August 4, 2007 at 7:47 am (Applique, Batiks, Beads, Embellishing, Fabric Manipulation, Fabrications, Fiber Art, Free Motion, Sewing, Techniques)
Batiks serve as the perfect fabrics for making these little flowers since they are tightly woven and quite colorful.
Once you have completed the free motion stitching on each of the circles, remove the Solvy from you hoop. Clip around each flower, leaving all the loose extended threads in place.
Circles Clipped from Solvy
Place each flower circle on a terry towel and spray with water to remove the Solvy. Spraying rather than soaking works well here because some of the melted Solvy remains in the fabric, adding a little stiffness to the bubbly texture.
Sprayed Circles
When you circles are semidry, center the small circles on top of the large circles. If you have used an assortment of colors, you may like to mix and match until you are pleased with the results.
Layered Flowers
Apply beads or buttons to embellish the flower centers. I used “tye dye” glass beads.
Tye Dye Beads
Take each flower and scrunch it into a little ball. Gently open the ball and shape it back into a flower.
Scrunched Flower
Allow to dry completely, and your flowers will be ready to add colorful embellishment wherever you place them.
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
6 Comments
August 1, 2007 at 7:18 am (Applique, Batiks, Beads, Embellishing, Fabric Manipulation, Fabrications, Fiber Art, Free Motion, Techniques)
Batiks always make me think of summer vacations at the beach. If you’re like me, you probably have lots of batik scraps from past projects. Here’s a great way to transform them into beautifully embellished flowers.
For this project you will need some regular Solvy, a heavy variegated cotton thread (I used Valdani #35 “Autumn”), colorful beads, an embroidery hoop, circular templates, and assorted batik fabrics.
Supplies
First, mark large and small circles on your batiks. I used a mechanical pencil, which makes a very thin cutting line. For templates, I used metal eyelet charms that I found in the scrap booking department of my local craft store. These charms are quite thin, making them very useful around the studio. My large circle measured 1 3/4″ and my small circle measured 1 1/4″.
Circle Templates
Cut the circles out and press to flatten if necessary.
Cut Batik Circles
Hoop you Solvy and lightly spray the back of the individual large circles. Position them in the hoop.
Hooped Solvy
Set up your sewing machine for free motion work. Use a coordinating color and similar weight of thread in the bobbin. Drop the feed dogs and attach a closed free motion foot. Free motion stitch each of the circles, using meandering and circular motions. Allow the thread work to extend beyond the edges of your circles. Fill each circle with stitching, creating a bubbled texture.
Free Motion Stitched Large Circles
Repeat this process for the small circles.
Free Motion Stitched Small Circles
Your completed stitching should look something like this. Notice that the thread work extends well beyond each circle.
Free Motion Thread Work
We’ll finish these little batik blooms in part two.
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
3 Comments
July 28, 2007 at 3:25 pm (Applique, Babylock Embellisher, Beads, Embellishing, Felted Finery, Felting, Fiber Art, Techniques)
When I was working on the Encased project, I felted several of the floral rounds in assorted colors. Here’s another little project using these versatile flower shapes.
First, you will need to felt a floral round in any color you like. Cut it out of the organza and match it up with some colorful rick rack.
Felted Floral Round
Turn your floral round to the back side, and dab some fabric glue around the edges.
Dab Fabric Glue Around Edge of Back Side
Position the rick rack so that the rounded points form the look of petals.
Glue Rick Rack to Form Petals
Your flower/flowers should look something like this when you are finished.
Completed Flowers
To create leaves, fold some green rick rack at a point as shown.
Step One of Rick Rack Leaves
Now wrap the rick rack back and forth around itself. The inner loops will lock together. Trim off at the length you would like your leaves.
Step Two of Rick Rack Leaves
Cut a piece of fabric whatever size you would like you project to be. The size will depend upon what you are making. Stabilize it with a heavy fusible stabilizer or interfacing. Alternately, you could sandwich it with batting and quilt it.
Cut a piece of the colorful rick rack to form a stem. Dab it in a few places on the back side with some fabric glue, and position it on the front of your project. Dab the raw edges of the leaves with fabric glue and position the ends under the rick rack.
Secure Stem and Leaves
Secure the outer edges of the leaves with beads.
Leaf Beading
Embellish the rick rack stem with seed beads at each point.
