Embroidery stuff

Hello, everyone.

I was looking in on Ms. Corbett's page, Needle n Thread, and inspired to put up some pictures of my (not the be all and end all) embroidery transfer method of choice.

I have used it on: my elder daughter's wedding dress (bead embroidery)

Japanese seeds and Swarovski crystals on ivory silk doupioni. Sulky Solvy both stabilized the fabric and held the design. This is the center-front of the dress bodice. At the end of the doupioni assembly, I added fill-in stitches to the seam lines to connect the bodice pieces smoothly to each other and to the band sleeves. It was all quite a project!

my granddaughter's Christmas dress (on corduroy)

Cotton floss on red cotton corduroy. Solky Solvy made a flat surface for the stitching to rest upon and held the design. Burda World of Fashion infant's dress pattern with long sleeves--here rolled up.

a white wrap for a stillborn baby

White and pastel cotton floss on white broadcloth. Tulip center design from (I think) Needle n Thread.com site, lettering created with greeting card program and traced separately after the center was done.

I trace the design onto the Sulky Solvy, a transparent, lightweight, water-soluble interfacing. Then I attach it to the fabric. At the end of the project, the finishing of the small thing or the readiness of a part to be included in a large thing, I pull out the basting stitches holding the Sulky Solvy, pull off as much of the Sulky Solvy as can be removed by hand, and give the item a soak in OxyClean solution. The OxyClean eats the ink and dissolves the remaining bits of Sulky Solvy. (I think the interfacing must be made of starch, as while it holds together for the purpose and tears apart very easily, it has no actual strength of its own.) And then I rinse in cold, clear water and drip dry, carefully pressing as needed and possible.

I have used simple tracing also, in this Thanksgiving themed hand towel:

Another of Ms. Corbett's free patterns. Note that I should have cut the thread between the grass bunches!

And creative adaptation of a pre-printed design, in this portrait of Mister Sexy:

Mister Sexy's portrait, on a chicken-themed dish towel. Sadly, he died of heatstroke shortly after this was done. This is the profile pic I use in my CafePress shop. 

 The pre-printed design on this towel showed something resembling a Barred Rock rooster in profile, with prominent comb and wattles, using some hideous colors. Bright greens, oranges, that kind of thing. When actual roosters are so beautiful, and not hard to do at all, the use of the Crayola-box, kindergarten-art colors is to cry over. IMHO. But the shape being mostly there, it was easy to adapt.

Mister Sexy, the Ameraucana rooster that we had for a while. This pic doesn't show the green iridescence in his tail, but it does show his Attitude. I miss him.