A Short Video of some Motifs/Techniques Learned in the Free Courses!
Yesterday, we printed two objects on our cotton fabric. We also planned our design by printing the image on paper first. Today, we will pad the fabric image and get it ready to applique down. The padding is thin, but will give it some dimension by raising the image slightly off the background block. However, this technique can be done with fusible interfacing that does not "pad" the image as well.
Step One: Trim the paper image to represent the final required size and shape of the fabric portion of the image. You will cut away all of the parts of the image that you don't want to use. For example, in this design...the corset lady's hair will be stitched...so the bun is not needed. And, for the CanCan dancer...the skirt will be created from lace...so is not needed...just the legs.
Step Two: Use this paper as a pattern to cut your interfacing for padding the image. A small dot of glue can be placed on the reverse of your paper pattern to hold it in place while trimming around the pattern. Then remove the paper from the padding.
Step Three: Carefully peel the fabric from the freezer paper in your fabric printed sandwich.
Step Four: Trim around the fabric images loosely...and the press with a hot iron...front and back.
Step Five: Place the padding shapes on the back of the fabric images...aligning the shapes with the same shape on the image.
Here are the three parts...the paper trimmed image, the padded part, and the fabric image. A small smear of thin glue can help to hold the padding to the fabric image and keep it in place...but only put it in the center area...not along the edges where stitching will later take place.
Step Six: When the padding shape is securely in place...trim the fabric to within 1/4 of an inch of the shape...and clip the curves and inside corners along these shapes.
Step Seven: Fold the fabric excess over the padded shape and baste down or glue down lightly.
I use a water/glue for this. Children's washable white glue works fine...and I use 3 parts glue to 1 part water for my solution. It creates a little stiffness, but not so much that you can't stitch through it. When ironed, the glue dries and holds everything in place.
Step Eight: Press the padded image front and back to set the ink, help create a defined edge for sewing, and set the glue bond. The images might not be perfect as the legs and head shifted a little...got in too big of a hurry. However, they are not so bad that they can't be used because the embroidery work for the hair and skirt will hide any slight changes if the shape is pretty good. The smaller or thinner the object...the harder it is to keep in line. Just keep trying, and you'll get it right. You can always print more than one...on the same sheet of fabric/paper so you have more to work with that I've done here...only printing one. And, depending on the image you are working with...the amount of precision needed will also change.
These finished padded images are ready for applique to the background. It will be enhanced with more stitching and embellishments.
This ends the tutorial...but stay tuned for how I choose to embellish these padded images for Wilma's block.
I'm working on a crazy quilt block for Wilma, and the theme is "I Love Paris". My idea for this project is to add a CanCan dancer's legs...and a corseted lady somewhere on the block. So, I went to the internet searching for images that could help me to create my idea. This tutorial is about "what to do" with the images once I located them. Hope it inspires your own embroidery of dimensional objects in some way.
The process for dimensional work is not too different from other embroidery/crochet/tatted/etc motifs. You create the motif, and you stitch it down. For images...that usually means purchasing a special fabric to print an image on to...like silk. These images are referred to as "silkies". But, that is not the ONLY way to work with an image...and today...this tutorial is about another process.
It involves printing on standard cotton fabric...and embellishing the final printed result with embroidery, ribbon, beads, etc.
Printing images on fabric is a pretty easy process. It can be done without special fabrics or solutions...if the item you are creating is not likely to get many washings. And, heavy encrusted crazy quilt blocks...like you get in open round robins...won't usually be washed at all. However, for larger crazy quilt projects where you do intend on using the quilt often (and probably won't be using loads of beads, charms, ribbon, etc...use purchased fabric that has been treated to hold the printer ink longer.
Now, fabric does not easily feed into a printer, It has to be stabilized first. That can be done with freezer paper (a waxed type of butcher paper used to wrap meat for the freezer).
Step One: Cut a piece of finely woven cotton fabric and a piece of freezer paper that are both larger than a standard sheet of printer paper.
Step Two: Place the freezer paper, wax side down, on the fabric and press with a hot iron. This will temporarily fuse the fabric and the paper together.
Step Three: Trim this fabric/paper sandwich to the standard paper size for your printer. For me, that was 8.5" wide by 11.0" long.
Step Four: Test the print orientation of your manual feed tray. Mark one side of a piece of standard printing paper with a marker...as I've done here with a "squiggle mark".
Load the paper into the manual tray or single sheet feed slot of your printer with the "squiggle mark" up...and print your images.
Step Five: Note the side of the paper your "squiggle mark" and you image is printed on. Is it the same side? Or, is it opposite sides?
This is important...so that you know which side of the fabric/freezer paper sandwich needs to be facing when placed into the printer. The image needs to obviously print on the fabric side...and not the freezer paper side. Another good aspect of this "test" is to see if your images are the appropriate size for your design plan.
You can trim the paper image you created in your "squiggle mark" test...and place them on your project to see if they will be the right size for the space allotted on the project. If they aren't...then adjust your image files until you are happy with them. No wasting fabric that way.
Noe: If you want to use purchased fabric sheets...that is fine. And sometimes, as stated above, that is the ONLY way you should proceed. This part of the tutorial is just in case you don't have those...and want to use standard cotton fabrics because you will not be getting the images wet later on. Ink that comes directly from the printer on to standard cotton...will degrade over time...because it does not saturate the fibers of the fabric well enough to withstand time. It will be heat set and can stay adequately for some time.
Another note, you can also use permanent extra-fine markers to "color over" your printed images to have them last even longer...but, your hand must be steadier than mine...cause I usually make a mess of that!
Tomorrow, we'll discuss how to work with the printed fabric image.
