More sewing stuff!
Mar. 22nd, 2015 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amethyst73I did some messing around with the fabric I'll be using for the Artemis pillow yesterday. It's fuzzy on both sides; the longer fuzz is presumably the front.
Front side
Most of this is done with the "applique/fancy stitch" stitch (except the numbers, which are a goofy and largely useless bonus on my machine). The big blue thing is an ironed-on applique scrap. I bound the piece with masking tape because hoo boy, the loose fuzzies all over the friggin' place from the raw edges. I think I'm going to have to move the sewing machine into the bedroom when I finally put it together.
The first things I did were the short pieces of stitching by the lower corner. They were done without a topper, and unsurprisingly they disappear completely into the fuzz. Everything else was done with a layer of Super Solvy between the thread and the fabric. (The numbers still have it underneath, which is why you can see them at all.)
The next thing was the long run by the left side. Stitch widths vary from 2mm to 6 mm, and stitch lengths are 0.4 mm (less bunched and solid) and 0.2mm (more bunched and solid). As the widths get narrower and narrower, they tend to get lost in the long fuzz. The longer widths do okay, but about halfway up the lower edge you can see some short tests I did of 3 and 4 mm widths with 0.2mm length. They get kind of lost pretty fast. Also, this was done with regular black sewing thread. Everything else is done with black embroidery thread.
(Question to those in the know: When I'm doing regular old satin stitching using embroidery thread on the top, should I use embroidery bobbin thread on the back or regular sewing thread? I'm using regular thread on the back here and it seems to work okay.)
I then did the satin stitching along the edges of the applique, to test different widths. Right edge: 4mm. Top edge: 3mm. Left edge: 2mm, which is the only one that looks kind of bad, probably because the width is getting so narrow compared to the length (these are all 0.2mm long). Bottom short edge: 2.5mm, just to see. I may use a variety of widths, depending on the size of the applique piece in question - most of the pieces are pretty large, but a couple (like the nose and the eye reflections) are pretty small.
The first things I did were the short pieces of stitching by the lower corner. They were done without a topper, and unsurprisingly they disappear completely into the fuzz. Everything else was done with a layer of Super Solvy between the thread and the fabric. (The numbers still have it underneath, which is why you can see them at all.)
The next thing was the long run by the left side. Stitch widths vary from 2mm to 6 mm, and stitch lengths are 0.4 mm (less bunched and solid) and 0.2mm (more bunched and solid). As the widths get narrower and narrower, they tend to get lost in the long fuzz. The longer widths do okay, but about halfway up the lower edge you can see some short tests I did of 3 and 4 mm widths with 0.2mm length. They get kind of lost pretty fast. Also, this was done with regular black sewing thread. Everything else is done with black embroidery thread.
(Question to those in the know: When I'm doing regular old satin stitching using embroidery thread on the top, should I use embroidery bobbin thread on the back or regular sewing thread? I'm using regular thread on the back here and it seems to work okay.)
I then did the satin stitching along the edges of the applique, to test different widths. Right edge: 4mm. Top edge: 3mm. Left edge: 2mm, which is the only one that looks kind of bad, probably because the width is getting so narrow compared to the length (these are all 0.2mm long). Bottom short edge: 2.5mm, just to see. I may use a variety of widths, depending on the size of the applique piece in question - most of the pieces are pretty large, but a couple (like the nose and the eye reflections) are pretty small.
Back side
Once I saw how badly the short 3mm and 4mm stitchings disappeared into the long fuzz, I did a short test of each up by the top corner on the back side, which has rather shorter fuzz. They show up a lot better than they do on the front. Thing is, the scale of the whole thing is big enough that I'm probably going to want 5mm or 6mm for the stitch-only details (eyebrows, whiskers), so I'm not sure that details getting lost in the fuzz is actually going to be an issues. Thoughts appreciated!
The pieces are coming together! I've cut out almost all my applique pieces (the nose is so small I figure that if I try to cut it out beforehand it'll probably get lost, so I'll cut it when I'm ready), and here they are, almost in context. Everything is going to come closer together at the center, but you get the idea. It's going to be totes adorbs. :)
(Also, who'd have thunk of me making fan art??!?)
