The thinking process…

I’m working on a set of designs that I really like.  They’re very “swirly”, and with the Fall season strongly in mind.  Here is the first design:

And here is a variation of the same design:

So here comes the dilemma.  I want a project, no I NEED  project.  I’ve thought about combining the design above to look something like this:

and make a long strip about 8″ wide down either side of a quilt, which I think is a good idea, but I’ve got a ton of quilts and really would like to think of something different, instead of, or in addition to a quilt.

I’ve thought about this combination, which would create a very large center block, approx 18″ square:

18″ is good for the center of a quilt or table cloth, but too big for a tote bag, or the back of a jacket.

It might work for a padded back for a rocking chair, or a wheelchair bag.

I think that adding a few hot fix crystals, maybe in olive green to give some contrast to the design could really make it pop.

This combination is an interesting one, reminding me of an abstract sun and could fit in an 8×8″ hoop:

Then there’s always the border idea.  The one shown below is about 21″ long on each side, but you could make it smaller or larger:

After I decide on what I want to make, then I want to think about a different color choice.  Because this set is easy to stitch and has few colors, it would be easy to change the colors for Christmas:

Or for winter:

And with the different colors, All new projects occur to me.  With the Christmas colors, I could do a large tree skirt, or couch throw.  With the Winter colors, I could stitch these on a shawl or jacket.

The thinking continues…

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My booth at the Martha Pullen show 2010

I just got back home from the Martha Pullen show in Arlington Texas, and here are a few pictures of my booth.

Colors I used to stitch the Wishing Well

When stitching the Wishing Well (http://madsenoriginals.com/index.php?mod=sets&set_id=MO154) on the Aqua Fairy Frost Glitz, I decided to keep a list of the colors that I used and to stick to one brand, which is something that I almost never do.  99% of the time I just choose colors that match what’s on the color list with no regard to brand or if it’s poly or rayon.

Here’s a picture of the Wishing Well:

I used Madeira Polyneon embroidery thread and here is the list:

1.  Reddish Brown – #1899

2.  Lt Reddish Brown – #1779

3.  Md Lt Reddish Brown – #1821

4.  Reddish Brown – #1899

5.  Med Reddish Brown – #1858

6.  Tan – #1927

7.  Dk Tan – #1726

8.  Olive Green – #1809

9.  Dk Olive Green – #1790

10. Med Brown – #1657

11. Med Dk Brown – #1758

12. Dark Brown – #1957

13. Light Tan – #1927

14. Dk Tan -#1726

15. Olive Green #1809

16. Dk Olive Green – #1790

17. Dk Leaf Green – #1970

18. Vy Dk Yellow Green – #1770

19. Med Dk Green- #1968

20. Med Dk Clay Brown – #1621

21. Red Purple – #1720

22. Lt Baby Blue – #1953

23. Baby Blue – #1775

Free Standing Lace part 2

Today I’m going to discuss another Lace project.  This time it’s an all lace table cloth or runner.

What I’m showing here is a 4×4 table mat, done with 16 8″ blocks and 16 border pieces from my newest set, MO153-Large Elegant Lace Blocks.

When doing a large lace project such as a table cloth or runner there are a few things to keep in mind.

First, be sure that you have enough thread for the project.  For the mat I did above, I used a full 5000 meter cone of white and part of a 5000 meter cone for the rest.  If I had had a 2nd white cone, I could have doubled the size without adding any more cones of the other colors.

Next, unless the back of the table cloth is going to be easily seen, I would use pre-wound bobbins for the project.  (A nosy aunt lifting the table cloth to see the back doesn’t count as “easily seen”)

You will need approximately 2 pre-wound bobbins for each block and border piece.  What I did is used a white pre-wound bobbin for the white sections and an ivory color for the yellow and green sections.  The ivory blends very nicely with the yellow and green and I’m not having to spend more money on cones of embroidery thread and then spend all day winding bobbins.

