rebellious fabric art

Creating Quilting Stories to Stimulate the Imagination

by
Cowboy on a horse against a sunset made of beautiful batik fabrics ranging dark pink to bright orange
Princess YellowBelly Designs logo

Human curiosity is a marvelous thing, and it’s the driving force behind our shared need to know the end of the story – which is something we fabric artists can put to work for us when we’re creating quilting stories.  The more curiosity’s used and trained the healthier it gets.  In fact, it becomes almost magical when it’s coupled with a healthy imagination.  This may seem like a hard thing to achieve, but in reality – curiosity and storytelling are both skills that can be trained. 

As we all know, the sooner you start training a character trait in a child, the stronger that trait becomes. 

Michael and I raised our 3 kids on an isolated ranch with no neighbors and homeschooled them to boot.  Because the kids weren’t getting a lot of outside stimulus, I worked very hard making sure that their minds were constantly engaged with:

  • Made-up stories
  • Books – by the hundreds
  • Games
  • And all sorts of verbal stimuli. 

I knew I had succeeded when they finally took me to their favorite outdoor play place that they had named Dragon Rock.  It looked like a boring old ditch to me, but they confidently assured me they could see the scales of a petrified dragon wing and proceeded to enthrall me with all the stories they had come up with about it.  (This was the inspiration for my dragon quilt, by the way). 

This is my family – I think we turned them into an imaginative bunch!

Wanting their imagination muscles to continue developing, I took a long look at the quilts I was thinking of making them, and decided they were really blank canvasses just waiting to spring into life.

How to Develop Your Imagination Muscles

There are ways to begin developing your imagination muscles faster so that you can start creating quilting stories, rather than just ordinary quilts.

Add Heroes to Your Quilts

I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to tell a story about a character you love and are inspired by.  If you’re in love with the main hero of your quilt – people who see it will be, as well.  This holds true for everything from butterflies, to a traditional Lazy Susan quilt, to some of my wilder creations.

  • Black stallion rearing against a sunset
    This is a stock photo we found on Google Images – please do not attribute ownership to us! This was labeled FREE for REUSE…
  • Running wild black stallion on the beach at sunset, black, orange, gold, red fabric art interior wall art
    From that photo – and others – we created our “Running Wild” panel

Finding these heroes is a lot easier than it sounds…trust me.

FIRST – I think about what I want the piece I’m working on to say or do 

Are there characters that can fire the imagination and generate stories or is there only movement?  Keep in mind that ‘characters’ does not necessarily mean ‘human’.  They can be anything, from mermaids, dragons and fairies, to puppies, vehicles or fish. 

The main focus should always be on this main character with the movement and story going on around them.  Look at my ‘Christmas Delivery” Panel.  The main character is the unicorn (and he’s only a unicorn because I added the horn). 

Christmas Delivery - Christmas small wall hanging, what a completed project of a fabric panel for quilting looks like

I also added 7 fairies engaged in different activities; but they’re there in support of the unicorn. 

Now, instead of having a plain white horse with some Christmas greenery around it (pretty but typical); you have a unicorn (magical) that is being delivered to someone – (part of creating quilting stories is in letting your imagination come up with that someone) by other magical creatures – the fairies. 

You can see that the unicorn is having a chat with one of the fairies, while the rest are busy getting him ready for the Christmas Delivery. 

SECOND – I create countless unanswered questions

The Christmas Delivery scene generates multiple questions in my mind, such as:

Christmas Delivery - Christmas small wall hanging, what a completed project of a fabric panel for quilting looks like - close-up of an added fairy on a new poinsettia flower
  • What are they chatting about? 
  • Where are they? 
  • Who is receiving this magic gift and why? 
  • What is the unicorn’s mission?  Will only the recipient be able to see him, or everybody else as well? 
  • Etc. 

In my dragon quilt – which is stunning, by the way – if you have any imagination at all, you begin to wonder why there are dragons on an old abbey window. 

