Embroidery and appliqué guides

Practical, plain-language guides to machine appliqué and embroidery lettering: how to stitch it, which fonts and sizes work, which file format your machine needs and how to get the most from the appliqué generator and the lettering designer.

Appliqué

How to Appliqué with an Embroidery Machine, Step by Step

A step-by-step guide to machine appliqué: placement line, laying the fabric, tack-down, trimming and the satin cover, with fabric and stabilizer tips.

7 min read

Appliqué

Appliqué Tack-Down: Zigzag vs Running Stitch

Should an appliqué file tack the fabric down with a zigzag or a running stitch? How each one sews, how they compare and when to choose which.

5 min read

Appliqué

Best Fonts for Appliqué Letters

Which fonts make clean appliqué letters and which cause trouble: stroke thickness, counters, scripts and size, with examples you can try in a stitch preview.

6 min read

Appliqué

Appliqué Satin Width and Density Guide

How wide to make the satin cover, how dense to stitch it and how the tack-down width fits in, with starting values for common letter sizes and fabrics.

5 min read

Appliqué

How Big Should Appliqué Letters Be?

Minimum and typical sizes for appliqué letters on shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and blankets, how lowercase letters change the height and how to fit your hoop.

5 min read

Appliqué

Appliqué Fabric and Stabilizer Guide

How to choose appliqué fabric, fusible web and stabilizer for woven and stretch garments, and how to hoop so the satin covers the edge.

6 min read

Using the tools

How to Use the Appliqué Generator

A walkthrough of the ThreadType appliqué generator: text, font, size, satin, tack-down, fabric, layout and corner settings, then preview and download.

8 min read

Using the tools

How to Use the Embroidery Lettering Designer

A guide to the lettering designer: fonts, size, spacing, arcs, monogram borders and team names, then preview and download DST, PES and EXP files.

7 min read

Files and machines

DST vs PES vs EXP: Which Embroidery File Format Do You Need?

What DST, PES and EXP embroidery files are, which machines read each one, what they do and do not store, and how to choose the right format for your machine.

5 min read

Files and machines

Using an Appliqué Cut File (SVG) with Cricut, Silhouette or ScanNCut

How an appliqué cut file works, how to import the SVG into a Cricut, Silhouette or ScanNCut, and how to place the cut fabric on the placement line.

5 min read

Files and machines

Check an Embroidery File Before Stitching

A short checklist for checking a DST, PES or EXP file before sewing: size, color stops, stray stitches and a test stitch-out, and what common problems mean.

5 min read

Lettering

Minimum Size for Embroidery Lettering

How small embroidery lettering can be before it fails: minimum letter heights, why lowercase needs more room, and how stitch type and font change the limit.

4 min read

Project ideas

Looking for something to make? These pages show suggested settings for popular appliqué projects, with a link that opens the tool already set up.