In the back of my closet, on a old wooden hanger is a pair of jeans that once were the center of my wardrobe. The side seams are split with a contrasting inset, which is embellished waist to hem with vibrant embroidery. My current hips and thighs are unlikely to ever again slide easily into these soft denim pants, but I will never give them up – the memories they’ve been a part of are too good to let go.

We’ve captured that flower child energy in a new four-piece machine embroidery set. Our Feelin’ Groovy designs have been expertly digitized by S4H seamster team member and embroidery wizard, Michele Mishler. Her expertise and creativity give the designs the precision and professional end result embroidery enthusiasts demand.

Thanks to a sponsorship from our friends at Janome America, this entire gorgeous set is offered here FREE in seven popular machine formats: ART, EXP, JEF, JPX, PES, VIP, and VP3. There’s a folk art bird taking flight, a mellow smiling sun, a beautiful butterfly with floral wing spots, and a beatnik tiger wearing rainbow shades.

Our designs were sewn on the top-of-the-line Janome Continental M17, a sewing and embroidery marvel. It has the largest sewing area in the industry and the largest embroidery space in its 11.3” x 18.2” hoop, as well as the Accurate Stitch Regulator A.S.R. that takes high definition quilting to a new level. From big features like these to important smaller functions, like a thumbwheel you can use to delicately control the needle position on especially intricate sewing projects, we really love using the CM17 on all types of projects.

In addition to the design downloads, you’ll find a FREE color chart below detailing the seven 50wt Aurifil thread colors we chose for our stitch outs (40wt would work as well), but of course, you can always alter the colors to best match your project. The color chart also shows the stitch count for each and a final size. All of the designs in the collection are smaller than 100mm square, so they will fit a 4” hoop or larger. We used the RE20D Hoop on the Janome CM17.

The Bird, Butterfly, and Sun will stitch out in less than 30 minutes at 600 spm. The Tiger is more complex and features layered colors, so it takes approximately 45 minutes at 600 spm. One of the most addicting elements of machine embroidery is watching a design stitch out, especially with the precision that Janome machines are known for. It’s like watching a little piece of thread art come to life before your eyes. 

As you can see in our photos, the designs are gorgeous when stitched on a neutral background as well as on rich colors. From garments to bags to linens and more… maybe even to your own pair of retro hippie embellished jeans you’ll keep forever!

Our thanks again to Janome America for sponsoring these designs and for providing the machines to make our stitch outs look perfect every time. While we understand not everyone has access to an embroidery machine, we still like to release beautiful design collections on a regular basis. It’s our way of inspiring you to find out more about machine embroidery.

If you are considering adding machine embroidery into your creative space, we recommend taking a look at the full selection of Janome machines at your local Janome dealer – from the top-of-the-line Continental M17 to one of our studio favorites: the Skyline S9 to the embroidery-only Memory Craft 550E. There are a number of affordable options to best fit your sewing space, Including the great Memory Craft 1000 and the Memory Craft 9850LE. The addition of any of these can open up a whole new world of embellishment possibilities – whatever your sewing, quilting or crafting focus may be.

Ingredients

We used linen as our base fabric and 50wt Auriful cotton thread. In addition, we used a combination of tear away and sticky stabilizer. Our tips on this stabilization technique are outlined below.

Stabilization Tips

The designs in this collection are dense with many small details, so they require extra care in hooping. Multiple layers of stabilizer are recommended. We used both sticky stabilizer and tear away stabilizer with the linen fabric.

1. Cut a length of tear away stabilizer and a length of sticky stabilizer to fit your selected hoop. Place the sticky stabilizer paper side up over the tear away stabilizer.
   
   
2. Take apart your embroidery hoop so you are working with the lower (bottom) section of the hoop. Here you see the lower hoop of our Janome RE20D.
   
   
3. Place the two layers of stabilizer over the lower hoop then insert the upper hoop into the lower hoop and lock it into position.
   
   
4. Score the paper. Use a sharp object, like the tip of a straight pin or the tip of a seam ripper to make a giant “X” corner to corner.
   
   
5. Peel back the paper and tear it away against the edge of the hoop. Work section by section to remove all the paper within the area of the hoop.
   
   
6. Center your fabric over the hoop and gently smooth it onto the sticky surface.
   
   
7. Place the hooped fabric onto the machine. Use your machine’s embroidery Baste Function to further secure the fabric to the hoop. You’re ready for your final embroidery process.
   
   

Thread Chart

Click the button below to download the full color PDF thread chart showing sizing, stitch count, and thread color changes for each of the FOUR designs. The thread shown in the chart is what we used: Aurifil 50wt cotton thread.

IMPORTANT: This download consists of FOUR 8½” x 11″ sheets that have been bundled together into ONE PDF to make the download easier. Remember to print vertically (portrait) at 100%; do not shrink to fit.

Templates

Click the button below to download full-color, full-size placement templates for each design.

IMPORTANT: This download consists of ONE 8½” x 11″ sheet. Remember to print vertically (portrait) at 100%; do not shrink to fit.

Download Instructions (for .zip files)

All elements are provided in your choice of SEVEN file formats: ART, EXP, JEF, JPX, PES, VIP, and VP3.

The FOUR designs are included within each format’s folder. They are sized for an approximate 5” x 7” hoop; one of the most common hoops found on machine embroidery machines. Remember to also download the PDF templates to perfectly position each design and the full color charts. The color charts show sizing as well as stitch count.

Each file is provided as a .zip file to download. Choose your format and download as you normally would any .zip file. If you have trouble, try the steps below.

First, click on the Blue Icon from the list below that is the appropriate file format for your embroidery machine. This is the .zip file you want to download.

A) For Windows users: Select “Save As” to save the .zip folder where you’d like it on your computer. Navigate to that folder. To unzip the file, you will have to right-click on the folder and select “extract.”

B) For Mac users: The .zip file should automatically download to your “downloads” folder or a location you have previously defined. If not, then right-click (or control-click) on the link and select “Download Linked File”. Save the .zip file to your computer. To unzip the file, double-click the file. Your files will be unzipped into the same folder as the original .zip file.

NOTE: As always, these designs are copyrighted, and may be used for personal use and gifts only.

Download Files for the Feelin’ Groovy Design Set:

COPYRIGHT

All material (projects, artwork, text, patterns, photos, embroidery designs, etc.) on Sew4Home and in the Sew4Home Etsy Shop is protected under the copyright laws. As with all our digital products, the design and graphic files themselves, or any part thereof, including stitch out files, cannot be sold, duplicated, resold, traded or shared in any way, in any digital format, and are for use by the original purchaser only. You may use them for personal or business use on physical products, but re-selling of the design and/or manufacturing of products made from our original design for mass production or commercial use is strictly prohibited. Please contact sew4home.com for additional details.