How to DIY the Perfect Easter Decor

With Easter festivities around the corner, you might be planning for family to visit or talking about the Easter Bunny hopping through the home, and if you are anything like...

Embroidery Month Q&A With the Sweet Pea Team

Part of what makes Sweet Pea special is our community - which includes our internal team! Filled with craft lovers and hard workers, we are so proud to have a team...

A Brief History of Machine Embroidery

An ancient craft, the embroidery of long ago is incredibly different to what we see today. Modern embroidery machines have come a long way since their much slower, bulkier counterparts,...

How to Express Yourself with an Embroidery Set

At Sweet Pea, we love a good set! From matching bags and purses, to all the pieces for the perfect picnic, sets are a great way to create a cohesive...

Top 12 Machine Embroidery Designs of 2024

With Christmas right around the corner and the end of the year rapidly approaching, we wanted to reminisce on the year that was, including looking at what designs you liked...

How to Make Wrapping Ecofriendly this Christmas

From using fabric scraps lying around and embroidering a reusable gift box to wrapping with fabric that is part of the gift or sealing with recyclable washi tape, there are...

Top 12 ITH Embroidery Designs

2023 Christmas Gift Ideas Using In the Hoop Machine Embroidery Designs

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...

Everything You Need for Your Halloween House!

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...

How to Get into Machine Embroidery on a Budget

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...

How to Understitch Lining in Embroidery and Sewing Projects

Understitching keeps all the seams together, in the same direction, held by stitching on the edge of the lining seam. Having the seams all pointing the same way prevents the...

Customer Showcase: Jacket Embroidery

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...

Christmas in July: Embroidered Snow Globe Ornaments

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...

Customer Showcase: Cassie and Jack Hangers

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...

8 Machine Embroidery Beginner Must Haves [Infographic]

Whether you are thinking about getting into machine embroidery or have a machine and don't know what to do next, there are a few key items that will give you...

How to Use Scrap Thread and Fabric

It’s not uncommon to end up with lots of fabric scraps and bits of thread when machine embroidering. It feels like a lot of waste but it doesn’t have to...

How to Use Printable Fabric in Frames

Machine embroidery offers a wide world of ideas, and one we love to implement in our designs is the use of photos! We do this by using inkjet printable fabrics,...

File Sorting - How to quickly separate and sort embroidery files

How to Use Windows Search to Find Your Files Faster Separating a specific embroidery file type (.pes, .vp3, jef etc..) can be time-consuming, but Windows has a helpful feature in File...

Windows File Associations

In Windows, file associations determine which applications open specific types of files based on their file extensions. For example, .txt files are usually associated with Notepad, so when you double-click...

Using Stabiliser in the Hoop - Tips to Stop Designs Puckering

When tackling a new machine embroidery project it is always important to have the right equipment and material on hand. For those of you who have done a little bit...

How to Insert a Zipper Into a Bag

I have been asked a lot lately on how we insert zippers into our bags. We have found this method to be easy and it gives a nice tidy result. Let's...

Pressing Tips When Using PU Leather in Machine Embroidery

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...

Appliqué, Embroider, Embellish it!

Putting a personal touch into your wardrobe is not just fun, it puts a little more personality into what you're wearing everyday. It's also wonderful to receive new clothes, but...

Hearts & Swirls Table Runner Design

Our Hearts and Swirls Table runner is an enchanting design released in January 2018, just in time to celebrate Valentine's Day. This Table Runner is a great way to decorate...

How to Find and Download Design Files

All your downloads will be available in your account click here: https://swpea.com/apps/downloads/orders/ and login to your account. You can access your download from the top right corner of the website. Just...

Organising Thread for Big Embroidery Projects – Project Hacks

Machine embroidery is making use of a sewing machine or specialty embroidery machine to create freeform stitched designs or personal patterns onto assorted materials. These designs are digitised computer files...

Christmas Star Table Runner design

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...

Make Your Own Hanging Mobile In The Hoop

A mobile is a type of moving sculpture constructed to take advantage of gravity and wind. It consists of a number of rods, string, chains or rope, from which objects...

Raw Edge Feather Placemat Design

Similar to traditional appliqué, Raw Edge Appliqué is a technique which involves two or more pieces of shaped fabric, combined with embroidery to create a design. ​The difference is that...

