I promised that this week I’d share a new thread painting technique I recently learned. Well, I’m just under the wire on my promised timing, it still is “this week” even if it is Sunday.This little trick solves a common problem that can rear it’s ugly head if you are doing very heavy, thick coverage in one particular spot. Especially with lighter fabrics, as the silk I often use, it can be a BIG problem. Fabric tends to stretch out of shape in all manner of ways, none of which can be considered attractive. I switched to using a hoop, better, but still problems. Then I used fuzable web, better but.. inconsistent results. Finally I starting adding my layer of batting for stability. Now if you promise not to laugh, I’ll share an older dismal failure as an example of what can go wrong, that I saved as a reminder to myself to NEVER, NEVER make that mistake again.
Here you can see the fabric has stretched out, I stuffed the area with pillow stuffing, making a 3D doll head that popped out from the fabric Then I applied a patch to the hole I made on the back to stuff my”pillow” as shown below.
Now a good solution to the problem: Take your top fabric and put it face down after applying a layer of heavy fuzable web to the back. Then a layer of batting, then a layer of thick tear away stabilizer. Place pins to keep it all together.
Hoop the whole thing, do your thread painting and applique it on. It is stiff enough and stable enough to support fabric from stretching out. So that’s the little trick I learned, and I like it! Hope this helps you too.
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Published by Barbara Harms Fiber Art & More
About Myself & My Approach To My Art
About Myself & My Approach To My Art I can't remember a time in life, that art didn't play a role, in one form or another. But my primary focus as an artist, has been painting. Close to 20 years ago, I was introduced to quilting & quickly became passionate about it. However to create a quilt there are some necessary steps that have to be followed, this obviously restricts some of the creative choices. I began to miss the creative freedom possible with painting. Since there are only so many hours in a day and I had other important things going on in my life, I had to focus my interests. When I discovered mixed media art quilting, it was a great fit. The combination of quilting techniques with painting and other art skills opened new creative directions to explore. I was home!
It's the creative process that holds the greatest attraction for me. I love starting with a tiny seed of an idea; vague and blurred around the edges. Then I follow where it leads. My approach is more of an instinctual one. I usually don't do much pre-planning. My creative choices are made as they present themselves, based on my gut feeling. This approach can lead to quite a few changes in the direction the quilt takes. The outcome can come as a surprise. I love that element of surprise!
Sometimes everything just comes together & I think that this is one of my better ones. I can’t wait to show someone. I feel like a six year old, running home from school, a drawing in hand, excited to show Mom. At those times. I'm smiling like the Cheshire cat.
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I am continually amazed at all your dexterity and self-created solutions for your fabric art and thread painting. Great guns!
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