Table of Contents
Watch the video: “How to Embroider a Design from Start to Finish on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2” by SewingMastery.com
You’ve hooped the fabric. The machine is on. Now what? This hands-on walkthrough takes you from the very first calibration screen to the final tension check on the back of your stitch-out—so you can embroider confidently on your Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2.
What you’ll learn
- How to calibrate the embroidery arm and why the hoop should be off during startup
- How to choose, place, and size a built-in design—and match the hoop size on screen to your physical hoop
- How to attach the hoop correctly (with that crucial click), thread for embroidery, and start stitching
- How to monitor tension, handle color changes, and finish the session cleanly
- How to evaluate the back of your embroidery for ideal tension balance
Getting Started with Your Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2
The tutorial opens right from power-up, so you can see every prompt in context. Keep your hooped project nearby but not attached to the embroidery arm yet; you’ll add it when the machine asks.
Initial Machine Setup and Calibration When you select Start New after powering on, the machine prompts you to remove any hoop so the embroidery arm can calibrate. Let it “do its dance”—you’ll hear a short noise at the end that’s normal.
Watch out
- Keep the area clear around the machine so the arm can move freely during calibration.
- Don’t attach the hoop early; the machine must calibrate first without a hoop in place.
Understanding the Embroidery Essentials Course The instructor mentions their Embroidery Essentials online course as a structured way to build skill through repeated practice. Specific course content isn’t shown in this video, but the idea is to stitch often, try features one by one, and you’ll soon know your machine inside and out.
Selecting and Customizing Your Design Choosing an embroidery design starts in the A menu (the flower category is used in the tutorial). Touch any design once to preview details like design number, size, stitch count, and color changes. Designs often look better stitched than on-screen—sampling is encouraged.
Navigating the Design Menu Use the on-screen arrows to explore built-ins. You can also open the folder icon to reach designs on a USB stick or via a MySewnet account if you’ve set it up. The presenter selects a small paisley (A59) with several color changes, noting it’s not too large and stitches relatively quickly for demo purposes.
Pro tip Audition thread colors guided by the color list: the EPIC 2 shows what’s stitching now and grays out what’s not, so you can plan a simple palette or a multicolor look without guesswork.
Choosing the Right Hoop for Your Design When you bring a design into the embroidery area, it appears within a default hoop size. In the video, the design defaults to 80×80 mm, but the presenter selects a 260×200 mm hoop to match the actual hoop on hand. This step matters—the machine expects the on-screen hoop to match the physical hoop you’ll attach.
Quick check
- Center the design in the hoop area before you proceed.
- Confirm the on-screen hoop size exactly matches the hoop you plan to attach.
Design Manipulation: Move, Resize, Rotate, Flip You can fine-tune placement with the EPIC 2’s touch interface: drag to move, pinch or on-screen controls to size slightly up or down, rotate by touching near the top and twisting, and flip/mirror as needed. An undo button quickly resets changes. Long-press the design for options like duplicate or delete.
Watch out If you resize too aggressively, density won’t auto-recalculate in this demo context; the presenter shows only modest size adjustments. Keep edits reasonable for best stitch quality.
Preparing for Stitch Out: Hoop, Thread, and Settings Before stitching, tap Go to reach the review screen. Here the machine confirms it sees the single-hole throat plate (recommended for embroidery), the current hoop, and the foot in use. If everything looks good, tap the green Continue.
Attaching the Embroidery Hoop Correctly When prompted to Attach Hoop, slide the bracket between the silver top piece and gray lower part of the embroidery arm. Push firmly until you hear a clear click. That sound is your lock-in confirmation—no click means not fully attached. Do not press the release lever while inserting; use the lever only to remove the hoop later.
Watch out
- No click? Push a bit further—don’t sew until the hoop is truly latched.
- Wiggly hoop = not seated. Remove and reattach until secure.
Proper Threading for Embroidery Success Raise the presser foot. Hold the thread in your right hand and guide it through the threading path. At the tension area, give a small “floss” tug to seat the thread between the disks. Use the needle threader, then leave it alone—don’t touch it as it retracts. Confirm setup with the green checkmark on screen.
Pro tip If you consistently see thread issues at the start of a color, recheck that “floss” step at the tension area. It’s a tiny action that prevents big headaches.
Reviewing Pre-Stitch Settings The review screen is your last chance to verify hoop and throat plate. The video shows the single-hole plate in use, which the presenter recommends for embroidery to minimize fabric draw into the needle area. If anything is off, back up and correct it before you stitch.
The Embroidery Process: From Start to Finish Understanding Color Blocks and Stitch Time On the color block list, the active areas appear while non-active parts gray out. You’ll also see estimated stitch minutes for each color block; in the demo, the first block shows about three minutes, then four, then two for the final detail. This helps you choose thread colors and time your next change.