Seed Bead Embellishment
Position your flower at the top of the stem. Secure it will a little fabric glue in the center back to keep it from shifting. Embellish the petal points with bugle beads.
Bugle Bead Petals
I’m sure you’ll find all sorts of creative ways to embellish these little felted flower. Have fun!
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
2 Comments
July 19, 2007 at 6:20 am (Applique, Embellishing, Fabrications, Felting, Fiber Art, Projects, Quilting, Sulky Sliver, Techniques)
Machine quilting this little case is quite easy since you can simply use the patterns found on your organza overlay and base fabric.Set up your sewing machine with a free motion foot, drop your feed dogs, and change your needle to one that is appropriate for the thread you will be using. I chose a green rayon thread for the leaves in my organza fabric. Loosen your top tension if necessary.
Begin quilting around the patterns in your fabric.
Quilting Around Leaves
Quilting Around Flower
Switch to another decorative thread and continue machine quilting. I chose Sulky Sliver for some of the scrolling patterns in my base fabric. Sliver can be a little tricky to work with. I use a net and stand it vertically on a thread stand. I also loosen my top tension a good bit with this thread. It’s a good idea to test stitch before working on your actual project since thread tension is key when working with Sliver. If the tension is too loose, it will cause thread buildup on the wrong side of your fabric. If it’s too tight, the Sliver will break.
Quilting with Sulky Sliver
When your quilting is complete, position your felted floral round on the surface. Once you’re happy with its placement, tack it down with a small amount of fabric glue.
Felted Floral Round
To embellish your flower, choose an assortment of beads in various shapes. I chose bugles and rounds. Hand stitch the beads around the circumference of your flower. Use a strong thread (not cotton).
Hand Beading Around Flower
In the same manner, create a stem for your flower with an assortment of green beads.
Hand-Beaded Stem
In part three, our little case will begin to take shape.
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
3 Comments
July 13, 2007 at 11:59 am (Applique, Embellishing, Felted Finery, Felting, Fiber Art, Fibers, Roving, Techniques)
My husband gave me a PMP (portable media player) for our wedding anniversary. I love tech toys and this one is no exception. I decided I wanted a special case for it that I could wear as I went about my day. Now I can listen to podcast and music regardless of where I am or what I’m doing. The construction of the case/carrier really falls under more than one category, so I will be dividing this tutorial between Felted Finery and Fabrications.
You can make these little case/carriers any size you like. I think they would make very nice gifts for anyone with an iPod or MP3 player.
For the felted flower, you will need two colors of organza and some wool roving. I purchased a package of organza circles in the wedding section of my local craft store because they are the perfect size for hooping. (Sadly, they are of a lesser quality than organza yardage, but they work okay.)
Organza Yardage; Organza Circles
Hoop a circle of organza in a color that is close to the color of your wool roving. Although it’s not necessary, it helps to mark your small circular flower centers on the organza. Use a color that matches your roving since markings can show on the surface after felting.
Flower Center Markings
Place your hoop under the needles of your felting machine and position a small amount of roving on the outside edge of one of your marked circles. Working in a circular motion, slowly tack the roving down.
First Round of Roving
Pull a little more roving and work around the previous roving circle. When you are happy with the size of your flower, give it a more thorough needle punching.
Second Round of Roving
For the flower center, cut a circle of organza about three times larger than the bare center of your felted flower. Remove the organza base from the hoop and turn it to the wrong side. Place the cut organza circle over the center of your flower and slowly needle punch it, holding the edges of the organza so that it doesn’t bunch up under the needles.
Needle Punched Organza Center (Wrong Side)
Turn your flower to the right side. The needle punched organza should fill the center. If it does not, needle punch it a little more until your center flower is lofty and textural. Turn the piece back to the wrong side and clip off any extra organza. (I felted a few leaves just for the fun of it, but they’re not necessary for this project.)
Trimmed Organza
Completed Flowers
That completes the felting stage of this project.
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
4 Comments
July 6, 2007 at 8:05 pm (Applique, Art Quilts, Embellishing, Fabrications, Fiber Art, Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments, Projects, Techniques)
The fourth and last leaf design in this series uses a technique that produces a luminous web-like surface. I saw a similar technique in Quilting Arts Newsletter several months ago. My method is a little different, but it works well for me.
To create the leaves, first cut some synthetic organza a little larger than the size of your leaf templates. I used an organza print.
