Make a Simple Pleated ITH Dust Mask (With Programmed Holds, Clean Pleats, and a Professional Finish)

Supplies Needed for ITH Dust Masks

A pleated In-The-Hoop (ITH) dust mask looks deceptively simple. However, in my 20 years of embroidery experience, I’ve seen this project frustrate more beginners than almost any other. Why? Because it requires you to fight physics. You are asking a machine designed for flat surfaces to stitch through three layers of manually folded, bulky fabric without shifting.

Small preparation decisions—fabric stability, your hooping method, and exactly where you force the machine to stop—determine whether you get crisp, professional pleats or a bulky, twisted mess that breaks needles.

This tutorial breaks down Juliette’s full workflow on a Melco machine. We are using two layers of woven quilting cotton, creating three stitched pleats formed by hand during the run, and adding ribbon ties and a nose wire. Note: If you’re running a professional setup like the melco amaya embroidery machine, the principles here are identical, even if your screen looks slightly different.

What you’ll make (and what it is not)

Let’s be clear about expectations: This is a craft/utility dust mask made from two layers of fabric. It is not medical-grade PPE and is not intended to prevent the spread of viruses. It serves as a fabric cover or a light dust barrier.

Materials shown in the video

• Woven Quilting Fabrics: Cut to 8 x 11 inches. (High quality, 60/30 weave is best for stability).
• Ribbon Strips: Four pieces, cut to 16 inches each (Grosgrain ribbon is recommended for grip).
• Tearaway Backing: 1.6 oz weight (Two pieces needed).
• Tape: A high-quality embroidery tape or painter's tape (Crucial for securing bulky layers).
• Pipe Cleaner: Standard craft chenille stem, used as the nose wire.

Hidden Consumables (Don't start without these)

• Fresh Needles: An embroidery needle (size 75/11 or 90/14). Reason: Pleats define "thick." A dull needle will deflect and cause birdnests.
• Temporary Spray Adhesive: (Optional but recommended) Helps prevent the "creep" of fabric layers.
• Stiletto Tool: A wooden or metal tool to hold fabric near the needle. Never use your fingers.

Tools shown in the video

• Melco embroidery machine (or your specific multi-needle/single-needle machine).
• 12-inch tubular hoop (Displayed as about 11.2" x 11.2" on-screen).
• Machine embroidery scissors (Curved tips help trim close to the stitch line).
• Laptop running Melco OS (or your chosen embroidery software).

Warning: Mechanical Safety Hazard. Keep fingers, stiletto tips, ribbon ends, and loose tape tails well away from the needle path. This project requires your hands to be close to the hoop. A stiletto is mandatory for holding fabric near the needle; do not place your fingers under the presser foot bar.

Preparing Your Hoop and Machine Settings

This project has two distinct "hooping moments":

1. Phase 1: Creating the pleated block.
2. Phase 2: Assembling the mask body with ribbons and the nose-wire channel.

The biggest quality determinant here is Fabric Control. If your fabric isn't held like a drum skin, the push/pull of the machine will distort your pleats.

Why hooping and tension matter more on pleats

Pleats create a "speed bump" for your machine. They create stacked thickness and uneven drag under the presser foot. If the fabric isn’t held consistently, the needle will "walk" or deflect as it hits the fold. This causes the cover stitch (the final pretty border) to land slightly off-center, making the mask look twisted or homemade.

In general, when you are performing hooping for embroidery machine operations on a project that includes loose manual folds, you need three things:

1. Stability: A backing that won't tear prematurely during the aggressive back-and-forth of tack-down stitches.
2. Tension: A method that keeps the stabilizer tight without warping the fabric grain.
3. Bulk Plan: A strategy (tape or clamps) to stop the fabric from "flagging" (bouncing up and down).

Machine settings: The "Sweet Spot" vs. Expert Speed

Juliette runs her machine at 1000 stitches/min (SPM). My Advice for You: If this is your first time, or if your machine is not perfectly calibrated, slow down.

• Expert Range: 900–1100 SPM.
• Beginner/Safety Range: 600–750 SPM.
• Reason: Slower speeds give the thread more time to recover tension as it passes through thick pleats, reducing thread breakage.

Active Feed (Melco specific): Preset to 2. (For other machines, ensure your presser foot height is adjusted for "standard" thickness initially).

