How to Embroider a Grinch Sweatshirt on a Ricoma TC (Face + Sleeve, Step by Step)

Video reference: “Making a Grinch Sweatshirt (Vlogmas Day 1)” by Kara Loves To Make

A minimalist Grinch face on the front left chest, a cheeky Grinch hand with ornament on the sleeve—festive, wearable, and right on trend. This field guide walks you through each decision the creator made, plus guardrails and fixes so your sweatshirt stitches clean on the first run.

What you’ll learn

• Accurate left-chest placement using printed crosshairs and hoop station alignment

• Sleeve embroidery strategies when the sleeve hoop is a tight fit

• Exact machine setup: tracing, color assignment, stitch speeds, and safe clearances

• Stabilizer selection (cutaway vs. poly mesh), trimming, and clean finishing

• Proven troubleshooting for jump tails and minor registration loss

Primer: What You’re Making and When to Use This Method You’ll embroider two placements on a crewneck sweatshirt: a Grinch face on the front left chest and a Grinch hand holding an ornament on the right sleeve. The approach uses a multi-needle Ricoma TC, a magnetic hoop/stand for the chest, and a standard B hoop for the sleeve after a sleeve-hoop attempt proved too tight.

When to use this method

• You want crisp left-chest placement without guesswork.

• Your sleeve opening is snug and needs a careful hooping plan.

• You prefer a sturdy cutaway on the chest and a softer poly mesh on the sleeve for comfort.

Constraints to keep in mind

• The sleeve on smaller sizes can be tight around the hoop. Test trace and slow your speed if clearance is close.

• Stabilizer wrinkles can cause minor registration loss—keep it flat and taut start to finish.

Prep: Files, Materials, Hoops, and Workspace Files

• Digitized Grinch face design (DST)

• Digitized Grinch hand with ornament (DST)

• Printed templates with crosshairs for both placements

Materials

• Crewneck sweatshirt (the creator believed hers might be a 50/50 blend)

• Cutaway stabilizer (chest)

• Poly mesh stabilizer (sleeve)

• Threads

• Face: yellow (eyes), black (outline)

• Sleeve: light green, white, red, black

Tools and hoops

• Ricoma TC multi-needle machine

• Mighty Hoop stand and 5.5 x 5.5 magnetic hoop for the chest

• Sleeve hoop (attempted first)

• Standard “B” hoop (ultimately used on the sleeve)

• Scissors, packing tape; optional T-square or ruler

Workspace

• Clear, flat table; machine clearances checked; hoop stand set up

Pro tip If you’re working in batches, label printed templates by size and garment so your alignment remains consistent across the stack. hooping station for embroidery

Prep checklist

• Designs exported to DST, templates printed with crosshairs

• Stabilizers cut to fit placements

• Threads loaded and handy

- Table clear, hoops and stand within reach

Setup: Placement, Hooping Strategy, and Machine Config Left-chest placement (face) 1) Cut out the paper template and place it on the left chest. Align the vertical crosshair to the collar seam; about three inches down from the collar worked well here.

2) Tape the template so it won’t drift during hooping. 3) On the hoop station, place cutaway on the bottom hoop. Bring the sweatshirt over the bottom hoop and stabilizer, align to the hoop’s center marks, then snap the top magnetic frame.

Watch out Before snapping, smooth both fabric and stabilizer. Any trapped ripple can show as puckering or cause minor registration loss later.

Machine design prep - Load the correct file to machine memory and recall it on-screen. The creator saved separate files for face and sleeve to avoid confusion.

- Jog needle #1 to the printed center crosshair on the garment.

- Perform a contour trace and watch clearances on all sides.

Community size note A commenter asked about the face size; the creator replied she used approximately 4.41 x 3.00 inches for the chest motif. Use this as a reference when scaling your design.

