the spooky season has hit full speed and we’re enjoying PSLs and pumpkins all around. Before October creeps up, this is the perfect time to make some Halloween projects so they can be out all through the official spooky month. We’ve collected some of our favourite items for home and divvied them into the appropriate theme to help you out and best of all, any design before 2023 is also currently on sale, so stock up your cart today!   Fall Vibes If you want something a little more seasonal and less of the spooks, we ..read more

Machine embroidery is an amazing hobby (yes, we’re a little biased) but it can be expensive to get started! However, there are ways to save money while still getting the most from your equipment and supplies. Like all crafts, it’s not about getting the cheapest or most expensive gear, but choosing the right tools from the start. First step, your machine. This is probably the most expensive part of machine embroidery and the machine you choose can have a great impact on your enjoyment of the hobby and whether you need to upgrade in the future. Some sewing machines come with dual functionality t ..read more

A great thing about our embroidery is how versatile it can be. One thing we love doing is using embroidery on clothing and perhaps most commonly, on a good denim jacket! It’s so fun to see how a design can be used in so many different ways, whether it was originally meant for a bag or quilt, or started as a design for clothing specifically. Clothing embroidery is super popular with our Sweet Pea family as well, so we wanted to share some we love in this showcase: It’s amazing how many designs can be transformed onto jackets! These customer makes are only a small selection of the great thing ..read more

In Australia, the weather has really cooled down, and we are feeling a little festive! Even for our southern hemisphere family, while the weather may be warm, you may already be planning your Christmas projects so you can be ready as Fall (or Spring for us Australians) rolls around! Either way, to celebrate a little Christmas in July, we are throwing it back to our Snow Globe Ornaments. Collect your Supplies The first step is to get all your goodies together for the ornament. You will need: Soluble stabiliser and cutaway stabiliser At least three or four colours of thread Fabric options for ..read more

PRESSING UN-PRESSABLE FABRIC Helpful when doing Flip and Fold techniques Some fabrics we use can’t be pressed with an iron. So, we use a “dolly” (a tightly rolled wad of cotton or linen) to transfer the heat from the iron, to the seam, without un-hooping the work. A Dolly is an old tailoring term for rolled up fabric to be used as a pressing aid. Vinyl and plastic type fabrics can’t endure the heat from an iron but often need pressing during a project (i.e. this flip and fold technique we are using with this bag). Make a Dolly out of five layers of calico (seeded cotton). Each piece wa ..read more

Zippers can seem like a daunting addition to a project, especially if you are not an expert sewer and the zip isn’t incorporated in the embroidery design, or you want to add a zip instead of something like snaps or buttons. But it doesn’t have to be feared! With the right tools and instructions, adding a zipper can be done by anyone. One great option we have is our Zipper in the Hoop design: We made this design specifically for our machine embroidery designs and sewing patterns, but it can be used in all kinds of craft projects. The design makes it easy to plug it into your embroidery machine ..read more

One of our favourite designs has to be Cassie the Crazy Crafter. And we were so excited to release her partner, Jack of All Trades, as the trades lover to our hobby lover earlier this year. Eventually, we hope to have a whole collection of hangers and customisable pieces for our duo, but trust us when we say our design ideas list is very long! These hangers have spurned lots of creativity from our Sweet Pea family, and we wanted to share a few we love in this showcase: Cassie the Crazy Crafter There are a hundred ways to create your Cassie and we love to see them all! From unique skirt trim ..read more