Embroidering on Sweatshirts with Split Applique

Bring crafty style to your embroidery with split applique designs! These designs can be stitched right across the zipper of your sweatshirt, bringing fun sayings and motifs to your apparel.

When you download the in-the-hoop split applique 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 backside of the dieline printouts with temporary adhesive and smooth it on top of the felt or UltraSuede fabric. 

Cut out the shapes. If you like, use a pinking shears to give the fabric a textured edge. Remove the paper from the fabric.

Print the full embroidery files. Those are the files that end in "a" and "b". Measure and mark 1/4" out from the inner edges of each half of the design. Draw a line connecting the marks and cut the templates along those lines. Also, cut around the top, bottom, and outer edges to make the templates easy to place.

Lay the shirt flat with the zipper zipped up. Position the two templates on the shirt with their top edges about 3" down from the collar. Align the two pieces from side to side with the inner side edges aligned with the center of the zipper. Mark the center point and the horizontal and vertical axis lines.

Using a straight edge, draw lines connecting the horizontal axis lines on each side. 

Unzip the shirt. Cut a piece of cutaway stabilizer a bit larger than your hoop. Spray the stabilizer with adhesive and smooth the left side of the shirt on top allowing about 1/3" of the stabilizer to extend out past the zipper. Using a straight edge, extend the horizontal line from the shirt to the stabilizer as shown.

Hoop the shirt and stabilizer together, aligning the marks on the fabric and stabilizer with the marks on the hoop. Part of the shirt will not be hooped -- the adhesive on the stabilizer will hold it in place. 

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the left side of the design (the full embroidery file marked "a"). Move the hoop so that the needle is aligned with the center point. Embroider the design.

The color change sheet shows the stitching order. In this design, the feet sew first then a dieline. That traces the shape for the applique piece.

After the dieline sews, stop the machine and remove the hoop but do not unhoop the shirt. Spray the backside of the applique piece with adhesive.

Place the applique piece in the stitched dieline -- the right side of the applique piece will be aligned with the outer edge of the zipper.

Attach the hoop back onto the machine and continue with the design. A tackdown stitch will sew next. This binds the fabric to the shirt. Then, all of the inside elements will sew.

Look for a note on the color change sheet that says "right piece". When you reach this step, stop the machine and unhoop the shirt. Hoop the right side of the shirt just as you did for the left side. Load the right side of the design (the full embroidery file marked as "b"), align the needle over the center point, and embroider the design just as you did for the left side.

When the design has finished, trim away the excess stabilizer with about 1/2" excess around the top, bottom, and outer edges. Along the inner edges, trim the stabilizer as close to the embroidery as possible to allow the zipper to pass in between the designs.

This charming owl is the perfect addition to kids' sweatshirts, with it's sweet color scheme and fun embroidered accents.

Or, write out words and sayings across your zip-up with split alphabet designs. Here "Craft Diva" is embroidered to create a sew-stylish look.