Setup checklist

• Template taped and centered; garment hooped flat with cutaway beneath

• Correct file loaded; needle centered to crosshair

• Successful trace with visible clearance

Operation: Embroider the Left-Chest Face Coloring and speed

• Assign yellow to the eyes, black to the outline. The creator ran the face at about 600 SPM.

1) Start stitching, watch the first few passes. 2) Expect eyes first (yellow), then the black outline.

Quick check Look for even tension and clean edges on the eyes. By the time the outline has formed, you should see crisp features around the face.

Common question: advancing stitches If you need to move forward through stitches on Ricoma, use F.L. and press START (STOP moves backward). This tip came up in the community and mirrors the creator’s reply.

Operation checklist (chest)

• Colors assigned: yellow then black

• Speed set around 600 SPM

• Clean stitch formation, no hoop collisions

Finish the left chest 1) Remove from the machine and unsnap the hoop. 2) Trim front and back jump tails. 3) On the inside, cut away excess stabilizer close to the design without nicking the fabric.

Pro tip On thicker cutaway, leave a small halo for stability; the creator noted comfort was fine since a layer is worn under the sweatshirt. magnetic hoops

Tackling the Sleeve: Placement & Hooping Options Sleeve placement

• Straighten the sleeve to reveal a natural crease—use this as your center line.

• Position and tape the printed template where you want the design (the creator preferred a lower placement on the sleeve).

Stabilizer choice

• The creator favored poly mesh on the sleeve for a softer feel.

• She first tried a dedicated sleeve hoop but found the fit too tight on a small sweatshirt.

Improvisation that worked

• Cut a skinnier strip of poly mesh to fit.

- Tape the stabilizer directly to the hoop so you can slide the unit through the neck and into the sleeve.

Watch out Avoid taping over the hoop’s center alignment marks or in a way that creates a bulge under the stitch field.

Decision point

• If your sleeve hoop fits with clearance → use it.

• If the sleeve hoop keeps popping off or clearance is too tight → switch to a standard hoop that safely fits, as the creator did with the B hoop.

Community alternatives for stabilization

• Turn the garment inside out and use a temporary spray adhesive (e.g., 505) to hold stabilizer on the inside and then hoop.

• Try iron-on cutaway or tearaway to keep stabilizer put without sticky residue.

Pro tip When sleeve fit is close, reduce your machine speed and watch clearances like a hawk during trace and the first minutes of stitching. sleeve hoop

Setup: Sleeve Hooping & Machine Checks 1) Attempt sleeve hoop if you have one; if it pops off or clearance is too tight, switch to the B hoop. 2) Hoop the sleeve as flat and centered as possible. The creator found the B hoop the best fit here.

3) Thread colors for the sleeve design: light green, white, red, black. 4) Reduce speed to about 500 SPM. 5) Perform a thorough contour trace and watch the arm and needle bar as they pass near the sides.

Quick check With the B hoop installed, you should see close but safe clearance around the sleeve. If anything seems too tight, stop and re-seat the fabric or try a different hoop.

Operation: Embroider the Sleeve Hand 1) Start at reduced speed and monitor closely at the beginning; the sleeve’s tube can snag if alignment is off. 2) Expect multiple color changes: green fills for the hand, white for the cuff, red for the ornament, black for outlines.

3) After completion, remove from the machine.

Operation checklist (sleeve)

• Colors ready: green, white, red, black

• Speed around 500 SPM for safety

• Successful trace, no collisions

• Fabric remains flat throughout the run

Quality Checks: What Good Looks Like Left-chest face

• Smooth outlines, no visible puckering

• Eyes fully filled, outline crisp

Sleeve hand

• Colors filled evenly; edges aligned

• No rub marks or hoop scuffs on the sleeve

- Inside stabilizer looks flat; no big wrinkles

Quick check Turn the sleeve inside out. If you see any puckers or a wrinkle in the stabilizer directly under a skewed edge, that can explain slight registration loss.