Prep checklist (Do this BEFORE you press start)

• Check Dimensions: Fabric cut to exactly 8 x 11 inches? (Inaccurate cuts lead to crooked pleats).
• Ribbon Check: Are the four ribbon ties sealed at the ends (lighter/fray check) to prevent unraveling?
• Stabilizer: Confirm you are using 1.6 oz tearaway. Using a flimsy backing here will result in a distorted rectangle.
• Needle Audit: Run your fingernail down the needle tip. If you feel a "catch," change it. A burred needle will shred thread on dense tack lines.
• Bobbin Load: Wind/insert a full bobbin. This design has heavy cover stitching; running out mid-pleat is a nightmare to fix.
• Lint Patrol: Clean the bobbin case area. Multiple stops/restarts make the machine sensitive to tension issues caused by lint buildup.
• Tool Staging: Place scissors, stiletto, tape, and the pipe cleaner within arm's reach. You cannot walk away during this run.

If you are producing multiples (e.g., 50+ masks), consider setting up a dedicated hooping station for machine embroidery. This ensures your alignment, taping, and trimming happen in the same repeatable biomechanical order every time, saving your wrists.

Step-by-Step: Creating Pleats In-The-Hoop

This is the signature part of the project. The machine acts as your ruler: it stitches a guide mark, you fold, and it tacks it down. Do not rush this.

Step 1 — Stitch the placement line on stabilizer

1. Hoop your tearaway backing in the 12-inch hoop. Ensure it sounds like a drum when tapped.
2. Start the design. The machine will stitch a rectangle outline.

Sensory Check: Look at the lines on the stabilizer. Are they straight? If the stabilizer is puckering or "tunneling" between the lines, re-hoop immediately.

Step 2 — Place the fabric correctly (Orientation matters)

Juliette uses two disparate colors to highlight orientation:

• Fabric Face: The "Right Side" (the pretty side) should ideally face UP.
• Orientation: Align the top raw edge of your fabric with the top placement line.

Sensory Check: smooth the fabric with your hand. It should lie dead flat. If using spray adhesive, a light mist here prevents bubbling.

Step 3 — Form Pleat #1 (Fold, Press, Tack)

1. Wait: The machine stops at the "Pleat 1" command.
2. Fold: Fold the fabric back toward the rear of the hoop (away from you).
3. Press: Use your fingers (or a bone folder) to crease the fabric firmly.
4. Tack: The machine will stitch a line about 0.5 inches up to lock the fold.

Expected Outcome: A crisp, straight fold. If the fabric bubbles in front of the foot, stop and smooth it out.

Step 4 — Repeat for Pleat #2 and Pleat #3

You will repeat this cycle two more times:

• Action: Fold back -> Finger-press flat -> Hold with Stiletto -> Stitch.
• Technique: Use the wooden stiletto to hold the bulk of the fold down as the needle approaches. Do not let go until the foot is safely over the hump.

Sensory Check: Run your finger over the pleats. They should feel uniform in thickness.

Pro Tip: The "Fat Pleat" Problem

If your pleats look uneven or "fat," it is rarely the file's fault. It is usually "Fold Discipline."

• The Physics: The presser foot acts like a snowplow; it wants to push the fabric wave ahead of it.
• The Fix: You must press the fold flat across the entire width of the hoop, not just near the needle. A stiletto is essential to control the last 1–2 inches where the foot tries to push the fold open.

Time Expectation

Juliette’s run finishes in 4 minutes 54 seconds. Don't worry if yours takes 8 minutes. Accuracy beats speed.

Programming 'Holds' in Embroidery Software

An "ITH" project relies on the machine stopping exactly when you need to stick your hands in the hoop. The machine doesn't know you need to trim fabric; you have to tell it. Juliette edits the color sequence to insert "Hold" or "Stop" commands.

What Juliette determines in the color sequence

She modifies the digital file to force a mechanical pause:

• Stop 1: After the outline step (Wait for user to place fabric).
• Stop 2: After pleat guides (Wait for user to fold).
• Stop 3: After ribbon tack-down (Wait for user to trim excess tabs).

Why “Holds” prevent expensive mistakes

Without a forced stop, the machine will blindly move to the next coordinate. If you haven't placed the ribbon, it will stitch nothing. If you haven't trimmed the tab, it will stitch over the excess block, ruining the mask. Adding stops is the #1 way to make ITH work reliably, especially if you are easily distracted.

Viewer Question: File Formats and Hoop Limits

A common frustration: "My machine says the design is too big!"

• The Issue: One viewer noted a .JEF failure message about exceeding a 5.5 x 7.8 hoop.
• The Reality: Standard ITH masks often require a 6x10 or 8x12 hoop.
• The Workaround: If you are converting formats (e.g., .PES to .JEF), use software like Embird or Wilcom Hatch. Critical: Verify the design orientation. Sometimes rotating the design 90 degrees allows it to fit within the "printable area" of your hoop.

Assembling the Mask and Adding Ribbons

This is the "Bulk Management" Phase. You are taking that thick, pleated block and securing it onto fresh stabilizer. This is where most failures occur due to shifting.