  • Were there ever real dragons there?  
  • What happened to them? 
  • Why is the focus all on the big one in the middle? 
  • What did it do…accomplish…destroy?  
  • Black dragon silhouette in stained glass window
  • Stained glass dragon head in quilt
  • stained glass dragon in jewel colors
  • Stained Glass Dragon Quilt

Even inanimate objects, such as my Shamrock Table Topper can make you stop and think.  Why is this four-leaf clover special?  Will anyone find it?  What magic can it create? 

Engaging your viewer in the story brings it to life, and makes it much more interesting (to my mind) than a regular patterned quilt.

Let Your Project Have a Hand in Creating Quilting Stories

I’ve just finished the Ocean Maidens quilt and Suzanna has lamented numerous times how much she would have adored this quilt when she was young, and the endless stories she could have made up from it.

With just a few mermaid silhouettes and accessories, I turned a basically pretty border into a mermaid sea where mermaids swim…read books…have tea parties…ride dolphins…collect jewels…pick bouquets…and blow bubbles.  Much more interesting than just a funky-strip border with endless scope for the imagination.

Suzanna’s also made me promise never to sell the Coral Reef panel because she wants to use it to stimulate her future children’s’ imaginations.

Creating curiosity leads in a project is relatively easy to do. 

  • Mermaid laying on seashells
  • Mermaid riding a dolphin

The Easiest Way to Add a Curiosity Point to a Quilt

Start by taking a good, long look at the project you’re contemplating sewing.  What does it say to you?  Is it begging for more ‘pop?’

  • More glitter
  • Something magical?
  • A story?
  • Etc. 

How can you improve the quilt without too much trouble?  How can you make it completely individual from the million other Log Cabin quilts or whatever your pattern is? 

But if you want to fastest, easiest way to add a character or a curiosity point… I have one word for you – appliques.  With the right appliques, you can change an everyday quilt pattern into Shazzam!!!

Appliques

Once you have your hero character, and the corresponding pattern and colors chosen, think about what else should be in this picture. 

I was very drawn to the Christmas Delivery panel, because the horse was so beautiful and elegant.  I bought it not knowing what I was going to do with it; so I just let it sit there and percolate in my mind until the idea to change it into a unicorn with attendant fairies came to me.  Then I appliqued on the horn, fairies, neck ribbon, holly leaves, etc. 

The silver & gold ribbon and jingle bells really helped, too, and before I knew it, my panel went from the same as hundreds of others to shazzam!!!

Completely unique and different. 

I also added fairies to my ‘Fairies in my Garden’ panel and made it pop.  Michael Miller Fabrics has a great line in fairies.  Check it out.  But don’t limit yourself to just those embroidered appliques you get in packages at the quilting store, or to appliqueing on printed fabrics, either.

Appliques can be made from almost any type of fabric or accessory and are only limited by your own imagination. 

  • White unicorn Christmas Delivery panel
  • Large silver and red pointsettia
  • Christmas Delivery - Christmas small wall hanging, what a completed project of a fabric panel for quilting looks like - close-up of an added fairy and a metallic ribbon border

In my Coral Reef panel, I used some super bright, large floral fabric from Kaffe Fassett to construct my coral reef.  Some of the reef I made from fussy cutting the existing flowers, and some I just made up my own shapes for. 

It all works. 

I have found a little fake fur stole at the thrift store, and I’m going to use it to make animal appliques for bears, dogs, cats, etc.  Your own imagination is the only limit here.

Here are a few other suggestions for adding “wow pops” and stories to your quilt:

Fabric 

Sometimes the only thing you have to do is choose completely different colors than have ever been done before. 

This was the product of a moving day sale from my favorite quilt store – all colors I love, none I need…right now! Tomorrow? Who knows?

Traditional log cabin quilts, for example, tend to use darker earth tone fabrics.  Imagine what would happen if you used fuchsia pink and turquoise fabrics instead! 

You can most often use fabrics in your stash for these types of projects.  Especially as I have to admit that I love some fabrics at first sight, and can’t spend another day without having them in my stash, even though I have no project to use them on yet.  I put them where I can see them easily and wait – eventually they will tell me what they want to be used in.