Cut Organza
Next, cut pieces of Stitch Witchery the same size as your cut organza. Place the organza on a pressing sheet. Top the pieces with the Stitch Witchery. Cover these layers with parchment paper. With an iron set on the “silk” setting, press the pieces for about 2 seconds. Very important! Do not over press or the Stitch Witchery will melt. The goal is to have the Stitch Witchery somewhat attached to the base organza but not melted into it.
Lightly Fused Stitch Witchery
Cover your work area with plastic or glass. Gather the following supplies: a stiff bristle paintbrush, a respirator, and several colors of Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments. Pearl Ex pigments are nontoxic, but when I use powders I always use a respirator.
Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments
Dip your paintbrush into one of the powdered pigments and brush it around on the surface of the Stitch Witchery. There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Add as many colors as you like, or use a single color if you prefer.
When you’re finished, transfer the pieces to a pressing sheet, and set your iron on a cotton setting with steam activated. You are NOT going to press the pieces. Pick your iron up and hover it over the organza pieces about 1-2 inches above the ironing surface. Do not let the iron touch your work. Move slowly above the pieces, allowing the steam to adhere the fusible to the base organza and set the powdered pigments. About 5-6 seconds should do the trick. Let the surface cool before touching your pieces.
Set Pigments
Transfer the pigmented organza to a glass or heat proof flat surface. Place your leaf templates on top of the pieces. (I used template plastic, which can be melted by the heat tool, but moved quickly so that the hot tip would not damage the edges.)
Leaf Templates
With a hot heat tool (stencil cutter or wood burning tool), move quickly around the edges of your template. The organza should melt away easily. Save your scraps for a future project.
Heat Tool Finished Edges
Transparency and luminosity give each leaf a truly unique appearance. Of course, leaves aren’t the only things you can create with this technique.
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
3 Comments
July 4, 2007 at 2:05 pm (Applique, Art Quilts, Embellishing, Fabrications, Fiber Art, Free Motion, Projects, Techniques)
I was asked a question about heat tools. When I’m working with organza or other synthetic sheers, I usually use a stencil cutter for cutouts or edge finishing. Some people use a wood burning tool. Both of these accomplish the same end. I recently purchased the Creative Versa-Tool by Walnut Hollow, and I must say this is one nice toy! You’ll probably be seeing it used in my blog entries soon.
Leaf one and two left me with lots of pretty little scraps that I decided to use in leaf three. I cut a circle of copper organza and placed a piece of Heat n’ Bond Lite (minus the paper backing) on top of it. I then cut the scraps into various random shapes and placed them on top of the Heat n’ Bond. I topped these layers with copper tulle and moved the group to a Teflon pressing sheet.
Scrap Sandwich
Next, I placed a piece of parchment paper on top of the layers and pressed on a wool setting for about 7-8 seconds.
I then prepared my sewing machine for free motion stitching and threaded the needle with a variegated rayon thread. The rest of leaf three was worked in the same manner as leaf two. First, I free motion stitched the surface. I then marked the outline of an oak leaf with a chalk marker and hooped the organza circle.
Hooped Organza; Chalk Outline
I stitched around the chalk outline eight times, building up thread.
Stitched Outline
Completed Stitching
Using sharp craft scissors, I carefully cut the leaf out, leaving a tiny bit of organza showing around the edges. I then used a heat tool (stencil cutter) to finish the edges.
The trapped scraps gave this leaf wonderful shading and texture. Additionally, I could make any number of these leaves, and they would all have a different appearance.
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
1 Comment
June 30, 2007 at 8:49 pm (Applique, Art Quilts, Embellishing, Fabrications, Free Motion, Projects, Techniques)
I wanted some dimensional leaves for the surface of my nameless quilt, so I pulled out some sheer fabrics in the autumn color range. As I moved the fabrics around, a nest of threads began to build around my fingers. Most of the threads were organza and chiffon. I thought they looked interesting, so I cut the little cluster away from their sources and decided to use them in my first leaf.
For the bottom layer, I cut a circle of copper organza. I then placed a piece of Heat n’ Bond Lite in the center. Actually, it was a piece of Heat n’ Bond that had separated from its paper backing. Next came the thread nest, which was topped with a piece of copper tulle.
