• Embroidery Floss Guidelines

    A student who has enrolled in my Embroidered Folk Art Ornament class at Ocean Waves Quilt Camp in October contacted me with some questions about embroidery threads. Sometimes, when we work in a medium we love and have been using for a long time, we tend to forget that a novice does not yet have the depth of knowledge we have for the materials and it can be difficult to put all the possible details into a supply list without having it turn into ‘The Great American Novel’. I was able to answer her questions in greater depth in my reply and then it occurred to me that perhaps this might be useful information for others as well so  I am going to cover this in today’s post.

    For these folk art ornaments (see photos below), I use wool felt or Melton weight wool and a variety of brands and types of floss. My favorite is six strand cotton embroidery floss because you can use it full strength (all six strands) which gives a rustic appearance but fills up the area quickly, or you can divide it into two or three strands which creates a finer more detailed embroidery – but take at least twice as long to embroider.

    As for brands, DMC  is probably one of the most readily available and affordable and they seem to have the second largest range of colors with over 450 colors, plus they have a great variety of other types of fibers – Rayon, metallic, and some standard variegated and unusual variegated threads (the line they call ‘Highlights’). Their colors are vibrant with many subtle variations to create shading. Another of my favorites is Cosmo which is made by Lecien Corp. (who also makes the most scrumptious Taupe fabrics). They have a broad range of colors and shades of each color though not as many as DMC, however their colors have a depth to the dye that is ‘richer’ than DMC plus their basic variegated floss is more complex than DMC’s ‘basic’  (other than the Highlights line). The Cosmo floss also has a softer hand and it works up beautifully. It is expensive though – especially the variegated colors. I also LOVE the floss made by Valdani, their  variegated colors rise far above the competitors. Valdani specializes in hand-dyed floss that comes as six strand, three strand (I think they are the only company that makes this sub-divided version) and they make silk embroidery floss as well as cotton. They also make a wide range of Pearl Cotton. They are not cheap but well worth the expense. Other brands out there that I have not used that much – mainly because of access –  are Finca (made by Presencia but I could not find a website for the manufacturer) and Anchor (made by Coats & Clarks but again I couldn’t find a product specific website for them). Anchor seems to have  the largest range of colors though I don’t think their colors are quite as ‘lush’ as the other manufacturers. I also don’t see them in shops as much as the others.

    In addition to the six strand cotton floss, I also use spun embroidery thread such as Pearl Cotton and Floche, along with rayon floss and metallic embroidery thread.  These last two are rather temperamental and need to be stitched with care so I tend to use them for accents rather than in large amounts. One of the hassles with rayon thread is how springy it is; it’s hard to work with and get neat stitches but it also is squirrelly  when you take it out of a skein. A friend who teaches Brazilian Embroidery told me the way to get it to lie flat and behave is to iron it carefully on the rayon setting while pulling the floss gently under the iron, and then to store it in a channel type floss keeper.

    Other materials I add are beads and sequins. Of late, I have been very disappointed with the selection of sequins found at the big fabric and craft stores. A search online turned up a marvelous site – Cartright’s Sequins. They have an unbelievable selection of shapes, colors, sizes and types and at prices competitive with the chain stores. They also ship in flat rate packaging so if you order a lot, the shipping is even a better deal because you can stuff an awful lot of sequins into a flat rate envelope. These ornaments are not going to be subject to a lot of wear and tear so polyester quilting thread does a fine job of stitching the embellishments in place but you can also use Nymo or Silamide thread if you want extra durability.

    Add  a ‘dangle’ if desired, stuff with fiberfill and the ornament is done. I like to add jingle bells to some and tassels to others. A note about tassels – they are fairly easy to make and I save the short ends of floss that are about 3″ after tying off the stitching and then use them to make small scale tassels. Not much is wasted when I make these little treasures.

    In addition to Ocean Waves Quilt Camp, I will be teaching these at Pioneer Quilts on Sunday November 15th and possibly at A Common Thread (though that class has not been scheduled yet). Call the stores for more details or to enroll.

    Fan style peacock
    Fan style peacock
    Flapping Bird
    Flapping Bird
    Sitting Cat
    Sitting Cat
    Two Sitting Cats (wool)
    Two Sitting Cats (wool)
    Flying Elephant
    Flying Elephant
    Hawk
    Hawk
    Parrot 1
    Parrot 1
    Circle Peacock
    Circle Peacock
    Owl
    Owl
    Parrot 2
    Parrot 2
    Sitting Cat 2
    Sitting Cat 2
    Reclining Cat
    Reclining Cat

  • Things With Wings

    These winged flights of fancy will capture your imagination and unlock a creative streak that you might not even know you have . One approach is more exact where you can cut fabrics using templates and in some cases create rather realistic Butterflies (below left). A more improvisational style which I enjoy more, involves simply finding interesting forms in fabric prints, simply fussy-cutting them out and then composing Butterflies springing from imagination (below right). This method is liberating and very satisfying.

    I will be offering this class at NW Quilting Expo on Friday, September 25, 2015 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. In the class, students will create the fused butterflies on a Teflon pressing sheet  which can later be transferred and fused into a panel composition of their choice or used to embellish a garment or accessory. A pattern for the Japanese style scroll shown in the class catalog is included in the class handout. The kit includes a variety of  interesting fabrics to make the butterflies and the  fusible web.

    This quilt is formatted in the style of traditional Japanese Art scrolls.
    This quilt is formatted in the style of traditional Japanese Art scrolls.
    This is a more realistic approach to the collage.
    This is a more realistic approach to the collage.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    And speaking of things with wings, I have a Thread Painting class coming up on September 11 at Pioneer Quilts (whose website is finally up and running – Hooray!). There is a choice between two patterns for that class. One is a Butterfly (below left) and is eminently suitable for a novice quilter who would like to try their hand at Thread Painting while the other – a  songbird  (below right) – requires a more ‘painterly’ approach and is better suited for those who have some level of confidence with free motion stitching. Contact Pioneer Quilts to register.

    This little fellow requires some degree of color shading and is best tackled by someone that has a sense of confidence with free-motion sewing.
    This little fellow requires some degree of color shading and is best tackled by someone that has a sense of confidence with free-motion sewing.
    These lovely ladies are not difficult to make, then process is sort of like coloring  in a coloring book but using thread instead of crayons
    These lovely ladies are not difficult to make, then process is sort of like coloring in a coloring book but using thread instead of crayons

  • Another Class at NW Quilting Expo

    Another day – another class to promote. Today, I will promote my 3-D leaves.

    These leaves are fun to create and make wonderful ’embellishments’ for quilts and garments . With a good batik as a starting point, they look surprisingly real. Adding to the realism is the design source, I use real leaves as the patterns for these leaves.

    In the class, we will explore the basic process  of stitching, cutting and shaping the leaves.

    You can find the class registration on the website for NW Quilting Expo along with more information on cost, supply list etc.

    Lovely ruffled Ginko leaves grace a nature quilt
    Lovely ruffled Ginko leaves grace a nature quilt
    Autumn comes and the oaks shed their leaves
    Autumn comes and the oaks shed their leaves
    Flaming maple leaves drift on the wind and carpet the forest floor
    Flaming maple leaves drift on the wind and carpet the forest floor