Creative Machine Embroidery Fall 2019

Dear Readers, Okay, confession time: Halloween is my favorite holiday. It has nothing to do with candy and everything to do with the aesthetic — I love to get my goth on for a month or so every year. I especially enjoy the range of spooky and spooky-cute décor. I’m a sewist with a theater background, and Halloween is my best opportunity to dress up in public without looking really weird. In our Fall issue, we have lots of cute embroidered décor to get your house ready for October 31. There are glowing eyes to slip into mason jars and set up where they’ll keep a spooky watch on visitors (page 44) and a fun bat friend attached to a keychain and pompom to keep you company all month long…

GLOW ON THE GO If you don’t have glow-in-the-dark thread on hand, coat freestanding lace pieces with glow-in-the-dark paint. The paint acts as a stiffener and creates sturdy, glowing ornaments, just in time for Halloween festivities. Terri M., Facebook TESTING, TESTING My machine created loose threads on the stabilizer wrong side during embroidery. The tension was balanced, the needle was new and the machine was threaded correctly. I eventually discovered that the fabric wasn’t hooped tight enough and the stabilizer was too lightweight for the fabric. Always test stitch! Claudia, email TULLE TIME Use matching tulle as a topper when embroidering towels. It allows you to view the design as it stitches out and it tears away easily. Irene, Facebook Visit cmemag.com for more techniques and tricks to inspire…

1. Get into the Halloween spirit with the Creepy Cute FSL Charm Collection. Each of these freestanding lace charms is perfectly spooky while also being perfectly adorable. Use them to make seasonal jewelry, home décor or even to adorn your favorite garment. The collection includes eight unique spooky motifs. ($11.99/collection,interweave.com/sewing) 2. Dress up the little girl in your life for jumping with the Oliver + S Double Dutch Jacket and Shirt Pattern. This reversible, color-blocked jacket with dropped shoulder and on-seam buttonhole can be sewn either with or without sleeves for any season. Pair the jacket with the accompanying flared-hem knit skirt for a great outfit. Both the jacket and skirt have plenty of great placement options for adding embroidery designs to delight the wearer’s heart. ($16.95, oliverands.com) 3. Stitch…

Test stitching the design ensures that the design stitches properly with the machine settings and chosen fabric. Professional digitizers and embroidery companies take great care to digitize the design so it stitches in a logical order, there are fewer jump threads to trim and that the stitch density is compatible with most fabrics. After test stitching, if the design doesn’t meet your expectations, it may need editing in an embroidery software program. If the design stitches perfectly, keep the digitizer in mind for purchasing designs in the future. Even if the design is perfect, its weight or thread density may overwhelm a lightweight fabric. To remedy this, either use embroidery software to remove stitches or choose a different design or fabric. Test stitching also helps determine if machine adjustments are…

Your embroidery library may contain lace collections acquired over several years. Often once used, these lace designs can become relegated to your unused files. If this is true for you, it might be time to explore adding lace to your quilts. Use lace on quilt blocks to create a romantic effect (as shown at right), use large inserts as appliqué fabric for crazy quilts or deconstruct a lace snow village to create a themed quilt. Freestanding lace looks intimidating, but there’s nothing mysterious about the process. If FSL is new to you, read on for tips for creating freestanding lace successfully. • Use 60-wt. thread on bobbin in a color that matches the embroidery thread in the needle. • Use water-soluble mesh stabilizer. Water-soluble mesh will prevent perforation caused by…

HISTORY Sashiko designs are a very old form of Japanese hand sewing created with a simple running stitch design in interlocking patterns through one or more layer of fabric. The technique was used to quilt several layers of fabric together for warmth and durability or to strengthen single fabric layers. A distinctive element of Sashiko designs is the use of negative or blank space with an allover pattern. It’s the high contrast between fabric and thread color that showcases the simplistic nature of the designs. APPLICATIONS Today, Sashiko is used in many ways, including decorative mending and intricate machine embroidery designs. Sashiko machine embroidery designs often call for thicker thread or use traditional embroidery thread and repeat stitches three or more times to create distinct, heavier lines of stitching. When…