To start, hoop a piece of water soluble stabilizer.  I use Vilene for my lace, but any fabric style WSS will work.  Because of the high stitch count, plastic style WSS is NOT recommended.  It perforates to easily and the thicker styles like Badgemaster are too difficult to wash out and tend to leave loose looking areas behind.  I also cut a large piece of WSS and just move the hoop as I stitch a new block.  I can get more on a large piece with less wasted WSS.  I usually start with a piece 22″ x the length of stabilizer.  I use a 60″ roll of Vilene, so my piece would be 22″x60″.  Because I’m stitching an 8×8 block, I can get 12-14 blocks on a piece of WSS that size.

After stitching the required number of designs, cut the blocks apart.  DO NOT WASH OUT THE STABILIZER YET!

Along one side of each block, trim the stabilizer as close to the stitching as possible.

Thread your sewing machine with the same white embroidery thread as you used to stitch the blocks and the same pre-wound bobbin.

Using a triple zig-zag stitch, set at 4.0mm wide and 1.0mm length, stitch 2 blocks together, butting the trimmed edge of one block up to an untrimmed edge of another block.

If you’re stitching a 4×4 mat, stitch together 4 blocks in 4 rows.  Before attaching each of the rows together, trim the stabilizer as close to the stitching on one of the long sides of the sewn together blocks.  Then stitch the rows together, butting the trimmed edge of one row up to an untrimmed edge of another row.  Repeat until all of the blocks are stitched together.

For the border pieces, trim the stabilizer as close to the stitching as possible from the top (long) edge.  Butt each piece individually to the outside border and stitch.  Continue stitching until all of the border pieced are attached.

When the table cloth is completely sewn together, run a bathtub 1/2 full of as hot water as your tap will put out.  Put in a dollop of shampoo.  Soak the piece in the tub for 2-3 hours, then drain the water and refill again with hot water and no soap.  Soak for another 2-3 hours.  Remove from the tub, roll in a towel to remove as much excess water as possible and then lay flat to dry.

After it’s dry, iron the lace piece from the back using lots of steam to get the lace to relax.

Place on your table and enjoy!

Note:  A copy of the article will be included with the purchase of the set shown.

Printing a template from Buzz Explore

Printing an accurate full sized template is essential when creating large embroidery layouts.  Today I’m going to show you how to print a full sized template in Buzz Explore, which is my program of choice.

First:  Open Buzz Explore and click on the folder that contains the designs you want to print templates from.

Click on the picture of the design you want to print:

On the toolbar and the top, click on the little printer icon:

From the box that opens, click on Selected Files, then click on the button next to Actual Size.  Make sure that your printer shows in the print box.  Click Next.

Select the size of paper that you want this design to print on.  If your printer will not print larger than 8.5×11″, any design larger than that will have part of the design cut off.  Click Next.

Now, select how you want the paper to be oriented.  If the design is taller than it is wide, select portrait.  If it’s wider than it is tall, select landscape.  Select None for Summery information.  Click Next.

Click the box next to Print Border.  Leave the rest unselected.  Click Next.

Select how many copies you want.  If you’re doing a layout that will require these designs to be stitched more than once, I would print at least 2 copies.  That way one can be on the fabric in the correct place while you fidgeting with the other one.  Click Finish.

Your printer will now print out a template.

For a copy of this article in PDF format, please email me at madsenoriginalsblog@q.com

Crazy quilt idea

I had stitched the samples for the Eyelets and Flowers set on a couple of large pieces of fabric, with no thought to centering, or what would come from them afterward.  I liked the contrast of the fabric to the designs, so I figured that inspiration would come later.

After some thought, I decided that I wanted to do a sort of crazy quilt.  Now this is a revolutionary idea for me, because I live my life surrounded by symmetry.  If you look at my projects, most of them are symmetrical and I really have to struggle to do something different.

After sitting on the idea for a few weeks, I finally came up with a way to do the crazy quilt without driving myself crazy.  I started with an 11.5″ block and drew some lines in it to make it look like what I thought a crazy quilt block should look like.  Then I numbered each section in the order I wanted to stitch them.

Then I traced the pieces onto template plastic, making sure to add 1/4″ seam allowance all the way around each piece.  Then I cut each piece out of the plastic.