Pro tip Plan a simple palette for your first run. You can always come back and experiment with high-contrast or tonal blends once you’re comfortable with the flow.
Monitoring Stitching and Adjusting Tension Press Start (the play icon). Watch the stitch count progress and peek at the top surface for any white bobbin thread showing through—there should be none. If you see white bobbin on the top, reduce the top thread tension on-screen from the default of 50 using the minus button, then test a few stitches and recheck.
From the comments No public comments were available in our dataset for this video, so we’ve relied solely on the presenter’s step-by-step guidance for best practices.
Change Colors and Finish the Design At the end of a color block, the EPIC 2 cuts the top thread and prompts for a color change. If you’re stitching the whole design in one color, you can ignore on-screen color guidance. Otherwise, remove the old thread, load the next color, and press Start again—there’s no need to hit the green checkmark between changes unless you prefer to.
Quick check
- Top thread: auto-cut at each color change
- Bobbin thread: not cut between colors
- After the last color: watch for the “Your embroidery is finished” message
Post-Embroidery: Inspection and Best Practices Removing the Hoop and Parking the Arm When you finish stitching, accept the on-screen message. Exit the embroidery screen using the left arrow, then the machine will ask you to remove the hoop. Use the lever to release and pull the hoop toward you. Confirm again so the arm can move to the far-left park position. This is the same parked position if you switch over to sewing mode with the embroidery module attached.
Checking the Back of Your Embroidery for Perfect Tension Flip the project over and look at the back. Ideal tension shows roughly one-third white bobbin thread in the center of the stitch path with the top thread evenly on both sides—especially visible on wider satin areas. Crucially, you should not see white bobbin on the top of your embroidery. If you do, lower the top tension and test again on your next project.
Watch out Narrow or straight stitches make the 1/3 bobbin rule harder to spot. Focus on wider satin sections to judge balance.
Maximizing Your Embroidery Machine Potential Exploring Built-in Designs The EPIC 2 includes hundreds of built-in designs. Try stitching out favorites to see how thread sheen and density bring them to life—what’s on-screen rarely matches the richness you’ll see in real thread.
Fast Track Your Learning with Online Courses The presenter recommends structured practice via their Embroidery Essentials online course. Even without course details shown here, the takeaway is clear: repetition builds speed and confidence—calibration, hoop match, and tension checks will soon feel second nature.
Brand and Accessory Notes (to avoid confusion) This tutorial demonstrates standard hooping on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2 and does not cover magnetic hoops or brand-specific accessories beyond what’s shown on-screen. If you’re researching third-party or brand-specific magnetic options, be sure to verify compatibility for your exact model. For example, search interest often includes general phrases like magnetic hoop for husqvarna viking, but those products are outside the scope of this video and may differ by model.
Similarly, you may encounter brand-agnostic terms while shopping or reading forums. They’re useful for research, but they do not reflect what’s demonstrated here. For clarity, this video uses the machine’s standard hooping method with an on-screen hoop match and a physical click-in attachment. If you explore other systems, confirm sizing and fit with your dealer before purchasing.
Resource-friendly search terms (contextual, not covered in the video)
- Some readers explore general accessory categories like magnetic embroidery hoop while deciding how they want to hoop different fabrics.
- Others compare conventional hoops to broader categories such as magnetic hoops for embroidery machines to understand pros and cons.
- If you’re building a beginner setup checklist, searches like embroidery machine for beginners and best embroidery machine for beginners can help you find broader buying guides.
- When in doubt about sizing across brands and models, broad phrases like embroidery machine hoops and husqvarna embroidery hoops are common starting points.
- Remember: this tutorial focuses on built-in design selection, on-screen hoop matching, and standard click-in attachment as shown.
Troubleshooting at a glance
- White bobbin showing on top: Reduce top tension from 50 in small steps until it disappears.
- Hoop won’t attach securely: Remove, reinsert between the silver top and gray lower parts, and push until you hear the click. Don’t press the release lever while inserting.
- Wrong hoop error: Update the on-screen hoop to match your physical hoop before proceeding.
- Thread not feeding smoothly: Raise presser foot and redo the threading path, “flossing” at the tension disks.
Results you should expect
- Clean top stitching without white bobbin peeking through
- Even back-of-fabric tension with approximately one-third bobbin visible along satin areas
- Predictable stitch-out flow with timed color blocks
From the studio This walkthrough follows the exact sequence demonstrated: calibration, design selection and placement, hoop confirmation, threading, stitch-out monitoring, color changes, finish prompts, and parked position. If a detail isn’t shown or said in the video—for example, stabilizer type or fabric specifics—it isn’t specified here.