Lollipop Holders (In-the-Hoop)

Fun and festive, these quick-sewing lollipop holders are made from special designs that sew entirely in-the-hoop! Each design features an adorable and cheerful character and holds one lollipop.

In just a few simple steps you can cut the fabric, embroider, and add a lollipop to make these holders. Add a loop to the top to hang it as a decoration.

Choose from an assortment of themes -- loveable valentine characters, sweet conversation hearts, or spooky Halloween characters. Collect them all!

Little Dum Dum Pops from the Spangler Candy Company work best with these designs. You can order them from their website at www.spanglercandy.com or look for them at your local grocery or discount department store. You can use other lollipops such as Tootsie Pops; however, they are heavier and need some special attention. Scroll to the bottom of these instructions to learn how to use larger lollipops with this project.

When you download a lollipop holder design, you'll find three files. One file will begin with "X" followed by 4 numbers -- that's the embroidery file. The other files will be marked with "_DL" -- one is marked with "_DLFront" and one is marked with "_DLBack." Those two files are the dieline files.

The dielines are used to cut the fabric for the front and back of the holder. If you have embroidery software, open the dieline files, and print them at full size. These will be the templates used to cut the fabric shapes.

If you don't have embroidery software, scroll down for two other methods.

To prepare fabric for the front of the lollipop holder, make a "sandwich" of stabilizer, fabric, and the paper template from the "DLFront" dieline.

Start by spraying a piece of cutaway stabilizer with a bit of adhesive.

Lay the fabric for the front side, right side up, on top of the stabilizer and smooth in place.

Spray the paper template with a quick shot of adhesive, and smooth the template over the fabric. Then, cut out the shape.

Repeat this for the fabric for the back piece using the "DLBack" dieline.

If you don't have embroidery software, then here are two other methods that you can use to make a template:

Method 1:

Embroider the dieline onto paper. To do this, hoop a piece of paper.

Method 1 (continued):

Load the "DLFront" dieline on your machine, and embroider it right onto the paper.

This is one of the templates that you'll use to cut the applique fabric to the exact shape.

Method 1 (continued):

To prepare the front fabric of the holder, make a "sandwich" of stabilizer, fabric, and the paper template. Start by spraying a piece of cut-away stabilizer with a bit of adhesive.

Method 1 (continued):

Lay the fabric for the front side, right side up, on top of the stabilizer and smooth in place. Place the paper template on top, and cut out the shape. To prepare the fabric for the back piece, repeat this for the "DLBack" dieline.

Method 2:

The second method of making templates without software is to embroider the dieline onto the fabric and stabilizer that you'll be using for the applique piece. Begin by spraying a piece of cut-away stabilizer with temporary adhesive.

Method 2 (continued):

Smooth the applique fabric on top.

Method 2 (continued):

Hoop the stabilizer and fabric together. Load the "DLFront" file to your machine, and embroider it.

Method 2 (continued):

Cut out the shape. This is the fabric piece that you'll use for the design.

Repeat this with the "DL Back" dieline file for the back of the lollipop holder.

Now that the fabric pieces are cut to the exact shape, it's time to begin to embroider the lollipop holder. Hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer.

Attach the hoop to the machine, load the design (the file that starts with "X" followed by 4 numbers) and begin embroidering the holder. The first thing that will sew is another dieline.

After the dieline has sewn, spray the stabilizer side of the "sandwich" and...

..place the "sandwich" directly inside the die line that has just sewn.

Continue embroidering the design. A zigzag tack down will sew next. These stitches will hold the fabric in place during the rest of the embroidery.

All of the inside elements will sew next.

On the color change sheet you'll see a note that says "back piece tack down." When you get to this point, stop the machine, remove the hoop (but don't unhoop the stabilizer / embroidery).

Optional

Next, attach the ribbon if you want to hang the holder.

Cut a 6-inch length of ribbon. Tape the ends of the loop to the wrong side of the back piece, about an inch from the top edge of the fabric. So that the holder will hang properly, place the ribbon as shown on the picture of the design on our website. Click here to see the lollipop holder designs.

Spray the wrong side of the back piece with adhesive.

Add the back piece to the back of the embroidery in the hoop. Lay it directly over the front piece.

Tape the ribbon loop on the end of the hoop -- this keeps it out of the way when you are embroidering the final steps.

The next parts that will embroider will be seen from both the front and back sides of the holder.

We want the bobbin thread to match the top thread for these remaining steps, so we wound a bobbin with the same thread that we're using in the top.

Put the hoop back into the machine, and continue sewing. Another zigzag tack down will sew. These stitches will attach the back fabric to the holder.

After the tack down stitches are complete, a satin-stitch border finishes the edge of the holder.

The last thing to embroider will be two buttonholes. These will be the openings where we'll insert the lollipop.

Note: Because we're sewing on white fabric, we used white thread for the buttonholes.  And, we changed the bobbin thread to match the buttonhole thread so it would be the same on front and back. You might want to match the thread color to the fabric that you're using so that the buttonholes are less noticeable.

When the design has finished sewing, remove the hoop and unhoop the holder. Gently tear away the excess stabilizer.

Next, lay the holder on a self-healing pad. Use a craft knife to cut the buttonholes open.

Slide a lollipop through the buttonholes, and your cute character, holding a delicious lollipop, is ready to go!

If you would like to use a heavier lollipop, like Tootsie Pops or Blow Pops, first thread the lollipops in the holes. Tie a ribbon to the end of the lollipop (in a bow, if you like) and then tie the other end to another piece of candy. This creates a counterweight to the heavy lollipop and helps the holder to hang straight.

Your cute character, holding a tasty lollipop, is complete!