I hope to capture the power, beauty and fragility of nature in knotted embroidery threads. The work explores the sculptural possibilities of a unique embroidery technique that utilizes a domestic sewing machine and a base fabric that dissolves in water. By repeatedly stitching threads into dense structures I create intricate and complex openwork compositions that mimic natural forms and structures.
DIY sewing machine table makeover project. Repurposing a sewing machine table is ideal for small spaces. DIY design with paint & wood stain.
Unlock Your Creative Potential! Be your own expert at thread sketching, thread painting and artful appliqué. Use these tutorials to learn how to get started in creative free motion stitching and art quilting, and take your work to a new level. Begin an exhilarating journey into the world of thread sketching and thread painting –
Unlock Your Creative Potential! Be your own expert at thread sketching, thread painting and artful appliqué. Use these tutorials to learn how to get started in creative free motion stitching and art quilting, and take your work to a new level. Begin an exhilarating journey into the world of thread sketching and thread painting –
Follow these easy instructions to make zippered pillow covers for your sofa or bed. They're easy to remove for cleaning or seasonal decorating.
Get started doing free motion stitching with a domestic sewing machine in this comprehensive video tutorial that guides you through some easy exercises.
TheDIYDreamer.com - Shares a Sewing 101 Guide for beginners. Packed full of resources on sewing basics from threading a machine to buying beautiful fabric.
When I first got my sewing machine, I new this is what I really wanted to have a go at... thread sketching or free motion sewing. It is when you sew without the machine 'feeding' the fabric through. Having free motion to draw with the thread on your fabric. I've been asked numerous times for advice on this subject but have found it very hard to explain having never done a tutorial before, but also because everyone's machines are different. free motion foot for a Brother * So, you will need a darning/free motion foot for your particular machine. Follow your instruction book on how to fit it securely. * You will also need a strong needle. * Drop/disengage the feed dogs on your machine. Usually there is a switch or lever at the back or inside. (again, follow the instructions in your manual) If there is no way to drop the feed dogs, some machines have a plastic or metal plate that comes with it to cover the feed dogs. * You don't really need to adjust the stitch length, as the speed which you move the fabric, combined with the speed you sew determines the size of the stitches. Saying that though, some machines stitch length needs to be set to 0. You will need to experiment with this. (see what I mean about it being hard to explain with us all having diff machines!) * The needle thread tension needs to be set at about 2. But again, see if this suits your machine. * Use the same colour thread for both needle and bobbin in case there are slight irregularities in tension or you'll get spotty looking lines of thread. * Move your bobbin thread through to the top before starting. Pfaff free motion foot * Then hold the top thread to the side while you sew a few stitches in one place to prevent from undoing. * Stop and put the needle into the fabric again. Then with your hands flat, lightly holding the fabric taught. Start sewing and gently guide the fabric up/down left/right. You will probably want to sew slowly at first, BUT (and this is my main piece of advice) Put your foot down at a relatively steady/almost fast pace while moving the fabric slowly. This will give you a good stitch length. If you feel you are going awry or need to readjust your grip/decide which direction you are going in next - just stop, put your needle down, lift your presser foot and see where you are at! Flower Brooch * Fast hands + slow needle = long uneven stitches * Slow hands + relatively fast needle = stitches that are just right. You will need to practice getting the right balance between how hard you put your foot down and how slowly you move the fabric. Custom made brooch * Depending on the fabric you are sewing, you may need to stabilize it with some iron on interfacing before sewing. * What ever pattern you are sewing, make sure you keep the fabric at the same angle all the time - do not twist or turn it, as this will break the needle. If you want the fabric to face another direction, put the needle down lift the presser foot and turn the fabric. Free motion and fabric paint * Using an airasable (air erasable) pen is really helpful, so that you can draw out your word or pattern straight onto the fabric. Sew over it, and then either use a clean paint brush to wipe water over it - for the markings to instantly disappear or some brands of this pen will disappear over the next day if you leave them, depending on which one you get. Just make sure you don't iron over any pen markings, as they will become permanent! Free motion and green fabric paint I hope this is helpful for you. If I've left anything out, let me know. Just have a go, practice loads and have fun with it!x
Introduction to Thread Painting
Explore Rebekah Leigh's 169 photos on Flickr!