Thought I'd share my "design" trick for creating quilts with fabric stash...instead of purchasing what the pattern calls for. This is my thought process for scrappy style quilts like the Merry Merry Snowmen one. First task is to photocopy the color photo of the quilt provided in the pattern. Then, I use different colored markers to start "coding" the different areas while considering fabrics I pull from my stash. It is often necessary to use 2-3 fabrics where the pattern calls for just one...because there might not be enough yardage. The basic color family...brown, red, etc...must stay the same...and the value of the color (medium, dark, etc) should also stay the same. Balance the fabrics by placing them in a triangle (see blue markings) or equally balanced throughout the quilt (see yellow markings). Just as in crazy quilt embellishing...your goal is to get the eye of the viewer to travel around the quilt...and not stay in just one place.
Progress has been made...and the backgrounds for all of the remaining pattern blocks are complete.
Now, to prepare all of those applique pieces for sewing on to these blocks!
First, the snowmen! I have traced all of the snowmen shapes on to a fusible interfacing (not fusible web). The interfacing is thin enough so that I can trace on the reverse side...with a soft lead pencil (a colored pencil).
Here, you see that they have then been ironed down to the reverse side of my white fabric. Next, they will be trimmed around, leaving about 1/4 inch of fabric for turning under. Because these pieces are white, and will allow the darker background colors to "bleed through"...I'm going to use a piece of white fleece in the center of each one as I applique. That will also give each snowman a little "fluff", and you now that snowmen are fluffy!
This vintage alphabet has no "W". Suggest you use the "M" inverted.
Last month I signed up, along with 20+ other ladies, to stitch the pattern "Merry Merry Snowmen" as a group stitch-a-long over at the HGTV Message Board Group. Each person is doing their own quilt...but, we have deadlines to get each block completed.
This is block one...and was not too difficult to create. This quilt is not as easy breezy as Erin Russek's "Jingle" quilt is...that I blogged about last week. Mostly because this quilt has more pieces and pieces that are smaller than the ones commonly designed by Erin. Still, this is not a hard quilt...and the pattern includes pages and pages of instruction and full size templates...no re-sizing! Got to love that!
The pattern is available at Bunny Hill Designs. You can get the idea for the entire quilt. I'm using my own fabric stash...and did not order a kit. One lady in the group is pulling blues instead of reds...and so far, her quilt is very nice...very "winter" looking.
Some of the ladies are doing machine applique...but mine is all by hand. I don't enjoy stitching fusible, and hand applique just looks worlds better to me....so, it is worth my time. So, if you are looking to start a full-size project for Christmas...this is a good pattern to work up.
It was created by Hideko Ishida of Japan. The blocks are from the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012, and the journal is her choice of how to display the blocks. I so love it...that I asked her permission to share some photos here on my blog. She graciously agreed...thank you Hideko!
I am just in awe as the professional look of the finished project...and now...yep, my muse wants one too!
But, she will have to wait...as there is way too much work going on in my house now. And my CQJP2013 plans are already underway...but, there will be CQJP2014 to consider!!
Perhaps I can satisfy Ms. Muse with that plan. Doesn't this journal just make you want to stitch!
Glorious! Just glorious!
I love the way the pages are sewn in to a felted spine, and the little eyelet lace at each edge...and the fringe trim to the front and back! Oh, and the little poems and sayings on the back of each page...ingenious! Such a treasure!
The past five hours...I've been looking over hundreds of images on a site...where I can't even understand the language!! Here is the site link: http://lespetitescroixdanaide.centerblog.net/
This is a french site...and the images seem to be for use as blog headers, corners, pins, separations, and such. However, a great, great many of the images would be suitable for personal scrapbooking or for creating silkies too.
Hopefully, you will agree that the site is worth your time to look around. As I don't speak or read French...please contact the site owner before using the images in your professional endeavors...as I have no idea what the copyright limitations are for these. There are no prices or pop up blockers on the site...so, it could be a free blog resource too...as it appears to me. All I know for sure... is that there are hundreds of wonderful ideas there!
These past few days, I've been stitching solely on the center block to Erin Russek's Block of the Month for 2013, "Jingle". The center is a 30"x30" medallion pattern, titled "Miss Kringle" which she sales to accompany the free blocks every month that she posts on her blog, One Piece At A Time.
I love her designs...and have download them the past two years...but have not sewn them. This year, I had all of the fabric colors in my stash...and ran out of excuses not to stitch! Hugs!
So, I'm doing it!
Here's the applique pieces...before I started putting down all of the leaves.
And, instead of the suggested bias stems...I'm doing embroidery work (stemstitch). The single applique blocks of the month have embroidery stems...so, I'm thinking this will coordinate better than bias would (plus it's faster!). Hugs!
I do love Erin's patterns...they have large applique pieces that are easy to work with. No "slender points" (which are only good for fusible work), these shapes are "designed" for hand applique. Thank you Erin!
If you have been looking for a hand applique challenge...that is truly manageable...I strongly recommend her patterns.
Of course, working on this full-size applique project...(the first large scale applique that I've tackled in fifteen years!!)... has not stopped me from also signing up for another huge applique quilt endeavor over at HGTV Message Board group either this year...geez!
But, at least for Erin's quilt...she is doing one applique block and then one pieced block for every other month. So, I should get a bit of a breather at least every other month!
(Plus...my muze agreeded yesterday to crochet a baby blanket for my sister-in-law's nephew's new baby, to be delivered some time next month. She is getting the yarn...I'm doing the handwork. My muze is always getting me in deeper! Does yours?)
This vintage alphabet has no "I" Suggest using the post of the "K"