You will see that there is a gap between pieces 2 and 4.  This is because of the added seam allowance and is normal.

I then picked out 3 other colors that went with the embroideries, and also some yardage from the original blue and purple, so that I could cut out plain pieces.

The hardest part was fitting the template pieces over the embroideries.  Some of them were just not going to fit.  In the end, I got one of each template piece out of each color, for a total of 10 pieces.  I laid the template on the fabric and traced around it with a washable marking pen.  On the back of the fabric, I also marked the number of the piece.  I then repeated this for all the other colors.

Then I laid out all of the pieces, and stitched each block together.  I stitched #1 to #2, then attached #3, then #4 and then #5.  Be sure to press the seams towards the darkest color so that there is less chance of them showing on the front.

Then I put 9 of the blocks up on my wall and looked at them.  Then I rearranged.  Then looked at them.  Then I rearranged.  Then looked at them.  I nearly went nuts trying to figure out the right order for the blocks.  I wanted them to look like a crazy quilt, but at the same time, the symmetrical part of me was screaming to be let out.  I was really glad for the 10th block, because I could swap the blocks out one at a time.

Finally, I compromised.  It sort of looks like a crazy quilt, but is sort of symmetrical also.

Now I have to decide if I want to add some of the decorative stitching, or if I want to wait until after it’s quilted and add some lace and crystals.  Stay tuned.

Butterflies and Flowers doll quilt

This little quilt is perfect for babies or for dolls and I want to go through the steps of creating it.

You will need the Butterflies and Flowers embroidery set from my website, http://madsenoriginals.com/.  The designs from the set that you will be using are MO137-01lg, MO137-02 and MO137-06.  The last one is an 8×8 design, so if you don’t have the capability of doing an 8×8 design, you can do 4 of MO137-03, or MO137-01 in the center block.

First, Cut a 13×13″ square for the center, mark the center of the block with a water soluble marking pen and stitch MO137-06 in the center.  Trim the block down to 10.5×10.5″  For the corners, cut 2 squares 7.5×7.5″ and cut each in half diagonally.  Stitch the long side of the triangles to the sides of the center block.  Trim any excess fabric, if necessary.

For the long sides, cut 4 strips 8″x 16″.  Mark the center of the block, then measure out from the center mark 3 1/2″ and mark a line.  Stitch MO137-02 twice in each strip, centering on the 3 1/2″ marks.  Trim each strip down to 7×14″.

For the corners, Cut 4 blocks, 9″ square.  Stitch MO137-01lg in the center of each square.  Trim each square to 7×7″, keeping the embroidery as close to the edge as possible without going into the seam allowance.

Stitch 2 of the long sides to 2 opposite sides of the center block.  Stitch the 7×7 squares to the other 2 strips, one at each end and then stitch to the other 2 sides of the center block.

Use a light weight cotton batting and matching fabric for the back.  Quilt as desired.  I used stipple quilting to quilt it.  Bind quilt and enjoy!

Thanks for Donna for asking me to do the instructions on making this quilt.

For a pdf copy of this article, please send me an email at madsenoriginalsblog@q.com.

Appliqué with the Embroidery Machine

Your Embroidery Machine is an easy way to create Appliqué and there are many designs out there for this technique.  Today I’m going to give you a short tutorial on doing appliqué.

Step 1:  To begin, look at your color list.  You will see that there are 2 colors somewhere in the colors for the design that are the placement stitches for the appliqué.   They are mostly at the beginning of the design, but can sometimes be found farther into the color list.  These 2 colors are actually the same color, so when you stitch them out, do not change your thread, just continue with the color you started with.  These 2 colors should be marked on the color list as the placement stitches.

Here is a excerpt from one of my color lists, showing how I designate the placement lines for the applique:

Step 2:  Hoop your main fabric and stabilizer.  Stitch Color #1, or stitch all the colors up to the Appliqué placement line.

Step 3:  Place your appliqué fabric over the stitched placement line.  Make sure that your appliqué fabric is larger than the placement line.

Step 4:  Stitch the next color (same color as the previous color), which is the color that anchors the appliqué fabric.