Received a vintage Singer sewing machine as a birthday gift from a contractor who was preparing to remodel a client's basement. It had been sitting for years a…
Recently I've done a little free motion machine embroidery, or thread sketching. From some of the comments I received it's clear that this...
This complete guide and video tutorial to setting up your machine for free motion stitching explains every step of how to set up your machine for thread sketching, thread painting, free motion quilting and freestyle embroidery.
Have you ever wondered how quilters and sewists get perfect seams? It's no secret, they use a Walking Foot. Improve your sewing with a Walking Foot
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Hello everyone! I’m back today and sharing a little bit about Free Motion Applique. I’ve done some lately for a recent tour which you can read about over on my blog here, and Kennis asked me to share about FMA as it was a new-to-her skill. Just to make things fun, I’m sharing a free […]
A great how to for beginning sewers who want to learn how to applique using their sewing machine! Check out the step by step instructions. Pictures included!
How To Update A Sewing Table | My Vintage Singer Cabinet Gets a Makeover! | Salvaged Inspirations
How to do a ladder stitch (also know as an invisible stitch or hidden stitch) step by step video tutorial. This tutorial is perfect for beginners!
Free applique patterns for you to print off including letters, numbers, stars, hearts, elephants, birds and more. Page includes instructions for how to applique baby clothes for an easy homemade baby gift idea.
During my previous QUILTsocial post, Perfect Pairings-needles and threads work together for successful quilting I described how to choose the best SCHMETZ needles to work with a variety of Sulky and Gütermann threads. This week I’ll show you in 5 easy steps how to use these new skills to make…
Stay connected to family and friends by sharing the LittleThings that spark joy.
The BERNINA Stitch Regulator (BSR) makes it easy to sew regular and consistent free-motion stitching with little or no experience. … More
Free motion embroidery is one of those sewing techniques that, once you give it a go, will become a source of great inspiration (and just maybe a little bit addictive). Master the basics and …
...well, that's what I call it. This was the BiG project I worked on for about 3 months to give as Christmas gifts. I went through lots of trial an error. I had experimented a bit last year. I immediately was interested because it combined 3 things I really enjoy doing: computers, photography and sewing. First my final results and then what I did to get there. I pulled up the picture using the free program GIMP 2.6 and used these steps to create a line drawing: 1. Open picture in GIMP 2. Crop picture if need 3. Color, desaturate, average, ok (gets rid of colors) 4. Filters, edge-detect, difference of gaussians (might want to tweak smoothing parameters) I printed the drawing on cloth by ironing freezer paper to the back of the cloth and trimming the cloth very close to the edge of the paper. The cloth has some trouble fraying and stray threads would clog my printer. So I started putting a stitching very close to the edge of the paper/cloth and that helped but didn't always work. Had to be patient with this process. After printing, in some cases I had to add some more detail with my pencil, especially if I couldn't see it well. I kept the computer close by so I could refer to the drawing. I lowered the feed dogs, used the free motion foot & didn't change other settings. Please note, this can be done on ANY (which is just about all) machine that will let you drop or cover the the feed dogs because you do the work, not the machine. Ellisimo can do a lot of fancy things, but it can't do this by itself. (Authors note: 2-8-2012- Some have thought you have to have an embroidery machine to do this. You do NOT. That means, this can be done with a regular sewing machine, with feed dogs dropped or covered & using no foot on your machine. Just remember to drop the foot to stitch.) I didn't sew continuous lines. The thread cutter on my machine was a tremendous help. It pulled the top thread to the back so I didn't have to deal with thread ends on the front of the "canvas." Lowered the pressure foot, held the sides of the canvas to move the canvas and started free motion stitching over the lines. The tricky part with this art..there is no way to shade lighter. You can add more lines of thread to make darker. I'm sure some practice can help this problem. My first results: Things I learned: I thought the first picture needed more lines. Second picture is ok, it is one way to show shadows. The last picture I tried to show teeth and just wasn't successful at all. I also decided to use less lines for facial features. So I looked for more pictures, especially those without "teeth" smiles. I also decided to make the drawings using continuous lines, rather than choppy short lines. This post was feature on Craft Gossip! & Totally Tutorials. This post was featured @ I can sometimes be found at one of these parties:
How to attach a free motion (aka darning) foot and draw with your sewing machine. Learn the different types of darning feet and how to get different effects.
