...when something—the smallest thing even—will trigger an idea, or the solution to a problem. Last week at our High Fiber Diet meeting, one of the members casually mentioned a technique she had learned that involved sewing layers of fabrics together, from the back, then cutting away layers. It was the part about sewing on the backside that triggered an "aha" and I could hardly wait to get home and see if my hunch was right.
You may have seen the small pieces I have been doing where I "draw" by stitching with black thread, like the one in this post. I like doing this, but have been struggling with using the heavier thread that I like. It breaks. It shreds. And it frustrates me. But it suddenly occurred to me that if the nice thread was in the bobbin and did not have to pass through the eye of a needle, it might behave better. It also presented me a way of using a drawing to guide my stitching without having to use pencil on the face of the piece. I drew my design on a piece of very light non-woven interfacing and put it on the back, then stitched.
I like it!
I tried a couple more, experimenting with simplifying and adding another layer of fabric in select areas.
These are tiny—5" x 7" and I think will go in frames with mats.
My Shakespeare quilt is finished. I will photograph it one of these days and post it.
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Thanks. I'm working on a similar problem with NO prior experience. I will try this. I have been spending a lot of time lately on your blog trying to learn.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!
ReplyDeleteYes, brilliant. I love a light knit fusible too, wonder if that would just be too much?! I'm particularly fond of the tiny bits of color that appear "outside the lines", really makes them pop!
ReplyDeleteLove this technique and the eureka moment you've shared regarding the bobbin thread. These all look marvelous! I took Carol Ann Waugh's Stitch & Slash class on Craftsy which would be a good introduction for anyone wanting to try this out.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't you just slap your head for not trying this sooner? Love the way it looks, even the raggedy edges where it's tough to cut away look great. These are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLove your experiments, especially just a bit of color and the lovely stitching.
ReplyDeleteI love your thread and fabric sketches.... I read on another blog where someone used perle cotton in their bobbin.
ReplyDeleteThese architectural pieces are quite wonderful; enjoyed following along with your learning process and seeing the results of the explorations. Some great ideas here, and the pieces are grand.
ReplyDeleteIf you Google it, it's called bobbin work, and you can use all kinds of things in the bobbin. If you have a machine where you can adjust the bobbin tension (usually older or mechanical machines with a metal bobbin case) you can use quite large thread/perle/light yarn in the bobbin. There's probably tutorials. Love the thread sketches!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly maximized the potential of this method. How wonderful that it provides a solution for what you already do.
ReplyDeleteVery effective. The simple solutions are often the best.
ReplyDeleteI love the sketch look in your work. I can hear an art teacher lecturing about "the quality of the line." I'd like to try your bobbin technique for the heavy line then use a lighter thread or threads from the top to vary the lines, maybe with quilting. Thanks for making me think of possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI love discoveries like these! And these are wonderful little gems. May I purchase one?
ReplyDeleteThese are just lovely.
ReplyDeleteI have done bobbin work for adding small parts to my fiber Art but you've really taken it to a new level. I really like these and I'm quite amazed at how you managed to stitch exactly on the edges of the pieces you added to the front.
ReplyDeleteLovely ! and another hint that maybe I should give bobbin work a try ? I just love how you added fabric and colour to them !
ReplyDeleteThank you. I have a couple of smaller art quilts and could not find a good solution to hang them without detracting from the art. Looking through your gallery gave me an "ah" moment...hang them below a rod. Thank you!
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