Traditionally handmade cloth dolls are made with hand stitching or a sewing machine. It involves pattern pieces to trace and cut out, pinning of fabric, tedious stitching around corners and turns and a steady hand.

Wouldn't it be nice to cut basic rectangle shapes instead of intricate fingers and curves?  Can you imagine not having to carefully pin layers of fabric together so they dont slide under the pressure foot? And what if you could save hours or even days of labor hand stitching eyes, noses, and mouths on your doll that are perfectly symmetrical? And what if instead of breaking out in a sweat as you wrestle with delicate jersey fabrics to machine stitch tiny fingers, you could simply push a button, walk away, and a machine stitch it all with no errors it the time it would take you to backstitch and get halfway through one doll arm?

Making a cloth doll on an embroidery machine involves a process called "In the hoop". In the hoop embroidery patterns are very specifically designed files that use the unique mechanical advantages of the embroidery machine arm to stitch items you would normally only attempt by hand or on a sewing machine. Think about the 3D printers, Laser cutting machines, Cricut type machines on the market.  The embroidery machine also uses the same technology of following X and Y axis data to methodically, and perfectly stitch onto fabrics with thread. Embroidery machines are not just for monogramming anymore. Designers like Planet Applique have found ways of leveraging the features of embroidery machines to allow you to stitch together plush animals and dolls WITHOUT a sewing machine, automatically. It's some kind of mysterious magic.

Let's look at some of the reasons you would use an embroidery machine to make an in the hoop doll.

1. Not Tedious Fabric Cutting

Probably the least favorite stage of making a cloth doll is cutting patterns out, tracing them onto fabric, cutting fabrics, and then pinning them to prepare for the sewing machine. That's a lot of steps before you actually get to the sewing of your cloth doll.