Learn how to shorten jeans in 5 different ways using a sewing machine, hand sewing, or without sewing. Includes keeping the original hem.
Here are some of the most important lessons I picked up in my first year of sewing. This isn't an exhaustive list, but these are some of the things that I struggled with or that confused me at first. These tips and tricks should help a beginner who is just learning to sew.
One of the basic elements of sewing is the stitch. Basic stitches are necessary for joining pieces of fabric together and finishing off seams, but sometimes you want your stitches to be visible and pretty. These Tips on Decorative Stitches are words of advice on experimenting with decorative stitches. Sewing machines come with multiple stitch options, but it is not often that we select the less function, more design-y one. Get comfortable with decorative stitches and add another element of originality to your sewing projects with these tips.
It has been a weird week. I am running up against the deadline for finishing the "Elements" pieces and I essentially lost two days this week. Monday morning I woke up with a stiff neck and by bedtime I was in a serious amount of pain. Did not sleep and by morning I was in such pain and fear of what might be causing it that I went straight to the Urgent Care Clinic near us. It was a strained trapezius muscle in my neck, making my neck impossible to move without screaming, hot pain and sending tentacles of pain winding up around my skull. The recommendation was rest and drugs and sleep and a soft cervical collar to support the weight of my head. So I lounged around all day on Tuesday reading and sleeping, felt a little better on Wednesday and much better today. So I was back in the studio this afternoon. "Water" should have been easy (that's why I left it for last), but I had a hard time settling on an idea. Close to my heart is the wetland area where we walk, so that began to take shape in my head. I started with an assortment of blue, gray and tan fabrics and fused some strips to form a base. At the end of today I had this: I think I am nearly there. A few additions, then I will trim it to size and bind it. Speaking of the wetland area, we had a surprise when we walked last week. Sofia was with us, and as we came around the corner near the Fanno Farmhouse, Beth and I were talking away and Sofia piped in "look at the turtle!" There, studiously digging in the dirt at the side of the trail, was a large turtle. I took its picture with my phone. That evening on the local news was a story of another turtle that was captured in a backyard several miles away. They are snapping turtles that have invaded the wetlands and creek. They are not native to the area and are thought to have been pets, originally, that were released into the creek and have bred there for years. This is the season when they come onto land to dig holes and lay eggs. They are quite destructive, eating the native fish, frogs, even baby ducks and can take a finger off if you are dumb enough to offer it to one. We found this one pretty interesting and were happy to have encountered it until we learned later what pests they are. If we see another we are advised to call the Parks department or Fish and Wildlife, who will come and take it away. Wish I had known. Now I am on the lookout when we walk.
So you’ve bought your first sewing machine. Congratulations! Now, what do you do first? We have a few practical suggestions for beginner sewists. These are the most important things you need to know before you start sewing.
Welcome to our Pillow Fight! A friendly little competition for making fun projects inspired by our new “Pillow Talk” book. I am Edyta Sitar and I am looking forward to having some fun with this challenge! “Dot Dot Dot” is the pillow that I am going to use as the inspiration for my projects. To start I choose some light squares for my backgrounds, then mixed and matched all of my favorites – traditional and modern, batiks and woven. I was on a roll to use as many scraps as I could and my circle
Serging and overlock stitches look complex, but they are super easy to remove. Easy to follow video guide to unlock the secret. Don't just pull!
