A Short Video of some Motifs/Techniques Learned in the Free Courses!
Ya Hoo! I'm caught up with the block of the month...here is the March block...obviously, another applique one. I'm still loving Erin's pattern...simple embroidery (stem stitch) for the floral stems...and the applique pieces are really easy to trace on to the freezer paper, and baste because the shapes are gentle curves.
Then applique them down to the background and I'm all done!
The blocks are 9 inch finished...so not too much work...thankfully!
This will be a pretty quilt I'm thinking....let's hope I can keep on track now that I've gotten caught up with the rest of the group. Summer is coming...and that means garden! And, there is also baby-sitting...and you know that takes a chunk of time!
All of us kids, except Anna who had to work, were here at the house today. A greenhouse was constructed in the back yard for Mom. I had to set the clock so I'd get up in time for coffee early before the activity began. Otherwise, I would have slept too late...because I was playing around with my Electric Quilt 7 software last night and worked up this design for a patriotic quilt. Now...if I only had the fabrics! (Guess with my TO-DO list...it's a good thing that I don't...but, perhaps someday.) It's going on my wish list of quilts I would like to stitch someday.
It would be easier than it might look...all of the circular blocks are really square...and are paper foundation pieced. The eagle would be done in shadow applique fusible w/sheer overlay or standard hand-applique.
Yesterday, I worked to finish the third block in the Jingle quilt...and as soon as I download and resize those photos, I'll share them. Today, I'm working on the overstitching on my Corset Lady for Wilma's Paris CQ Block. I started with the brown outline, now I'm filling in the design areas with black split stitch.
This might seem "backwards"...but, if I had started with the black areas first...I would not have know "where" to put my outline stitching...cause the entire shape would have been black.
I thought that the redbirds would be difficult...but they were not at all. Still struggling to make really round berries...and am thinking about changing to cardboard as the "shape foundation"...and starching a lot before going final. But, there will be more berries for sure...so I'll get some practice! Ha!
This is a pretty block and I'm enjoying this quilt.
I've said it before...and I'm saying it again... Erin Russek's patterns are really easy to work up!
I so appreciate the gentle curves and the not-so-slender points for hand applique.
Here is the second block for the quilt. It is the first pieced block. The poinsettia fabric in the center will also be the last large border for the quilt. It is too large of a scale print to work well in any of the applique blocks, but I'm hoping to get to use it in all of the pieced blocks.
This is the month for hand-applique it seems! I'm trying to get the Merry Merry Snowman quilt top done, and working on Erin Russek's "Jingle" Block-of-the-Month quilt as well.
The Jingle BOM started in January...but I didn't start until the very end of February...and the 30" center medallion took some time to complete. So, I'm playing catch-up to get the monthly blocks done. The first one is about half way done.
I have all of my applique pieces finished and ready to stitch down...the leaves were easy to get ready. Just trace the pattern reversed on to freezer paper, press that piece to the back of my fabric, trim 1/4 inch around, and them fold the edge over and tack-baste (gather outer curves and clip inside curves). The tips are folded down, then each side folded over and tiny tacking stitches hold my basting in place.
The red-bird took a little more planning...and some basting through all layers, including the freezer paper at the sides where the fabric was clipped to allow inside curves to happen.
The bill has a black piece stitched on top of the red...on top of a gold corner for the bird's bill.
The black was wrapped to the back at both ends and tacked down.
The birds and berries are stitched on; and tomorrow I hope to get all of these leaves attached.
The first couple of leaves are already stitched down. I start by going around one end, up one side, around the other end...then I stop and pull the paper out.
Then I press the now-empty leaf back down and continue to stitch all the way around. I need to repeat this about a dozen more times tomorrow....and this block will be complete.
It took about three days...but, I'm finished with the second block of the Merry Merry Snowmen quilt. The pattern is from Bunny Hill, and a photo of the entire pattern was blogged here last week.
I had a little trouble with the reindeer...got him backwards...and had to start him over. All is well now that the block is finished. Well, I see that I did forget the star button that goes on Santa Snowman's hat...but, that's an easy fix.
A lot of the pieces in this quilt are small...requiring me to baste through the fabric and freezer paper when preparing my pieces for stitching down. My first attempt with hand-applique was back in the 80's, when freezer paper was the "new way". Now, it's out of favor by a lot of folks...but, I seem to be more comfortable with that method of "piece preparation" when the items are small than any other.
Plus, I really enjoy the peace of preparing all of my applique pieces before I begin to stitch anything down. It helps me to envision the end result, and let's me change my mind about fabrics before going final. It also helps to make the actual stitching-down process go faster because I'm not "fiddling" as much with the pieces.
Sometimes, I use other preparation methods like starch or glue basting, baste and needle-turn, or stabilization...but freezer paper is my most often choice.
What type of preparation do you like to do before appliquing by hand?
Why is it...no matter how hard I seem to try...I'm always going to bed late!
Even poor Buddy has given up and just decided to crash on the window seat!
Well, I had best wake him up to go out...and get myself moving towards the bed at least...hope y'all have a restful night...and a wonderful sun filled day tomorrow!
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.
