Candy Holders, In-the-Hoop

Sweeten your holiday decor and gifts with adorable candy holders! An organza "window" in the front shows off the tasty treats inside. We'll show you step-by-step how to stitch these designs in-the-hoop!

Supplies & Materials:

Project Materials or Supplies
- 1/4 yard quilters cotton, felt, or twill

- 1/4 yard of felt

- Small piece of organza

The design used in this tutorial:

X13285, Easter Bunny Candy Holder (In-the-Hoop)

Special Notes: Using felt for the back pieces will create the best results, as the edges of the back pieces are raw. Using felt will ensure that the fabric will not fray.

Gather Materials:

When you download an in-the-hoop candy holder design, you will find multiple files. Some are the embroidery files, and the others are dieline files marked with the letters "DL". Dielines are used to cut the fabric to the correct shape and size. Open and print each dieline file using an embroidery software. If you do not have an embroidery software, take a look at our helpful video on using dielines.

Spray the back side of the printed dieline for the front of the candy holder with a small amount of temporary adhesive. Smooth it onto a piece of quilters cotton, twill, or felt.

The front of the candy holder dieline on top of the pale pink felt

Cut out the shape, and remove the paper. Make sure to cut out the opening for the organza window.

Cut out pale pink felt in the shape of the dieline and scissors

Repeat this process to cut the back dielines out of felt. Then repeat again to cut out the window piece out of organza.

Cut out dark pink felt in the shape of the back dielines, window piece of organza, and scissors

Start Embroidering:

Now that the fabric pieces are cut to the proper shape and size, it's time to embroider the design. Hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer. Madeira E-Zee Tear 1.5 oz. or Floriani Tearaway Medium are good choices. Those brands are more fibrous, less paper-like, and will tear more cleanly.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the full embroidery design (not the dieline files).

Use a size 11 or 75/11 sharp sewing needle, rather than an embroidery needle. A sharp sewing needle has a smaller, finer point than an embroidery needle, so that will make smaller perforations in the stabilizer.

Embroider the design. The first thing to embroider will be a dieline or outline. This marks the area on the stabilizer for the front fabric piece.

An embroidery machine mid way through embroidering an outline

Remove the hoop from the machine, but do not unhoop the stabilizer. Spray the back of the front fabric piece with a small amount of temporary adhesive. Place the fabric right inside the sewn outline.

A hoop removed from a machine, with a hand placing the white piece of felt into the outline

Attach the hoop back onto the machine and continue with the design. A tackdown will sew next. This holds the front fabric in place for the remainder of the design. Then some of the inside elements will be embroidered.

The embroidery machine continuing to embroider the details of a bunny onto the pink felt

On the color change sheet, look for the note that says "belly tackdown." Before you sew this section, stop the machine and remove the hoop from the machine but do not unhoop the stabilizer. Place the organza belly window piece inside the sewn dieline.

A hand adding a white organza belly to the rabbit

Attach the hoop back onto the machine, and continue embroidering. The borders around the inner window piece will sew.

An embroidery machine adding satin boarders around the white organza belly

Next, on the color change sheet, watch for the note that says "back piece tackdown," and stop the machine before embroidering that step. Remove the hoop from the machine but do not unhoop the stabilizer. Turn the hoop over.

The hooped bunny removed from the machine and placed upsidown

Now to make a hanger, cut a 7" length of ribbon or yarn and fold it into a loop before taping it to the back side of the top back fabric piece.

The top dark pink piece of felt from the dieline, with a small pink ribbon taped to it

Spray the back side of the bottom back fabric piece with adhesive, and place it inside the shape on the back side of the embroidery.

The bottom dark pink piece of the dieline overlaid over the back of the embroidered bunny

Next, spray and place the top half of the back piece over the bottom piece. Make sure the top back piece is on top of the bottom back piece. This will make the back opening easier to use when putting candy into the candy holder. Tape the ribbon hanger to the side of the hoop so that it will not be sewn over in the remaining steps.

The top piece of the dark pink felt dieline laid ontop of the embroidered bunny, ribbon side down, with the ribbon sticking up

Since both sides of the candy holder will be seen, wind a bobbin with the same thread used in the needle.

Attach the hoop back to the machine and continue embroidering the design. A tack down and finishing satin stitch will sew around the outer edge of the candy holder. This binds all the layers together.