Succulent & Cacti Table Runner Design

Succulents and Cacti have always been a favourite among plants, they are hardy by nature. There is a wide variety of colour, size and shape to these delightful little plants...

Log Cabin Quilting

What is a Log Cabin Quilt? A log cabin quilt, or log cabin quilt block, is one of the most popular traditional quilt patterns and is pieced together using strips...

How to stop breaking thread?

Threadaches are something to be avoided at all costs when trying to enjoy a good stitch out session. Over the years we have had many, many comments in our online...

How to make a Binding?

What is Quilt Binding? Quilt binding is the finishing touch to a quilt. It is the fabric used cover the outer edges of a quilt and keeps the edges intact...

Hoop Sizes and Embroidery (Stitching) Field

Ever wondered why your machine embroidery hoop sizes are different to the actual size they will stitch? Jungle Growth Chart design - Chameleon block When you first begin machine embroidery,...

Mug Rug Inspirations & Sweet Pea Freebies

We just love our mug rug designs! Not only are they fun to make, they're exceptionally functional and make great gifts. In addition to sharing some of our new and...

Machine Embroidery Terms Glossary

Bookmark this blog for all the major embroidery terms you need to know!  When you first get into machine embroidery, wrapping your head around everything can get a little bit...

Framing your Embroidery Projects

Once you have completed your projects, what better way to really appreciate your work than to frame and display them? Sometimes it is a project that you have started, but...

Helpful tips when using leather for machine embroidery projects.

Mandala Tote Bag Design The idea of using leather for a machine embroidery project can be off-putting for many people. It can be a challenging and frustrating material to work...

How Much Stabiliser Do I Need to Cut for My Hoop?

For many years, I worked in commercial embroidery and the waste factor with stabiliser was exceptionally low. It was all about “unit cost” and the ability to keep manufacturing stateside...

Fabric Choices for Butterfly Embroidery Designs

Sweet Pea's May sew along in 2020 featured this beautiful Butterfly Table Runner design Sweet Pea's Butterfly Table Runner Design We used fabrics from a few different Kaffe Fassett ranges.You...

Why isn't there a thread colour chart with our designs?

One of our commonly asked questions is “Where is the thread colour chart?”, when we digitize our designs the designers have a rough idea of what colours they would like...

From Scrappy to Happy - making the most of your fabric scraps

Handmade from the Heart Tote Bag blocks by Blanca H Sanchez made from old jeans In a room filled with neatly folded fabrics and colour coordinated threads, you don't often...

Using Embroidery Designs on Clothes

Just starting out in the world of In The Hoop Machine Embroidery, and being surrounded by very talented and creative people, I was itching to test my hand at a...

How to Sew Hexagon Quilt Blocks Together

The earliest hexagon pattern that quilt researchers have discovered was made in England in 1770. Hexagon became one of the most popular patterns in England by 1830, and by 1835...

You can help our Australian animals that have been injured by the Australian Bushfires

Australian Animal Table runner machine embroidery 'in the hoop' designindigenous animals from left to right - the quoka, the emu, the bilby, the kookaburra and the wombat. Our beautiful Australian...

No Place Like Gnome - Stuffed Gnome Ornaments. Community Stories.

If you are in the Sweet Pea machine embroidery group you would already be familiar with these cute little gnomes. We asked you to take these little ones out and...

Top 10 DIY Christmas Gifts Made ITH

Want to make something from the heart? Our In The Hoop designs make perfect DIY Christmas gifts. Here are our top 10: 1. Christmas Cuties Cutlery Holders This adorable little...

Top 5 Reasons to Quilt With Your Embroidery Machine

We may be a bit biased, but we think making your quilt with a machine is a great idea! But you don't have to just take our word for it,...

No Place Like Gnome Competition

Inspired by one of our wonderful Admins Rita Wetzel and also some great pictures by customer Cathy Begin-Nielsen, we are having a fun little interactive competition with our latest Stuffed...

How to Sew Mitered Corners

November Sew-Along Design - Patchwork Christmas Tree A mitered corner is quite a simple technique, however, you will need to practise this a couple of times to really master it!...