I'm making some progress on all the flower blocks for String Me Along. I ran out of stitch and tear stabilizer, so I resorted to using blank newsprint from an old doodle pad. Works fine when appliqueing, just dulls the needle faster. I pinned up a few blocks on the design wall of the blocks I completed.
Each one seems to have its own personality....I love that. Sassy, silent, bold, and gentle. Anyway, this won't be the final layout, but it gives me an idea of the general look. I am really enjoying working on this one a lot.
Answer to a question I got about the applique. It is by machine using a zig-zag stitch for the leaves and flowers. I set the width of the stitch to about 1.6 and length to 1.3 --generally. In certain spots where the flowers are small, I will reduce the length to 1.2 or so and the length down to .9 or so. All this is technical and really just trial and error to see what works and look best to me. I am not using a true satin stitch setting because I didn't want the "ridge" from that close stitch. On a few of the leaves, I did use a decorative feather stitch. Veins on the leaves were done using either a tiny zig-zag or a stem stitch. Experiment with the decorative stitches on your machine to see what you like.
Thread-----lots of different ones. Some Isacord, Sulky, Mettler Polysheen, and YLI soft touch. It really just depends on what color I have that matched. Most of the thread I used on this applique does have a sheen to them, and I like how it looks.
I have a couple more blocks to finish up and then I get to re-arrange and layout the final design. Wow, this really went faster than I thought. And I still have 3 boxes of scrap strips in 2 " and 2 1/2".......and I think I am tired of them. So if anyone is interested in an envelope stuffed with my leftovers, send me an email with your address.
Happy stitching.
Each one seems to have its own personality....I love that. Sassy, silent, bold, and gentle. Anyway, this won't be the final layout, but it gives me an idea of the general look. I am really enjoying working on this one a lot.
Answer to a question I got about the applique. It is by machine using a zig-zag stitch for the leaves and flowers. I set the width of the stitch to about 1.6 and length to 1.3 --generally. In certain spots where the flowers are small, I will reduce the length to 1.2 or so and the length down to .9 or so. All this is technical and really just trial and error to see what works and look best to me. I am not using a true satin stitch setting because I didn't want the "ridge" from that close stitch. On a few of the leaves, I did use a decorative feather stitch. Veins on the leaves were done using either a tiny zig-zag or a stem stitch. Experiment with the decorative stitches on your machine to see what you like.
Thread-----lots of different ones. Some Isacord, Sulky, Mettler Polysheen, and YLI soft touch. It really just depends on what color I have that matched. Most of the thread I used on this applique does have a sheen to them, and I like how it looks.
I have a couple more blocks to finish up and then I get to re-arrange and layout the final design. Wow, this really went faster than I thought. And I still have 3 boxes of scrap strips in 2 " and 2 1/2".......and I think I am tired of them. So if anyone is interested in an envelope stuffed with my leftovers, send me an email with your address.
Happy stitching.
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