Table of Contents
- Getting Started: Unboxing Your Embroidery Project
- Precise Placement: Measuring and Marking the Logo
- Hooping Up: Securing Your Garment for Embroidery
- Machine Ready: Setup and Logo Selection
- Stabilize and Stitch: The Embroidery Process
- Finishing Touches: Post-Embroidery Cleanup
- The Grand Finale: Heat Pressing and Folding
- Efficiency Hacks: Batch Processing for Small Businesses
- From the comments: Your top questions, answered
Watch the video: “A Day In The Life Of An Embroiderer: Ho Chi Mama Apron Order” by Hao You Phill
This is the real-world pace of custom work: 20 aprons, one deadline, and a reliable workflow that just doesn’t quit. Follow along with a full day at the machine—from unboxing to that satisfying final press—so you can finish a small business order with confidence.
What you’ll learn
- How to measure and mark consistent left-chest placement on aprons
- How to hoop with a magnetic frame and float tear-away stabilizer
- How to load a pre-digitized logo on a Ricoma machine and trace before stitching
- Post-embroidery cleanup: remove chalk marks and backing without stretching fabric
- Heat pressing for a flat, professional finish and efficient batching to meet a same-day deadline
Getting Started: Unboxing Your Embroidery Project The order: 20 custom aprons for the Ho Chi Mama restaurant—due tonight. The embroiderer opens a delivery marked “The Modern Uniform,” with individually packaged, brand-new aprons inside.
She confirms the aprons are the emerald/dark green style she’s used before for the same client. Because she’s previously embroidered this logo, the design is already digitized and saved on her Ricoma machine—no fresh setup time needed there.
Each apron arrives nicely folded from the Cargo Crew brand, making handling clean and efficient. It’s a small detail that saves time when you’re processing a larger batch.
A quick quality check ensures there are no defects, loose threads, or surprises that could impact hooping or stitch quality. With the blank canvas confirmed, it’s time to position that logo.
Precise Placement: Measuring and Marking the Logo Consistent placement is everything when you’re running 20 pieces. She measures the area where the logo will sit, using the edge and curve of the apron as reference points. For this apron, the width from the reference edge is about 15 cm, and the marked center is at roughly 8 cm to account for the curve. Pins mark both the horizontal center and the vertical position for the top of the logo.
Pro tip: After pinning, draw light chalk lines. They’ll become your visual guides when you hoop and when you trace the design on the machine so you can confirm straightness before you stitch. magnetic embroidery hoop
Quick check
- Are your pins marking the true horizontal center?
- Does your vertical pin match the intended top of the logo?
- Do chalk lines align with the hoop’s center marks?
Hooping Up: Securing Your Garment for Embroidery She hoops with a magnetic frame sized 100 × 100 mm. The chalk lines are aligned meticulously to the hoop’s center so the logo stitches level and balanced. The goal is tension without distortion—smooth, taut fabric for clean, even stitches.
Watch out: Loose hooping leads to puckering and wavy outlines. If the fabric isn’t evenly tensioned, pop the hoop off and reset. magnetic hoops for embroidery machines
Machine Ready: Setup and Logo Selection With the Ricoma’s protective cover off, she powers up and heads straight to the pre-saved file list. The “Ho Chi Mama” design is already on the machine from a previous job, so it’s just a matter of selecting it and confirming on screen.
On the Ricoma screen, she taps to load the logo and sees it previewed at the intended size. This step is fast because the digitizing and sizing were handled earlier; here, it’s just load-and-go.
From the comments: Digitizing deep-dive? Multiple viewers asked for a dedicated digitizing tutorial. The creator acknowledged the interest. In this video, digitizing isn’t shown; the logo was already prepared and saved on the machine. embroidery machine hoops
Stabilize and Stitch: The Embroidery Process Before hitting Start, she slides a medium tear-away stabilizer under the hooped apron—floating it rather than hooping it together with the fabric. This helps prevent movement and is a time-saver once you’ve dialed in your technique.
Safety first
- Always remove all pins before stitching so the needle doesn’t strike metal.
- Run a trace on the machine to confirm the needle path matches your chalk guides.
She starts the stitch-out and monitors the first run. The stopwatch on her phone clocks a single logo at roughly 10–12 minutes, which is consistent with her prior experience on this design.
The machine stitches a clean pink “HO CHI MAMA” against the dark green apron—high contrast, easy to read, and on-brand. Stitch quality remains consistent through the run.
Pro tip: Time the first piece to estimate the shift. Your total order time will be longer than the stitch count suggests once you account for hoop swaps, small stops, cleanup, pressing, and real life (lunch, post office runs). magnetic embroidery frames
Finishing Touches: Post-Embroidery Cleanup With the embroidery complete, you’ll see the final logo in-hoop, plus a few tails and chalk lines you’ll clean up in moments.
She erases chalk with a small paintbrush dampened with water—dab, don’t scrub—to dissolve the marks without disturbing the stitches. If any chalk lingers, another gentle pass does the trick.
On the back, she carefully tears away the stabilizer, using one hand to hold the fabric so it doesn’t stretch. The goal is a crisp edge around the design and a smooth fabric surface—no distortion.
Quick check
- Chalk fully gone?
- Stabilizer removed cleanly around the design?
- No pulled stitches or stretched fabric?