Step 1 — Hoop fresh stabilizer

1. Remove the pleated block from the hoop. Set it aside.
2. Hoop a clean piece of tearaway backing.

Step 2 — Align the pleated block (The 1/4" Rule)

1. Run the placement stitch on the fresh stabilizer.
2. Alignment: Place your pleated block onto the guide. Juliette positions the bottom edge about 1/4 inch outside the placement line.
3. Visual Check: Flip the fabric over to ensure the pleats are centered and not crooked using the placement lines as a grid.

Step 3 — Tape the Bulk (Aggressively)

Juliette tapes the thick pleated block down with emphasis.

• Why: "It’s a lot of bulk." As the hoop moves at 800 RPM, inertia wants to throw that heavy fabric block off the stabilizer.
• Action: Tape the corners and the centers. Ensure tape is flat.

Step 4 — Trim close to the stitch line

After the machine tacks the block down:

1. Remove the tape (save it for ribbons).
2. Trim: Use embroidery scissors to trim the excess fabric very close to the stitch line (1-2mm).
3. Caution: Do not cut the stabilizer or the stitches!

Step 5 — Place and tape the ribbon ties

1. Place ribbon ends at the four corners.
2. Overlap: Ensure the ribbon overlaps the mask body by about 0.5 inch.
3. Secure: Tape the long tails of the ribbon into the center of the mask so they don't get sewn over by the border stitch.

Decision Tree: Stabilizer & Hooping Strategy

How do you stop this thick sandwich from moving? Use this logic guide:

• Scenario A: Standard Cotton (Small Batch)
  • Method: Use standard hoops + Tearaway backing + Painter's tape.
  • Risk: Moderate. If tape lifts, the outline will be crooked.
• Scenario B: Slippery/Soft Fabric
  • Method: Use Cutaway backing (more support) + Spray Adhesive.
  • Adjustment: Slow machine speed to 600 SPM to reduce drag.
• Scenario C: High Volume Production (The "Bulk" Bottleneck)
  • The Pain Point: Repeatedly taping 4 layers of fabric and ribbons is slow and hurts your fingers. The hoop often leaves "hoop burn" marks on the fabric.
  • The Solution: Professionals switch to magnetic embroidery hoops.
  • Why: Magnetic hoops clamp the entire sandwich instantly without screwing a bracket tight. They hold thick bulk (like pleats) firmly without crushing the fiber, and they allow for instant adjustments if alignment is off.
  • Efficiency: Using a magnetic hooping station with these frames can cut your "hoop-up" time by 50%.

Warning: Magnetic Safety. Industrial magnetic frames are incredibly powerful. They can pinch fingers severely. Keep them away from pacemakers, medical implants, and magnetic storage media (credit cards/hard drives).

Finishing Touches: Nose Wire Insertion

Step 1 — Unhoop and Cleanup

Remove the finished mask from the hoop. Peel away all tape and tear away the backing gently. Pull the stabilizer sideways, not up, to avoid distorting the stitches.

Step 2 — Create the Entry Hole

The design creates a channel, but you need an opening.

• Action: Use your seam ripper or small scissors to snip a tiny hole only through the back layer of the fabric, near the top channel.

Step 3 — The "Curled Tip" Technique

1. Take your pipe cleaner.
2. Crucial: Bend the sharp wire tips over (curl them) with pliers.
3. Insert: Feed the curled tip into the channel. If you don't curl the tip, the sharp wire will snag the fabric and refuse to slide through.

Professional Finishing Standard

How do you tell a "Pro" mask from a "Hobby" mask?

• No Tabs: Ribbon ends are completely hidden under the cover stitch.
• Clean Edges: No jagged fabric poking out from the satin border.
• Flatness: The mask lays flat on the table, not twisting like a potato chip (indicates good tension).
• Wire Safety: The nose wire does not poke the wearer because the ends are curled.

Troubleshooting Guide

If things go wrong, pause and check this table before changing settings. Always fix the physical issue first.

Results

You now have a complete, repeatable workflow for ITH dust masks. Let's recap the critical path to success:

1. Check: Cut fabric precisely (8x11) and ensure your needle is sharp.
2. Pleat: Use the machine's placement lines, but use your hands and stiletto to ensure crisp folds. Tack 0.5 inches up.
3. Program: Ensure "Holds" are set so the machine waits for you.
4. Assemble: Manage the bulk! Tape aggressively or use magnetic clamping to prevent the heavy pleated block from shifting.
5. Finish: Curl the nose wire tips to prevent snagging.

If you plan to produce these in batches, measure your time. If you spend more time hooping and taping than actually stitching, that is your bottleneck. Tools like magnetic frames or hooping stations are not just luxuries; for items like this with heavy bulk, they are the difference between a profitable run and a painful afternoon.