Looking for a custom gift that says ‘I Love You’ in a special way? Why not use your Brother embroidery machine to personalize a bouquet of flowers with custom crafted hearts. Design these hearts using pre-loaded appliqués found in the Brother BES Embroidery Lettering Software and combine with little “Love” sentiments from small fonts in the program. This easy project is a perfect gift for that special someone on your “I Love You” list!

Materials and Supplies:

• Brother Embroidery Machine with 4-inch hoop.
  
• Brother BES Lettering Software or other Brother Software with small fonts.
• Brother Embroidery Threads
  
• Brother Bobbin Thread
  
• SA5906
  Brother Lightweight Adhesive-Backed Water-Soluble Stabilizer.
• Stiff craft felt. Cut two pieces measuring 3- inches square for each heart.
• Green chenille stems measuring 12-inches long, one for each heart.
• Double-sided fusible webbing, one piece measuring 3-inches square for each heart.
• Scissors with a pinking or scallop blade.
• Press cloth for pressing finished pieces.

Steps to Create Hearts Designs for Bouquet

1. Create heart design in BES software as follows:

• Open BES Lettering software program. Click on the Add Design icon from the Home tab. Choose folder with appliqué shapes and select heart Appliqué Shape No.012. See Figure #1.

[caption id="attachment_18473" align="aligncenter" width="592"]
Figure #1[/caption]

• Click on the empty design window to generate the heart.
• Next, click on Hoop icon and select 100mm X100mm for hoop size. See Figure #2.

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Figure #2[/caption]

• Click on the heart to select it, place mouse curser on one of the four corners, and then click and drag to re-size heart to equal approximately 2.0 inches wide. Click on the Arrange tab and center the heart in the hoop. See Figure #3.

[caption id="attachment_18475" align="aligncenter" width="663"]
Figure #3[/caption]

2. Add text to the appliqué as follows:

• Select Normal Text from the Home tab. See Figure #4.

[caption id="attachment_18476" align="aligncenter" width="507"]
Figure #4[/caption]

• Select Caps Lock on your computer keyboard. Click within the blank space in the heart.
• In the Text properties box, click on the down arrow and scroll to select font style Drake 5mm. Click in the text field and type I LOVE YOU, using enter/return key on keyboard to type multiple lines. See Figure #5.

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Figure #5[/caption]

• Click Apply to place the letters on the design page.
• Click on the Arrange tab to center selected words in the heart. You may wish to change the line spacing or adjust the position of the lettering within the heart.
• Change colors of heart and lettering as desired, making sure the stitching will show up on your felt.
• When you’re happy with your design save it in a .brf format, creating a working file so you can edit the message in the text field. Next, save the design as a .pes format.
• To create additional hearts, click on the lettering to select it, then click Delete from the home tab and type in the text box as you did before. After saving all your designs, transfer them to the machine to stitch. Make as many hearts as you like to decorate your bouquet with short, sweet sayings similar to the ones you see on Valentine candy. See Figure #6 for an example.

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Figure #6[/caption]

Steps to Complete Hearts

1. Hoop water-soluble stabilizer in 4-inch hoop. Secure one 3-inch square of stiff felt to the adhesive, placing it in the approximate center of the hoop. Embroider heart and text all in one color.
2. Remove felt from hoop. Wash away excess stabilizer. Let dry.
3. Place plain 3-inch felt square behind embroidered square. Using the pinking or scallop scissors, hold layers together and cut heart shape just outside the stitching line, cutting through both layers. Cut fusible webbing into a heart shape to fit in between the two hearts. Layer hearts with fusible webbing in between and chenille stem inserted at the bottom, securely sandwiched between the hearts.
4. Cover layered hearts with a press cloth and fuse according to manufacturer’s directions to secure layers together.
5. Mix the hearts with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for a special way to say “I LOVE YOU”.