Embroidering a Monogram on Converse Tennis Shoes

Today I am going to walk you through how I added a machine stitched monogram to a super cute pair of Converse tennis shoes. 

 

 

 

First, you'll want to pull the laces really loose or completely out to expose the tongues of the shoes to be stitched on.  In this case this cutie pair of shoes has two tongues!!!  Today we are working on the back yellow tongue.

 

 

Next we have to remove what is probably a very expensive label.  Now you aren't limited to just converse shoes to do this too...there are generic versions of canvas shoes out there.  You removed the label by ripping out the stitched with a basic seam ripper tool.

 

 

Now I went into my embroidery digitizing software and created the monogram file according to the size needed to fit the shoe. 

 

 

To make sure the monogram is centered, I measured across the tongue with my ruler and placed a pin or you can use a fabric chalk to mark the center.

 

 

On my PE-600 Brother multi-needle embroidery machine I set up my fast frames, with a three inch hoop with sticky backing on it.  As you can see there is some impressions from the last pair of shoes I did, but you just patch up the hole with another piece of sticking backing to save on how much you need to use.

 

 

Next I pull out the tongue and place it on the sticky part of my frame making sure I have the middle lined up with the notch on the back of the frame.  I secure the tongue to the frame with binder clips and push down on the tongue to the sticky paper on the frame.  Then remove the pin.

 

 

Utilizing the outlining function of my embroidery machine, I see where the design will be placed on the tongue.  I can then adjust back and forth on the arm of the machine until I get the placement just right.

 

 

Now for the fun part!  While holding the heavy part of the shoe, I start the machine and let the magic happen.

 

 

Once the stitching is complete, I remove the shoe and frame from the machine and gentle pull the tongue away from the frame pulling away from the sticky paper which has helped hold down my shoe and stabilized my stitching.

 

 

For a finishing touch, I rub my thumb over the wholes created after ripping out the label stitching and trim up any loose strings.  Then repeat with the second shoe!

 

 

Wha-laa!!!  A super cute pair of sport shoes that have a special personal touch! 

 

If you are interested in having a pair of your shoes monogrammed, please feel free to contact me at Corrina.dea@theunlimitedstitch.com or call 309-431-0085.  I am located in Morton, Illinois so you can drop them off locally or have them shipped.

 

 

T-Shirt Rag Quilts: A Great Way to Bring Together Years of Memories

About any cloth item can be made into a memory quilt - shirts from favorite vacations, sport teams, fraternity or sororities, baby blankets, onesies, kids clothing, men's dress shirts, grandma's favorite dress and more. Don't just shove them away in a closet or the basement in a plastic bag where no one can see them and appreciate them in a new form. They be can re-purposed into a useful and precious quilt that can be giving for lots of different occasions like graduation, new baby, wedding gifts, anniversary gift, Christmas, birthday and more.

I have been truly blessed to be asked to create amazing quilts and pillows for people who have saved these special shirts for years so that they could be collectively be stitched together for their loved ones.  Let me introduce you to a few of them.

This "Bradley" quilt was made for a high school graduate who grew up loving Bradley University and then herself choose to go there for college.  I love how this quilt brought lots of great memories of this young lady's childhood with her to make even more amazing ones as she started out her life on her own.  She had a bit of "home" with her at school.

I also got to add a special rectangle with her name embroidered on it to make it extra special.

The "Cheer Time" quilt was so fun to make because it was my first dad who brought me these lovely shirts and jacket to bring together as a lovely gift for his daughter.  I loved seeing how excited he was to have all of her years in dance and cheering brought together.  I'm sure he could envision every practice he brought her to and every competition he was there to watch.

Quilts bring together all sorts of someone's interests and just fun times throughout their lives.  One of the things I love about making these quilts is the creative challenge to take a big pile of shirts and putting together a piece that looks great but also honors all the memories someone has had over so many years.

My quilts can be made in a variety of ways. I can use your shirts to make the front and the back and use soft flannel in between the squares to give it a nice comforting weight and softness. This is especially great when you are using shirts that have a fun front and a name and/or number on the back.

I can also use just the front of the shirts and use a super soft and warm fleece material on the back which makes it extra nice to cozy up with. The quilt will be made rag style, meaning that the seams will be sewn out then the edges clipped and frayed for a fun framed 3-D effect. The flannel or fleece used in the squares will show through to give a fun accent that brings the whole quilt together nicely.

Standard quilt blocks are approximately 13 inches unfinished and 12 inches finished. So a quilt that is 4 squares by 5 squares so approximately 48 x 60 " which is a great throw blanket.  But I can also make other sized squares to accommodate larger or smaller clothing items like baby onesies and more.   If you are interesting in having me create a t-shirt memory quilt for you please feel free to contact me at corrina.dea@theunlimitedstitch.com or you can order one through my Etsy shop at this custom listing:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/269612457/custom-t-shirt-rag-quilt-memory-tee?ref=shop_home_active_15 .