November 2008 - Posts

• The Avid Embroiderer Presents: Leather, November 28, 2008

  Special Offer - To save 20% on the luggage tags mentioned in this post, click here and when ordering, enter promotion code LUGTAG to apply your discount. (Me singing) "Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens; the smell of leather and warm woolen mittens . . . . "  Oops, you caught me, I love the smell of leather, it seems earthy, rich and makes a wonderful handbag.  This time, I am doing a luggage tag for a client who is giving it as a gift.  I don't even get to keep it.  This tag is one of the ‘blanks' from Susan Mars, Allaboutblanks, which is available here at ATG.  The colors are luscious, black, lemon, pink, orange, yellow, red and turquoise.  What a nice gift and a great way to say - "Isn't it time for you relatives to go home?"  (Grinning out loud.)   First a few rules for our project.  Designs planned for leather or suede should be fairly open.  Dense stitching can cause holes in the soft leather making it weak and possibly creating an opening.  I would use an outline style, monograms or a simple abstract design.   Please understand that these are a medium weight leather and not the sort that would be on a saddle or other heavy leather. Test sew out the designs on scraps of similar leather if you are able.  I had a heavy towel to work with, but a second hand store may have had something more suitable.  I used an AnnTheGran heavy cut-away stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive.  I avoided hooping the leather and slowed the machine speed from 800 to 350.  Susan said she used a regular needle, so I decided to give it a try so I did not have to buy a needle that I won't use a lot.  I did use a #70/10 which is a very small needle.  Avoid using a large needle because the leather is not forgiving at all. Speaking of stabilizers, I previously had used rubber bands to hold my rolls and here are the results:   With this stabilizer, I would have to iron it before I was able to use it, wrinkled stabilizer is an oxymoron!  Here are my stabilizers with Hugo's Amazing Tape (3 pack) which I have found to be helpful for so many things, including keeping things bundled together.  Don't tell anyone, but I am giving some of these rolls for gifts for the holidays.  For the man that has everything, something to keep it all from getting wrinkled.  LOL   Back to the luggage tags.  My client wanted three initials and she chose a font that was preloaded on my BabyLock.  The monogram area is barely 2" by 4", and I made some adjustments to the lettering to suit the tag's area.  Following the rule to use the smallest hoop available, I hooped my 4" by 4" and using the "In the Hoop" folding and flexible ruler to mark the center of the hoop.  I made a small mark on the leather which was just visible.    The flexible ruler has a ‘zero' axis, so I centered my tag to my hoop frame.  The gold colored grommet in the center of the ruler is the ‘zero.'    I used a gold-beige color because it offset the red so nicely.  I am pleased with the results and trust the client will be as well. I did a rough cut of the stabilizer with my seam ripper.  Incidentally, if you are still using the one that came with your machine - retire it to the kitchen where it will cut open a lot of things.  Get a new seam ripper and be careful of its sharpness!  Then I finished the cutaway with scissors.  Be sure not to take too much away.  It won't show except when you fill out the identification.  Otherwise, the closed and monogrammed flap will cover the name, address and other information for some measure of safety against identity theft.    Final and lovely project -      Thank you for joining me again.  If you enjoy my writing, tell a friend.  If you have a comment, please do that right now, I love hearing from you all. Enjoy the rest of the Holidays and may health and joy find you and yours always smiling. Pat   Special Offer - To save 20% on the luggage tags mentioned in this post, click here and when ordering, enter promotion code LUGTAG to apply your discount. Posted Nov 27 2008, 02:30 PM by pat71896 with 8 comment(s) Filed under: stabilizers, avid embroiderer, hugo's amazing tape, luggage tags, embroidering on leather

• The Avid Embroiderer Presents: Bean Stitch, November 14, 2008

  The first time I saw a ‘Bean’ stitch, it was from a distance of about 12 feet.  I could see that there was something different about this embroidery, but could not put my finger on it.  I asked the owner of the project and they explained it was done with a bean stitch.  I felt the stitching and found it to be ‘alive,’ if that is an appropriate expression.  It was just so different than the other stitches and I found something that added to my design repertoire.  The design was a preloaded one in a new Brother machine. There are probably many instances of this stitch in a design but it may not be given the specific notation that the stitch is used.  Perhaps you may look at some of your favorite designs and find this stitch.  For instance, if you have a fill pattern of an apple and there is writing on the apple, it may well be the bean stitch rather than a single or satin stitch.  It would certainly show better that the single and the satin may be just too heavy to be effective.    I would wager than some of the ‘redwork’ etc., has this stitch within the designs because it would create a nice measure of dimension for a design.   The definition of Bean Stitch: Three stitches placed back and forth between two points. Often used for outlining because it provides a bolder stitch appearance than a run stitch and requires fewer stitches than a satin stitch.  The bean is sometimes referred to as the ‘bean walking’ because it is used as in this first photo, as an outline.      You can see in the leaves that clearly the outer and main rib are in the bean stitch making it a subtle but interesting difference from the ‘fill’ lines of the leaf.  In this design, the bean is in the outer petals of the flower.  While these two designs are minimal, the bean can be used in other areas, again being a subtle but defined option for digitizing and embroidery. Photos courtesy of terradonembroidery.com      In the center of this more filled design, a bean stitch is created with the gold thread.  I did sew out all four of the designs and was able to see the striking look of the stitch which unfortunately does not photograph well.  This is an FSL and you may have been using an FSL that has a more open work.  The one I have used most has a distance of about 1/16” between thread lines.  This is a much closer digitized pattern creating a somewhat different look for FSL.    Again, the gold thread here is the bean stitch but I also created some of mine with other colors as well.  I made some in red, white and blue.  These will be on the plates at my daughter’s Thanksgiving table.  You may have noticed that she had a little girl on October 24, Addison Joy Fuller, so she will be taking it easy while the rest of us create a Thanksgiving for her and the new baby. Photos courtesy of Criswell-emb.com     I used Badgemaster on these, of course, but I also got to try the NEB plastic sided bobbins and was very happy with the results.  The thread is slightly lighter than #40 threads making it a good choice to do FSL as well as other projects.  At just .38 cents each, they really are a good buy.    I really enjoyed doing this blog because there was a lot to discover about this fun stitch.  If you are like me and love this wonderful craft, and you might be thinking of selling some of your projects; you can check out my spreadsheet for determining your ME costs.  I was getting so many request for the spreadsheet that I worked up a more robust document which allows for you to create scenarios based on multiple factors.  I think you will like the new and added information, making it a 'must have' for the independent business owner.   As we head into the holiday season, may I say thank you to all of you for your generous comments and thoughtful questions.  I want to wish you the happiest and safest holiday season for you and yours, Pat Posted Nov 14 2008, 03:07 PM by pat71896 with 22 comment(s) Filed under: The Avid Embroiderer, Badgemaster, costs, Holidays, spreadsheet, prewound bobbin, bean