Results & Handoff: Clean Finish and Wearability Finishing steps 1) Trim all jumps and tails front and back. 2) On the inside, trim poly mesh close without cutting the fabric. 3) Turn right-side out and steam lightly if needed.

Expected results - A clean left-chest face and a sleeve motif that sits where you intended. The creator noted she wished the sleeve was a touch lower, but it was still a cute and wearable placement.

Pro tip For repeatability across sizes, document your favorite sleeve distance from the cuff or shoulder seam on your template set. mighty hoop left chest placement

Troubleshooting & Recovery Symptom: Long jump tails

• Likely cause: Could be tension, but community experience suggests it can be a trimming parameter.

• Fix: Check with Ricoma support for the trim cutoff parameter and how to set it. If tails persist, re-check thread path and tension balance.

Symptom: Minor loss of registration on the sleeve

• Likely cause: Stabilizer wasn’t perfectly flat/taut—wrinkles can shift stitch alignment.

• Fix: Re-hoop with the stabilizer fully smoothed; consider a skinnier piece or an iron-on/spray-adhesive method to keep it planted.

Symptom: Hoop pops off (tight sleeve)

• Likely cause: Sleeve hoop too tight for garment size.

• Fix: Switch to a standard hoop with better grip; slow down to ~500 SPM and re-trace before sewing.

Symptom: Risk of arm/needle bar hitting the hoop

• Likely cause: Borderline clearance.

• Fix: Recenter the design and re-trace. If still close, reduce design size or use a different hoop.

Quick isolation tests

• Pause and rotate the hoop slightly to confirm clearances in the tightest corners.

• Run a dry contour trace with your hand hovering near the STOP—ready to halt if clearances shrink.

From the comments: Fast answers to common questions Q: How do I skip forward through stitches on Ricoma? A: Use F.L. and press START to go forward (STOP goes backward). This mirrors the creator’s reply in the thread.

Q: What size worked for the face? A: The creator reported ~4.41 x 3.00 inches for the left-chest face.

Q: Is the sweatshirt a Gildan 50/50? A: The creator believed it might be, but wasn’t certain.

Q: Alternatives to taping stabilizer to the hoop on sleeves? A: Popular community approaches: turn the garment inside out and use a light temporary spray adhesive (e.g., 505) to hold stabilizer, or use iron-on cutaway/tearaway to keep it in place without sticky residue.

Tools & Materials quick reference

• Machine: Ricoma TC multi-needle

• Hoops: magnetic 5.5 for chest; sleeve hoop (attempt); B hoop (final sleeve solution)

• Stabilizers: cutaway (chest), poly mesh (sleeve)

• Threads: yellow/black (face); light green/white/red/black (sleeve)

Why these choices worked

• Chest: magnetic hoop on a stand simplified alignment and kept fabric secure for a small motif.

• Sleeve: when the sleeve hoop wouldn’t seat on a small garment, switching to the B hoop, adding a careful trace, and slowing to ~500 SPM made the run safe and clean.

Pro tip If you frequently embroider left chests and sleeves on multi-needle machines, standardize your toolkit: a magnetic 5.5 for chest work, a reliable sleeve solution (or a backup standard hoop), and printed templates with crosshairs. mighty hoop 5.5

Optional gear notes

• Some stitchers prefer a branded magnetic system for simplified garment loading and alignment. If your shop runs mixed-machine fleets, choose compatible fixtures across platforms to keep your process consistent. ricoma mighty hoops

Scaling up production

• Pre-cut stabilizer stacks and a hooping station can cut handling time dramatically, especially on gift runs and seasonal orders. mighty hoops for ricoma

Advanced placement confidence

• Document centerlines (collar seam on chest; sleeve’s natural crease) and mark your go-to distances for consistent results across sizes.

Pro tip When you’re at tight tolerance, a magnetic hoop system plus a hooping station helps keep fabric flat and placement repeatable. magnetic hoop embroidery