Tuesday 7 March 2017

Chapter 4, Task 3 Crafty Couching

Task 3, Crafty Couching

Sample 1
Started off using a twisted heavy cord and this sewed on very well and a strong line was the result.
I then twisted embroidery threads together in the same tones of pink - I tied the ends together and left the wool to show the amounts and colours chosen to get the effect for future reference.
Finally I used three strands of white cording over sewn with first pink zig zag in a small stitch and then over again with red thread in a much larger stitch to show. No particular tension or sewing problems on this page and the base fabric I used was a piece of strong printed woven curtain fabric I did not need a backing page.

Sample 2.

On this sample page I chose a strong heavy tapestry upholstery fabric - I had made cushion covers with previously),
Using red Sulky thread I tried attaching an arrangement of various wools from my knitting bag to create texture and colour.
I tried a white bobbin and yellow thread to see if I could highlight the stitching and changed the stitch length and width to create patches of dense stitching. The blue / grey wool which was identical in form to the dark maroon, I sewed over with a deep red in a very small length (0.5 x 5.5) zig zag stitch and it "flattened" the wool but left a "frayed "edge which I thought very effective.
Similarly with cream cotton over the deep red lace wool (0.5 x 3.5) leaves a good solid line.
The large (3.5 x 5.0) further to the right was a complete contrast showing through the base layer.
I spent quite  a lot of time on this sample page and was pleased with how many effects arose from it.

Sample 3.

Next I chose a raw silk in deep red with the frayed edge. I decided to mount it on a sample page as the fabric was far too thin to use as it was.
I began with 4 colours of embroidery threads with a white cotton cord twisted around them and sewn on with invisible thread. Yellow and purple satin strips were twisted and over sewn using gold metallic thread and an orange bobbin. The tension problems are evident in the smaller purple twist where by I tried sewing a solid 1 x 2..5 zig zag stitch - you can see the orange thread has come through to the top - could be useful in future designs.



Sample 4

I was in a local shop the other day - bric a brac and loads of lovely crafty bits and pieces and I spied old fashioned pipe cleaners in vibrant colours and bought some home to try cording them.
This is the result - I kept the gold thread and twisted the pipe cleaners into circles and random shapes and colours, they sewed over beautifully, however the fabric I chose was a printed cotton and too light without a backing fabric and stretched and puckered in places. But, the pipe cleaners are I think a success as they are so flexible - just needed more stability from a backing fabric.

Sample 5.

In the same shop I found childrens packets of multi coloured "hair extensions"! These are exactly what I have sewn down and behaved very well as long as you twisted them sufficiently and used a wide enough zig zag stitch to contain the hair. I played around with the sizes of stitch and the result of the purple was I tried to go too narrow with my stitching and missed a lot out.
I did notice the tension problems resulting in a lovely orange and gold stitching too and this could be useful in the future. This page also would have benefited from a backing fabric as there are puckering issues.