Embroidery Library - Machine Embroidery Designs Inspired Project Page

In-the-Hoop Candy Cane Holders

Fun and festive, these quick-sewing candy cane holders are made from special designs that sew entirely in-the-hoop! Each design features an adorable and cheerful holiday character and holds a regular-sized candy cane.

In just a few simple steps you can cut the fabric, embroider, and add a candy cane to make these holders. Add a loop to the top to hang on a wreath or tree!

Candy cane holders are sized for Spangler brand "Traditional and Cane Classics" candy canes. The candy cane weighs 1/2 ounce and is 5 3/4 to 6 inches long.

Supplies needed:

** Candy canes - 1/2 ounce, 5 3/4 to 6 inches long
** Two 4 x 4-inch pieces of fabric
(any fabric will do; we used felt)
** Tear-away stabilizer
** Cut-away stabilizer
** Spray adhesive
** 1/8 inch wide ribbon
** Masking tape
** Self-healing pad
** Craft knife

Designs used:
Candy Cane Holder - Polar Bear
Snowman Candy Cane Holder

When you download a candy cane holder design, you'll find three files (applique candy cane holders have four files).

One file will begin with the letter "X" -- that's the embroidery file. The other files are marked with the letters "_DL" -- those are the dielines.

Applique candy cane holder designs have three "DL" files. The files are "_DLFront" for the front pieces, "_DLBack" for the back pieces, and "_DL" files for the inside elements (snowman, etc).

If you have embroidery software, open the dieline files, and print them at full size. These will be the templates used to cut the fabric shapes. If you do not have embroidery software, scroll down to see two other methods for making templates..

To prepare fabric for the front of the candy cane holder, make a "sandwich" of stabilizer, fabric, and the paper template from the "_DLFront" dieline. Start by spraying a piece of cut-away stabilizer with a bit of adhesive.

Lay the fabric for the front side, right side up, on top of the stabilizer and smooth in place.

Spray the paper template with a quick shot of adhesive, and smooth the template over the fabric. Then, cut out the shape.

Repeat this for the fabric for the back piece using the "_DLBack" dieline.

If you don't have embroidery software, then there are two other methods that you can use to make a template:

Method 1:

Embroider the dieline onto paper. To do this, hoop a piece of paper.

Method 1 (continued):

Load the "_DLFront" dieline on to your machine, and embroider it right onto the paper. This is one of the templates that you'll use to cut the applique fabric to the exact shape.

Method 1 (continued):

To prepare the front fabric of the holder, make a "sandwich" of stabilizer, fabric, and the paper template. Start by spraying a piece of cut-away stabilizer with a bit of adhesive.

Method 1 (continued):

Lay the fabric for the front side, right side up, on top of the stabilizer and smooth in place. Place the paper template on top, and cut out the shape to prepare the fabric for the back piece. Repeat this step for the "_DLBack" dieline.

Method 2:

The second method of making templates without software is to embroider the dieline onto the fabric and stabilizer that you'll be using for the applique piece. Begin by spraying a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive.

Method 2 (continued):

Smooth the applique fabric on top.

Method 2 (continued):

Hoop the stabilizer and fabric together. Load the "_DLFront" file to your machine, and embroider it.

Method 2 (continued):

Cut out the shape. This is the fabric piece that you'll use for the design.

Repeat this with the "_DLBack" dieline file for the back of the candy cane holder.

Now that the fabric pieces are cut to the exact shape, it's time to begin to embroider the candy cane holder. Hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer.

Attach the hoop to the machine, load the design (the file that starts with "X" followed by 4 numbers) and begin embroidering the holder. The first thing to sew is another dieline.

After the dieline has sewn, spray the stabilizer side of the "sandwich" and...

...place the "sandwich" directly inside the die line that has just sewn.

Continue embroidering the design. A zigzag tack-down will sew next. These stitches will hold the fabric in place during the rest of the embroidery.

All of the inside elements will sew next.

If you are embroidering an applique candy cane holder design, watch for a note on the color sheet that says "dieline."

After the dieline (or dielines) sew, stop the machine. Use the "_DL" files to cut out the shapes from the fabric of your choice. We backed the fabric for our candy cane holders with cutaway stabilizer to make it more rigid.

Spray the backside of the fabric pieces with adhesive and place them right inside the dieline shapes.

Continue with the design, a tack down stitch will sew next.

On the color change sheet you'll see a note that says "back piece tack down." When you get to this point, stop the machine, remove the hoop (but don't unhoop the stabilizer/embroidery).

Spray the wrong side of the back piece with adhesive.

Add the back piece to the back of the embroidery in the hoop. Lay it directly over the front piece.

Tape the ribbon loop on the end of the hoop -- this keeps it out of the way when embroidering the final steps.

The next parts to embroider will be seen from the front and back of the holder. We want the bobbin thread to match the top thread for these remaining steps, so we wound a bobbin with the same thread that we're using in the top.

Put the hoop back into the machine, and continue sewing. Another zigzag tack-down will sew. These stitches will attach the back fabric to the holder.

After the tack-down stitches are complete, a satin-stitch border finishes the edge of the holder.

The last thing to embroider will be two buttonholes. These will be the openings where we'll insert the candy cane.

Note: Because we're sewing on white fabric, we used white thread for the buttonholes. You might want to match the thread color to the fabric that you're using so the buttonholes are less noticeable. And, we changed the bobbin thread to match the buttonhole thread so it would be the same on front and back.

When the design is finished sewing. Remove the hoop and unhoop the holder. Gently tear away the excess stabilizer.

Next, lay the holder on a self-healing pad. Use a craft knife to cut the buttonholes open.

Slide a candy cane through the buttonholes, and your cute critter, holding a candy cane is ready to go!

Click here for a printable version of these project instructions.

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