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Owners of sewing machines with an embroidery unit and the relevant computer program will probably know that there are lots of web sites that offer the option to download designs. Sometimes they are free, sometimes there is a small charge. The World of Embroidery has made an arrangement with Intarsia Arts (http://www.embroideryarts.com), who specialise in monograms and lettering, to offer a free letter and background to our readers. Note that this is available from The World of Embroidery's web site only. Just visit the download page and follow the instructions to download the letter and a background. Now we can explore some of the creative aspects that these very special sewing machines can offer.
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First of all, just stitch out the letter, an 'A', to see the size, shape and texture. To begin with, it stitches a rather plain surface in a fill stitch. However, the second colour jazzes this up by overstitching with straight, single stitches to give a bark-like effect. The third colour provides a neat, satin stitch border.
It is a real lesson in colour theory to experiment with different colours for the fill and the overstitching. Try a basic, plain colour for the initial fill stitch - stitch two of the 'A' designs and use different colours over the top on each. A fine thread may not show up so well in the overstitching but could be stitched twice; just repeat the same colour. Variegated threads usually have to be used with caution as they become very stripy when solid areas are filled. However, the overstitching cancels out this negative and gives a good finish with the changing colours overlaid by the top colour.
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If your software allows it, try changing the size of the letter. Not many of the programs re-digitise the image, so smaller shapes may become too 'chunky' or large shapes too thinly stitched. If successful, a border of smaller shapes could be made to surround a central block composed of the letter flipped horizontally and vertically. Stitched on silk-painted fabric with wadding and a layer of cotton underneath to give a quilted effect and with free machining worked around the central shapes, this could be made into a cushion. Further motifs could be stitched on painted felt, cut out close to the stitching and used as decorative tabs around the edge. This gives the computerised version of prairie points.
Stitching motifs on felt or heavy sew-in Vilene is a good way of using the motifs produced by embroidery machines. It is the same principle as the age-old practice of applying pre-worked pieces as slips and has advantages in that the pieces can be moved to find the best arrangement for the design and that a mistake does not ruin work. Don't forget to consider the shapes which the slips make on the background fabric. These negative shapes are as important as the positive ones in obtaining a good strong design. Some motifs were stitched using a space-dyed thread intended for hand stitching. Winding it onto an empty thread reel was a laborious process and brought back childhood memories of holding skeins of grandmother's wool. I also wound a thicker, rayon thread onto a bobbin and stitched the motif upside down. This gave an interesting ridged effect, not unlike slanted strokes of a coloured pencil. I liked this and did not overstitch. These experiments gave good results and they were used on a backing of painted silk sprayed with gold webbing (The World of Embroidery Product Review, July 1999) which had previously been stitched randomly with just the overstitched part of the 'A' designs. (With most machines, it is possible to move through the colours so that just one area can be stitched.)
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Working the motifs on dissolvable fabric and then applying them to a background gave me an idea for a book cover. Stitched in metal thread on the Romeo weight of Aquafilm (dissolvable fabric), the motifs gave the stitched velvet background a look of metal thread embroidery. This could be exploited by hand stitching some metallic thread into the design. The motifs were fine on the dissolvable fabric and the overstitched element eliminated the need to stitch a grid (stitching on dissolvable fabric requires that each stitch 'locks on' to another). They were pinned to foam before water was run over them to dissolve. When dry, they were hand stitched to the backing fabric - the downloaded background square. Experimenting further, I found that eliminating the fill stitch and just using the second and third colours gave a lacier look. This required working lightly over the shapes with machine embroidery to lock them before dissolving. A background of torn fabric and automatic patterns was used for this piece.
A further development of the slip theme is to burn the motifs away from the backing with a soldering iron. Do use a mask, safer still a respirator, for this work. The motifs can be stitched together after burning and will be firm enough to form a small vessel. Using cheap poly-cotton as a base (it seems to burn well and leaves interesting tufts of fabric), stitch the motif in various sizes with some of them flipped horizontally. About twelve will be needed for a small vessel with a base. When stitched, paint just around the edge of the shapes with silk or fabric paint, then burn around each shape, taking great care with fingers. It is easier to use a frame to keep the fabric taut while burning. The motifs can then be joined to build up a shape. The process is a little like making a jig-saw puzzle. Save two or three motifs to form a base and stitch with the seam on the right side. A certain amount of manipulation is necessary and it is easiest to do this by hand.
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These are just a few ideas to get started. These sewing and embroidery machines are wonderful, especially for those of us who do not have much time, but they need to be used with care or they can produce very flat, unexciting motifs. Consider other options such as changing the tension and then using the bobbin side (almost always more interesting than the top), working slips or using interesting backgrounds, etc. I'm sure that you will find many more and have lots of fun.
Suppliers
Space-dyed Threads, Jennifer Gail
Threads, tel. (01202) 735251.
Aquafilm, Craft Mistress, tel. (01623) 863366.
The following machines were used in the preparation of this article: Bernina Artista 180E, Brother Super Galaxie 2100, Husqvarna/Viking Designer 1, Janome Memory Craft 9000, Pfaff Creative 7570.
This article is from The World of Embroidery, Volume 50 No.6, © Maggie Grey.
highlights from November 1999 issue