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Whimsical Hot Air Balloon (Hooped Applique with Lace)

Completed Whimsical Hot Air Balloon appliques with lace

Add a whimsical touch to your decor with this pretty hot air balloon! Stitch the balloon design using your choice of applique fabric, then hoop in a hand embroidery hoop and create a little freestanding lace "basket" to hang underneath. We'll show you how!

Supplies & Materials:

Project Needs & Notes:


  • 1/2 yard of flannel or quilter's cotton (for backdrop and center stripe of balloon)
  • 1/4 yard of quilter's cotton or flannel (for balloon applique)
  • Cutaway stabilizer
  • Tearaway stabilizer
  • Heavy-duty water-soluble stabilizer (such as Vilene or Sulky Ultra Solvy)
  • Temporary spray adhesive
  • 4", 5", or 6" wooden embroidery hoop (depending on design size)
  • Ribbon or cord
  • Hot glue gun

Designs featured in this tutorial include:


Whimsical Hot Air Balloon (Hooped Applique with Lace)



Special notes:


When putting the embroidery into a wooden hoop, take the widest measurement (either the height or width) of the design, and round it up to the nearest whole number. That whole number will be the hoop size you need for that design. For example, in this tutorial we used the 4x4 design, which measures at 3.88" x 3.86", so we used a 4" hoop.

Gather Materials:

When you download the Hot Air Balloon design, you'll find three files. Two are embroidery files, and the other one is a dieline file, marked with the letters DL. Dielines are used to cut the fabric to the right shape and size.


Open each dieline file with an embroidery software, and print it.

Two folded pieces of fabric on a wooden surface: one solid pink and one bright pink with a multicolored floral pattern. A white paper with a hot air balloon outline and text rests on top.

Spray the backside of the paper dieline with a small amount of temporary adhesive, and then smooth it onto the right side of the fabric. Then cut a piece of cut-away stabilizer, spray it thoroughly, and smooth it onto the backside of the fabric. It can also be helpful to label the pieces with "right" and "left", so they do not get mixed up.

Pink floral fabric piece with two white crescent shapes labeled "Left" and "Right" pinned or fused on a white backing paper, on a dark wooden surface.

Then cut out the shapes, and bend back one corner of the paper to make it easier to remove later.

Orange-handled scissors on a wooden surface with two paper templates shaped like curved chili peppers, each with a pink, floral fabric piece attached and labeled "Left" and "Right.

Start Embroidering:

Next, spray a piece of cut-away stabilizer, and smooth it onto the back of the main fabric piece. Then hoop the fabric and stabilizer together tightly.

Embroidery hoop holding pink fabric secured on a white stabilizer with adhesive, placed on a wooden surface, no embroidery visible yet.

Attach the hoop onto the machine, and load the file labeled with the letter "a" onto the machine. Begin to embroider the design. The first thing to embroider will be the "left dieline" which stitches out an outline to show where the fabric piece should be placed.

Close-up of embroidery machine stitching a curved design onto pink fabric hooped in an embroidery frame, with white scalloped lace trim around the hoop.

Spray the back side of the left fabric piece with temporary adhesive. Then smooth it inside the sewn shape.

Hand holding a pink floral fabric piece inside a gray embroidery hoop with pink fabric stretched within, on a wooden surface.

Continue to embroider the design. The next step will sew the "left tackdown". This will adhere the fabric pieces together for the remainder of the design.

Close-up of an embroidery machine stitching white thread details on a pink fabric piece appliqued with a floral-patterned fabric in a crescent shape within an embroidery hoop.

Then repeat to embroider the "right dieline", place the fabric piece, and embroider the "right tackdown" step.

Embroidery machine stitching a two-piece floral fabric applique in pink fabric hoop; pink background fabric with a metal embroidery hoop framing the design.

Once the two fabric pieces are in place, follow the color change sheet to embroider the rest of the details

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching colorful fabric into a circular hot air balloon shape with flag bunting on bright pink fabric inside an embroidery hoop.

To embroider the lace basket, hoop a piece of water-soluble stabilizer tightly, making sure there are no wrinkles.

Square embroidery hoop with white fabric and tear-away stabilizer attached, resting on a dark wooden surface. Fabric edges are ruffled outside the hoop.

As freestanding lace can be seen from both sides, wind a bobbin with the same thread that's being used in the top needle.

Close-up of a sewing machine bobbin filled with golden yellow thread, set in the white bobbin case area of the machine. Background is mostly white with soft shadows.

Load the lace file (labeled with a "b") onto the machine, and embroider the lace piece.

Close-up of a sewing machine embroidering a small, detailed golden crown design on white fabric secured in an embroidery hoop.

Once the lace is finished being embroidered, trim away the excess stabilizer from around the design.

Small embroidery scissors with turquoise handles resting on a wooden surface. A piece of fabric with yellow, lace-like embroidered applique is placed on the scissors' blades.

Then follow the directions on the water-soluble stabilizers packaging to remove the rest. For Vilene, simply soak the lace piece in water for a few moments.

A hand holding a small embroidered gold crown applique with a white backing fabric over a textured metallic bowl with concentric circles.

Allow the lace to air dry. Then press it flat with a pressing cloth and iron.

Close-up of a black and blue iron pressing the edge of white fabric with a beige lace applique underneath on a turquoise surface.

Now that all of the embroidery is finished, it is time to assemble the hot air balloon. Take the wooden hoop, and line the hand screw up with the bottom center of the design. Hoop the fabric tightly, and tighten the hand screw as much as possible.

Embroidery hoop with fabric showing a pink hot air balloon applique, multicolored triangular bunting, on a bright pink background with floral patterns.

Then flip the hoop over, and trim away the extra fabric from the back of the hoop. Make sure to leave about 1/8" sticking out to prevent the fabric from slipping out of the hoop.

Embroidery hoop with pink lace trim holds fabric stitched with a hot air balloon and green-blue triangular bunting; orange scissors and cut white fabric surround it.

Next cut two 5" lengths of ribbon, and tie one onto each of the lace basket loops.

Small beige lace embroidery shaped like a hot air balloon basket with a white ribbon tied to each top corner, placed on a dark wooden surface.

Measure the ribbon now that it is attach, and cut both to the same size. Using a hot glue gun, glue the ends of each ribbon in place on the back of the hoop. For best results, measure 3/4" on either side of the hand screw, and place the ribbon there.

Small embroidery hoop with light pink fabric displays stitched lines, teal and blue triangular flags garland, and beige lace with white ribbons, resembling a hot air balloon basket.

Finally, cut a 7" length of ribbon, and make it into a hoop. Glue it on the backside of the hoop to make a hanger for the hot air balloon.

Hand holding a small round embroidery hoop with pink fabric applique of a hot air balloon, decorated with colorful bunting and floral patterns. A lace basket dangles below.