Organza, Thread, and Tulle Sandwich
I set the layers on a Teflon pressing sheet, placed a piece of parchment paper on top, and then ironed the sandwiched items on a wool setting for about 8 seconds.
Next, I set up my sewing machine for free motion stitching and threaded the needle with a #40 variegated rayon. To secure the layers and add a little extra decoration, I free motion stitched some wavy lines back and forth, filling the entire sandwiched area.
Free Motion Stitching
I then positioned the stitched organza in a round embroidery hoop. Back in my hand quilting days, I would sometimes use contact paper to make removable templates. I used this same technique for the maple leaf shape.
Contact Paper Template
After positioning the leaf, I stitched around the template about 8 times, allowing the thread to build up.
Leaf Outline Stitching
Thread Buildup
I then cut around the stitching and used a heat tool (stencil cutter) to finish the edges. When using a heat tool, always work in a well ventilated area. For more information on this technique, see In Bloom, Part Three.
Completed Leaf
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N. Rene West
Time Treasured
1 Comment
June 20, 2007 at 9:58 am (Applique, Beads, Embellishing, Embroidery, Fabric Manipulation, Fabrications, Fiber Art, Perle (Pearl) Cottons, Quilts, Rayon)
To prepare my background fabric for the reverse appliqués, I stabilized it with a fusible interfacing. I then penciled a free form design onto some freezer paper, cut out the shape, and ironed it to the front of the fabric. Using sharp craft scissors, I carefully cut around the freezer paper pattern.
First Cut
I repeated the process for the second cut.
Second Cut
Since these were reverse appliqués, I placed the gathered red rayon pieces under the cut out areas. Owing to the gathers and folds in the appliqués, I didn’t perform traditional reverse appliqué where the top fabric gets cut out after the appliqués are stitched to the main fabric. (I didn’t want to risk accidentally cutting into the gathers.)
Reverse Gathered Appliques
To keep the appliqués in place, I dabbed a tiny bit of Glue Pins around the inner edges. I then set my sewing machine on a narrow buttonhole stitch and worked around the raw edges.
Narrow Blanket Stitch Edging
After adding some embroidery stitches with perle cotton, I further embellished the areas surrounding the appliqués with pearl, bugle, and glass beads, along with sequins and buttons.
Beading
Note: I’ve uploaded another colorform file (fjfan.dst) to the Fem-Gratis box in the sidebar (for your personal use).
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N. Rene West
Time Treasure
2 Comments
June 18, 2007 at 11:17 am (Applique, Beads, Embellishing, Embroidery, Fabric Manipulation, Fabrications, Fiber Art, Quilting, Techniques)
One way to add texture to a project is by manipulating fabric. I recently purchased a supply of rayon yardage in various colors and used some of it to make the reverse appliqués in this piece. If you’ve ever worked with rayon, you know that it’s a shape-shifter. That very quality makes it perfect for this project.
First, I cut a few pieces of red rayon about 8″ x 8″. I set up my sewing machine with a gathering foot and a straight stitch at 3.5 mm. The gathering foot is a great accessory to have. For one thing, it’s easy to use and always works well. Additionally, it provides normal gathers rather than the little pleats created by the ruffler attachment.
Gathering Foot
Next, I began stitching the rayon in a very random pattern, holding my left index finger behind the foot to gently add some resistance as the fabric fed under the foot. This helps the gathers to form more densely. As the gathers build, it helps to slow down and adjust the fabric so that you don’t sew over any pleats, although it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you did.
Random Gathering
When the piece was complete, it looked nice and puckered all over the surface.
Gathering Complete
To flatten the piece, I set my iron at the wool setting and turned on the steam. I then pressed it from the wrong side for a few seconds. Since the shape-shifting quality was no longer desired, I pressed a light fusible interfacing to the back side.
Pressed Gathers
I thought it might be nice to cover the stitch lines with a decorative stitch, so I chose a star stitch and simply followed the lines of the previous stitching.
Decorative Stitching
Since I planned on doing further embellishments to the piece as a whole, I didn’t want to over work this area. If the appliqués were the main focal point, such as in a quilt square, I would have used decorative threads, couching, and/or beads as further embellishments.
I’ll complete this little piece in part two.
Note: I’ve uploaded another colorform shape file (fjdiamond.dst) for those of you with embroidery machines.
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N. Rene West
Time Treasure
1 Comment
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