1. Embroider your medallion
   
Hoop your stabilizer. It needs to be nice and taut but
doesn't have to pass the *drum* test. If you have it too
tight in the hoop, it will tend to tear more easily.

Wind your bobbin with a coordinating thread for your
Design. For my dragonfly, I'm going to use a light
metallic gold in the bobbin thread. If you want a
completely reversible design, you will need a bobbin
wound for every color in your design and change the
bobbin whenever you need to change thread color.
I have done the medallions both ways, and I've found
that matching each part of the design really isn't worth
all the effort. I choose a neutral metallic thread like
silver or gold depending on the predominant color in
the design. I like to use metallic threads for my designs
for two reasons. First, the finished product looks more
like jewelry and the metallic thread adds more stability to the finished necklace. And I have to add a third - I love anything that's shiny or sparkles!
   
I have only stitched these necklaces on my Bernina, but I have found that they stitch better if I loosen the upper tension a small amount. For the Bernina, I change the default "2" setting to "1.75". With the looser tension on top, you have a more rounded design which is more attractive for free standing embroidery. You might want to experiment with your embroidery machine's tension to see what setting gives you the best results
   

Before I stitched this design, I digitized a circle of interlocking stitches to stitch first for stability. I've done this design both ways, and it works with or without this extra backing. Here is this circle stitched out before the dragonfly begins

   

The finished dragonfly.
   
  Next..........