Step 5: Cut away the excess fabric from outside the stitched line.  Use a pair of small, sharp embroidery scissors and cut as close to the stitched line as possible without cutting into the line.

Step 6:  Stitch the remainder of the design.

You have now completed an appliqué design!

Just a note:  The design used to showcase this technique is from an upcoming set.  Hopefully this set will be released in the middle of Feb, or beginning of March.

For a pdf copy of this article, please write to me at madsenoriginalsblog@q.com

A tutorial on Free-standing Lace

Free-standing Lace (FSL) can be very intimidating.  There’s always a lot of questions such as:  What stabilizer do I use? How much stabilizer do I need? How do I stitch the elements together?  How do I stitch the lace to fabric?

These are all very good questions and I’m going to show you some of the techniques I use to have a successful outcome.

Free-standing Lace is an embroidery design that is stitched on Water-soluble stabilizer (WSS).  WSS is a stabilizer that, when soaked in hot water, will dissolve and leave only the thread behind.  Most FSL will be designated as such.  Regular designs cannot be stitched on WSS because when the stabilizer is dissolved, the design will fall apart, because it doesn’t have the structure of underlay to hold the design together.  If you are unsure if a design is Free-standing lace, ask the digitizer and they will be able to tell you.

As for WSS, There are several different kinds.  First is the plastic style stabilizers.  These look just like sheets of plastic.  One of them is very thin and lightweight and is NOT recommended for stitching Free-standing lace.  It cannot hold together with the amount of stitches needed to create FSL.   The other type of plastic stabilizer is very heavy and called Badgemaster.  A lot of people use this for their lace and like it.  I don’t like to use it for my FSL because I find that it can be too thick and creates lace that is loose looking and has loops.

Next is fabric style WSS.  These go by the names of Vilene, Aqua Magic and Aqua cloth.  I mostly use Vilene for stitching my FSL, although I also use Aqua Magic and Aqua cloth.  These are the stabilizers I recommend for my designs.

Hooping WSS can be a challenge.  Ask 6 people how to hoop WSS to keep it from pulling into the hoop and you’ll get 6 different answers.  Everyone has their favorite and here is mine:

I hoop the Vilene as tightly as possible and then place straight pins right along the edge of where the 2 hoops meet.  I find that this keeps the stabilizer from pulling and gives me great results.  This also works really well when I want to use my largest hoop and fit as many pieces in the hoop as possible.

One caution about combining FSL designs in one hoop:  If the lace pieces you’re stitching have more than 1 color, do not color sort, let one piece finish stitching before the next starts.  You will get much better results.

After stitching out the amount of designs that you need, just rough cut the designs out.  Do not dissolve the WSS yet.  This will make stitching the designs together and to the fabric much easier.

Stitch the pieces together, using monofilament thread in the top and a lightweight bobbin thread in the bobbin.  DO NOT use monofilament in the bobbin, it can damage your bobbin case.  Use a zig-zag stitch 3-4mm wide and 1-1.5mm length.  You will need to practice a bit to find the size of zig-zag that works for the lace you’re using.

After stitch the designs together, if you want to attach them to a piece of fabric, the first thing you’ll want to do is cut a piece of fabric 5-6 inches larger than the finished piece.  For example, if you want a finished size of 20×20″ square, cut the square 25×25″.  Lay the lace out on the fabric and pin in place.  Use lots of pins, you don’t want the lace to shift while you’re stitching.

Stitch to the fabric using monofilament thread in the top and a lightweight bobbin thread in the bobbin.  Here is a picture of the design stitched to the fabric from the back:

After stitching down all of the pieces, run a small bead of fray check on the stitches on the back.  Be careful not to get a glob in one spot because it is very difficult to remove this kind of stain from fabric.  Allow the Fray check to dry and then cut away the excess fabric from behind the lace, taking care not to cut the lace:

After you’ve cut the fabric away, soak the piece in very hot water for several hours to overnight to remove the WSS.  The longer you soak the piece the softer the lace will be.  Change the water at least once during the soak time.

You are finished and ready to display your piece!

Here are pictures of a few of my projects: