#SewPINK Initiative 2021 + How to Applique & Quilt Cork Fabric

We are proud to participate in ByAnnie.com's SewPINK Initiative Blog Hop for a second year, to help raise awareness worldwide about Breast Cancer. This Initiative is an amazing way to promote awareness and encourage self care and early detection. It also serves as a great support to all those impacted by breast cancer.

The #SewPink Initiative, through ByAnnie.com LLC, aims to spread valuable information to "encourage people to get their screenings, come together as a community, and donate to breast cancer research. We believe breast cancer awareness is important all year, and although we emphasize it in October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month), our continuous goal is to provide resources and awareness year-round." Visit their website for more information.

For our project on the blog hop, we made a SewPINK inspired Cork Carry Along. We chose this pattern because we wanted to create something that would be useful and hopefully bring a little joy to those who may be going through treatments now, or breast cancer survivors. 

We've also included a tutorial (below) on "How to Applique Cork Fabric" and "How to Quilt Cork Fabric" which are both optional to add to this project.

This Carry Along pouch features:

• Petal Pink Cork Fabric for the exterior,
• Optional Exclusive Cork Awareness Ribbon Embroidery Applique designed by Reen Wilcoxson of Embroidery Garden,
• Optional free-motion quilted panels,
• Sallie Tomato Rose Gold Hardware and Zippers,
• And a pink cotton fabric for the lining.

If you'd like to make your own SewPINK Carry Along, and help contribute to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, we've put together kits. We're proud to have curated these kits for a cause. We'll be donating 20% of the proceeds from SewPINK Kits to BCRF! You can purchase a kit HERE!

HOW TO APPLIQUE CORK FABRIC

This year, we are thrilled to collaborate with Reen Wilcoxson of Embroidery Garden. She has generously donated an exclusive applique embroidery design to embellish this project, as well as help raise donations for BCRF.

The Awareness Ribbon Design is included in our Carry Along Kit, or can be downloaded separately here.

Cork Fabric is ideal for applique because it can be left raw edge, it's durable, water resistant, soft, and professional-looking. We've compiled some of our top tips for how to add cork fabric applique with an embroidery machine! Please read through our tips before beginning your project. 

TOP FIVE TIPS FOR EMBROIDERING ON CORK FABRIC

1. Do not hoop your cork fabric! This will cause creases, and because of the thickness of the material, your hoop may become loose during embroidery. Instead, "float" the cork fabric over the hoop. Use a firm stabilizer when embroidering on cork, or adding cork applique. We recommend a tear away sticky back, or cut-away stabilizer such as: Sulky Sticky+ or Sulky Cut-Away Plus.
2. We recommend using polyester thread when embroidering cork fabric. Sulky Poly Deco Thread is a great choice because it's durable and has a soft sheen for a professional touch.
3. Do not pin cork fabric because pins will leave a permanent hole. Instead we recommend using basting spray to secure cork in place.
4. Use a size 100 Embroidery or Topstitch needle for embroidering cork fabric.
5. Slow the machine speed down during embroidery. This will help eliminate thread breaks and keep your fabric from shifting during embroidery. 

Now, let's jump into the step-by-step embroidery tutorial below!

1. Find the center along the top, 9” edge on the front piece of the medium size Cork Carry Along bag.

2. Print a template of the ribbon design (included with download, and most other embroidery designs). Trim excess paper away from around the design. Position the printed template so the top of the ribbon design is centered 1.75” down from the top edge, and centered side to side. The bottom of the ribbon design will be 2.5” up from the bottom edge.

3. Hoop a piece of firm embroidery stabilizer, such as Sulky Sticky+ or Sulky Cut-Away Plus. 

• If using Sulky Sticky+ which is a tear away sticky stabilizer, score the paper of the stabilizer with a pin, and tear away the paper. Center the front piece of the bag over the hoop and press down to secure.
• If using Sulky Cut-Away Plus which is a cut away stabilizer, apply basting spray to the wrong side of the front piece of the bag, center over the hoop and press down to secure. 

4. Thread your machine with your desired color of embroidery thread. You can use the same color thread for all 3 steps of the design. We recommend Sulky Poly Deco. Stitch Step 1 of the embroidery design, which will stitch a placement guide for the ribbon.

5. There are two options for cutting out the cork applique:

• Cut out a 4" by 4" piece of cork fabric for the applique. Center it over the printed template guide.
• An SVG file to cut the fabric using an electronic cutting machine for the ribbon is included in the design download. If using the cut SVG, place it inside of the placement guide and secure it in place with basting spray.

6. Stitch Step 2, which will tack the fabric in place. If using the cut SVG, this step can be skipped.

7. If using a fabric piece, trim close to the stitching all around including the inside part of the ribbon.

8. Stitch Step 3, which will stitch the satin stitch outline around the ribbon.

9. Remove the project from the hoop. If adding quilting to the front piece of the bag, do not trim or tear away any excess stabilizer. If NOT adding any quilting, trim or tear away any excess stabilizer from the outside area of the design.

To donate directly to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation visit: https://give.bcrf.org/give/31404/#!/donation/checkout

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