For months I’ve wanted to create a little project that combines my two favorite crafts: hand embroidery and boutis quilting… and ta-da – here it is! This will eventually be a top – so you can see where I drew in the neckline.
I did a backstitch on the lettering….
and french knots in the center of the flowers.
I absolutely LOVE how this looks and can’t wait to try the same concept on a more complicated piece.
One of my favorite embroidery activities is making a sampler. I use samplers to try a new stitch, or to see how certain colors work on a specific background or just because I want to “doodle” without committing to a large project.
There is no right or wrong way to make a sampler, but my favorite way is to divide a piece of fabric into a series of squares and then fill in each square with a doodle or sample. Filling the square gives me a good feel for the stitch or idea, and sometimes I end up with a little design that can be incorporate into a craft or sample book. Here is one sampler that turned out nice:
One of the ideas I wanted to test was my ability to stitch “freehand” writing. No pattern, no predefined font – just my writing on the cloth. The cloth I used was a scrap of linen from a previous project so the weave was large and loose:
I think it turned out perfect, and I plan to use this in a larger project.
How do you test your ideas? Do you have a preferred layout for samplers or do you just stitch wherever their is space? Do you have a sampler book where you keep all your samples?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
A few months ago I tried using acrylic paint on an embroidered piece – and I think it looks horrible!
The piece was created on a red linen fabric, using wool tapestry yarn and embroidery thread for the french knots.
The design is adorable, and I like how the tapestry yarn gives the design some texture and weight vs. the embroidery thread which is smoother and shinier:
However, on my piece, the acrylic paint just didn’t work. I don’t know if I didn’t use enough paint, or if it doesn’t work well on a dark colored fabric or what – but it just didn’t work. Here is a close-up of the area where I applied paint:
I also don’t like the way the piece feels with the acrylic paint. The bird’s head feels “plasticky.” I plan to stitch over the paint with more wool tapestry yarn and see if it fixes the problem. If not – then I will chalk this up to learning and start again!
When I was scouring the internet to find examples and tutorials for Boutis, I read articles supporting both sides of the “to hoop or not hoop” debate: some said you should use a hoop when stitching the Boutis design, others said you should not since it made it harder to make the multi-stab stitches. So, I did my own experiment, and my conclusion is: Yes – I will hoop.
Here how I created a prototype top, and the results of my experiment.
Here is a close-up of the left side:
…and a close-up of the right:
Despite the difference in lighting, the right side (stitched with the hoop) is DEFINITELY smoother and tighter.For my next prototype, I am going to increase the complexity of the design and measure the fabric before vs after adding the Boutis design to get an idea of how much fabric is lost during the embellishment stage.
I ran across Boutis when searching on Pinterest for embroidery ideas, and immediately fell in love! Boutis is a delicate needle art that is generally used to create baby items, small quilts, accessories like lamp shades and coin purses, and occasionally women’s clothing. The designs are intricate and the most common color is white on white – meaning white fabric (often batiste), with white thread and white stuffing.
Of course, having seen it I then wanted to learn how to make it – which means diving into the deep end of the pool and thrashing around for a while until I get the basic gist.
Here is a picture of my first – unfinished- attempt. I copied this pattern from Trish Burr, author of the Seams French blog.
Here is a picture of the same piece with sunlight behind it so you can better see where the cotton has been inserted into the stitched piece.
Here are the steps I took and what I learned during this experiment:
1.Create the Design: I copied the design from Trish Burr, author of the Seams French blog. I took a screen capture of her art, made some modifications to accommodate my skill level and then printed it on standard copy paper.
What I learned: do something smaller! I loved the complexity of the project (lots of shapes, turns and overlaps), but I spent too long on every step because the piece was very large. Next time I’ll find a smaller but equally complex design.
2.Transfer the Design to the Fabric: I don’t have a picture of this step, but I taped the copy paper to our glass patio doors, then taped a square piece of Batiste fabric on top. I used an embroidery transfer pen to trace the design onto my fabric.
What I learned: some needle artists swear that the blue disappearing ink is a bad idea. They claim it never totally disappears and may re-appear after a year or two. I haven’t washed this item so I can’t attest to the accuracy of this claim, but I trust the experts. Next time, I am using dressmakers chalk.
3.Stitch the Design: this part took forever! I layered two pieces of Batiste fabric together and then hand stitched over every line using Coats cotton covered bold hand quilting thread and a very fine needle. I’ve seen Boutis created with back stitches and straight stitches. I used straight stitches. In either case, the goal is to make the stitches small and even. As you can see in this photo, my stitches are relatively good:
What I learned: I suck at making quilter’s knots! I eventually stopped trying to pop the knots between the layers of the fabric and decided the back would be “knotty.” I am going to do more research and practice until I conquer this task.
4.Insert the Cotton: I actually break stage this into 2 separate steps:
What I learned: Insert from the back! No matter how I tried, I sometimes have channels where the yarn didn’t draw completely under the fabric (see areas circled in white). The solution is to use the tip of the needle to push the yarn further into the channel. The better strategy is to insert the yarn thru the back of the fabric – not the front – so the holes and bubble of yarn are a minor annoyance, not a deal breaker. The holes usually disappear when you wash the fabric (assuming you used a dull point needle and didn’t break the weave), but why take the risk?
5. Finish the Project: I don’t plan on finishing this project since some of my mistakes are deal breakers but this is when I would wash and block the artwork. I plan to learn this during my next project.
Now that I have “experienced” some of the basics, I plan to practice popping knots and sketch out a novice project. So much to learn!
A Slower Season 