The Grand Finale: Heat Pressing and Folding To finish, she brings the apron to the heat press, lays a Teflon sheet over the logo, and gives it a short press. This flattens stitches, chases out hoop marks and wrinkles, and dries any lingering moisture from chalk removal.
Note: The video doesn’t specify press temperature or time. If you’re replicating this, use your standard settings for the thread and fabric you’re working with, and test on a spare if you’re unsure.
Once cooled enough to handle, the apron is folded neatly—client-ready and stackable. The first piece becomes the benchmark for the rest. Bam—19 to go.
Watch out: Heat press surfaces are hot. Keep hands clear and don’t rush the open/close cycle.
Efficiency Hacks: Batch Processing for Small Businesses This is where the day is won. While one apron stitches, another is already hooped and waiting—made possible by having two magnetic hoops at the same 100 × 100 mm size. She also pre-measures and marks several aprons in a row, so there’s no slow-down between runs.
Workflow highlights
- Pre-mark multiple aprons upfront to reduce start/stop time between runs.
- Keep two hoops in rotation so one is always ready when the machine stops.
- Stage stations: hooping area, machine, cleanup, heat press, folding/boxing.
From the clock: She started around midday and finished the full 20 by early evening—about six hours total including real-life pauses (machine stops, lunch, an errand). That’s why timing one piece and then building in buffer is crucial to setting accurate client expectations.
From the comments: Picking a machine A viewer asked for “cheap machine” recommendations (in Australia) for hoodies and tees. The creator’s advice: research widely and watch comparison videos to understand which features match your work. If you’re new to the craft, start with fundamentals and a reliable learning curve. embroidery machine for beginners
From the comments: A few more takeaways
- Viewers noticed the quality upgrade in the filming setup; the creator mentions a new camera in the outro.
- Color pairing got praise: the green apron with pink text is a crowd-pleaser.
- Several asked for a camera review and a full digitizing tutorial in a future video. The creator expressed interest in covering these topics.
Troubleshooting and Safety Essentials
- Pins: Never leave pins in when stitching. A strike can bend or break needles and interrupt your day.
- Alignment: If the trace doesn’t match your chalk guides, stop and realign before sewing.
- Stabilizer coverage: Ensure the tear-away fully supports the design area; gaps can cause distortion.
- Heat press: Always use a Teflon sheet to protect the fabric and the press platen.
What’s Specified vs. Not Specified in the Video
- Specified: Magnetic hooping, floating a medium tear-away stabilizer, pink thread on a dark green apron, stitch time per logo (~10–12 minutes), two 100 × 100 hoops in rotation, chalk-and-pin alignment, water-dab chalk removal, heat press with a Teflon sheet.
- Not specified: Exact thread brand/weight, press temperature/time, needle type, stitch count, and stitch density settings.
Packaging and Handover Finished aprons are folded consistently and returned to the original box—order-ready and easy to carry. The client pickup happens later that night, and the job wraps cleanly within the day’s window.
From the comments: Digitizing is its own lesson Community interest for a digitizing walkthrough is strong. In this video, the logo was already on the machine from a previous order; if you’re seeking that step, keep an eye out for a future tutorial from the creator.
Micro-checklist: Run One, Then Run Many
- Measure and mark: pins + chalk guides
- Hoop with magnetic frame, verify tension and alignment
- Float tear-away stabilizer
- Trace, then remove pins
- Stitch and time the run
- Trim tails, remove chalk and stabilizer
- Press with Teflon sheet
- Fold and box
- Repeat with two-hoop rotation
Batch Mindset: Time Math That Works It’s tempting to multiply a 10–12 minute stitch time by 20 and assume a three-to-four-hour shift. Realistically, hoop changes, short pauses, and finishing add up. The actual total in the video is roughly six hours—still efficient, but a great reminder to include operational overhead in your quotes and calendars. used embroidery machine for sale
Gear Notes from the Video
- Machine: Ricoma (model not specified)
- Hoop: Magnetic, 100 × 100 mm
- Stabilizer: Medium tear-away (floated)
- Marking: Pins + chalk
- Cleanup: Paintbrush + water to dissolve chalk
- Finish: Heat press with Teflon sheet
Safety Recap
- Do not keep pins in during embroidery.
- Use a Teflon sheet when heat pressing.
- Mind hot surfaces.
Scope reminders
- This video doesn’t cover digitizing; the file was already saved to the machine.
- Heat press settings are not provided; test your own setup.
Where to go next If you’re building your own workflow, start with placement consistency, magnetic hooping, and a simple station layout. When you can predict your timing, you can price, plan, and deliver with confidence. magnetic frame for embroidery machine
Resource note Viewers often search for general-purpose gear and how-tos while learning. Explore broad guides on hoop options and setup to see what fits your workspace and garment mix. magnetic embroidery hoop
Glossary (quick hits)
- Floating stabilizer: Placing stabilizer beneath the hooped fabric without trapping it in the hoop.
- Trace: A machine function that simulates the design perimeter to confirm placement.
- Left-chest placement: A common logo position on uniforms and aprons, aligned by precise measuring.
Closing stitch By marrying careful placement, magnetic hooping, a quick stabilizer workflow, and disciplined batching, you can move from a box of blanks to a branded stack—on time and looking sharp. magnetic hoops for embroidery machines