A tricky trick for beautiful thread painting

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.

Published by Barbara Harms Fiber Art

About Myself & My Approach Art has always played a role in my life, in one form or another. by my teens I had narrowed my focus to painting. I decided I was going to become a serious painter. I joined the Las Vegas Artist's Guild at 15, the youngest member at that time. I was completely out of place, I tried to go unnoticed, a mute fly on the wall, with a big smile pasted on my face. I've continued to paint most of my life. After a move to Oregon years later, I was introduced to quilting and fell in love. I was introduced to quilting & fell in love. In time I missed the creative freedom painting made possible. Then I discovered mixed media fiber art, I was home. MY APPROACH TO ART It's the creative process that holds the greatest attraction for me. Starting with a tiny seed of an idea; vague and blurred around the edges, I follow where that leads. There are often many changes and adjustments along the way. The result can often be surprizing. My approach is an instinctual one. Generally, I do little pre-planning. I make creative decisions, choices, directions as they present themselves. This approach can lead to quite a few changes in the direction. I love that element of surprize! Sometimes I have one that I especially like, I can't wait to show someone. At that moment l 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. I’ve had some of my work published in several magazines. which is exciting. But the most gratifying thing is having clients be really happy with their purchased art quilt. Word press https://barbaraharmsfiberart.com Etsy shop-sales https://barbaraharms.com Contact: inquiry barbaraharmsfiberart@icloud.com.com Personal Links View more posts