Angles

Round table mat with autumn strip spinners

Quilting is all about angles and how they go together.  If a pattern calls for all right angles and triangles, study it and see if you can switch some of these out with something totally unexpected. 

Remember that your brain works extremely well with patterns, but it’s the unexpected that makes it take notice.

Fabric Flowers and Leaves

These pre-made, easy-sew, bond-well-with-wonder-under gems can REALLY add a lot of pop to your project, they’re relatively fast to work with and they’re SO realistic!

Small pinon flowers on a fabric panel creating quilting stories

Appliques do not have to be big and bold to carry a punch. 

If you look at my Autumn Daze panel, the first thing you see are all the autumn leaves that I appliqued on.  They are stunning.  But when you look more closely you will find an appliqued owl up on a branch, a few songbirds enjoying the day, and a fox peeking out from behind some leaves; which begs the question –‘Will the owl see him?’

Learning the art of subtlety really helps when you’re creating quilting stories that you want people to come back to over and over again for years.

Silhouettes

These are figures cut from a single piece of fabric – usually black – and appliqued in place.  They can be of absolutely anything, but the genius of them is even though there are no distinguishing features, they can express every emotion known to man. 

Shepherds look at the star of Bethlehem - quilted using free motion quilting techniques

Silhouettes are all about body language and as we all know, that speaks much more powerfully than words or expressions do.  Take my ‘Keeping Watch by Night’ panel.  You can see nothing of the shepherds’ faces, but by their stance and the one pointed finger you know exactly what they’re seeing, feeling and discussing.  Even the sheep – with the exception of one – are paying attention. 

In the ‘Camel Panel’ you can see that the 3 Wise men are tired but determined to reach their goal even though it’s night. 

3 Wise men following Yonder Star

In the ‘Cowboy and His Lady’ you know that he’s coming in tired and hungry after a long day on horseback and 2 true and loyal hearts are waiting and watching for him and thrilled to see him coming.  Even though you can’t see it, you know there’s a house just out of sight with light shining through the windows, the good smells of supper cooking, and it’s warm and safe. 

Without saying a word, this panel speaks to the very heart of each of us because it shows us what we’re all searching for.  Love, acceptance, safety and someone waiting for us to come back.  It speaks to our hearts of the true meaning of home with only 3 simple silhouettes. 

  • A western lady and a dog against a sunset - quilted using free motion quilting techniques
  • Cowboy riding at sunset - brilliant background in a landscape quilt design
  • A cowboy and his lady panel figures silhouetted against a brilliant sunset

I’m a major fan of silhouettes, since they’re easy to create and sew, and they leave such an effortlessly powerful impression. 

So give this option a think when you’re planning to tell a story.

Not All Stories are Created Equal

Green for leaf clover wall hanging

Some projects work best if they get right in your face, bold and unapologetic – like the Coral Reef and Dragon quilts – while others just need a hint of mystery. 

The shamrock table topper invites you to imagine all sorts of things, but it does it very quietly.  I’m thinking of doing a corresponding wall hanging to my Ocean Maidens quilt, and it too will whisper very quietly of mystery.

Think carefully about what colors and accessories will convey the mood you’re trying to portray and find what you need.  Otherwise, all your effort will be wasted.

Consider Movement 

If your main character is moving – and this can be anything, remember – answer these questions to yourself. 

  • Is it moving to or away from something? 
  • What emotion will be evident? 
  • Is there a predator? 
  • Is it hiding? 
  • Is it doing something completely out of character? 
  • Does it have any supporting characters? 
  • What season, what time of day, hot or cold, old or young? 

All of these kinds of questions should be considered before you make your first fabric cut.

Allow the Quilt Some Creative Freedoms

Black dragon silhouette on stained glass window creating quilting stories

Don’t panic if you’re planning for your project to go in one direction and it changes course in mid-stream.  It happens – just go with the flow.  You often end up with something very different, and even better, than the idea you started with.

So be BOLD dear reader, and do not fear to take the road less traveled.

To the greater good of your quiltivity,

Karyl (aka Princess YellowBelly)

Be Still My Beating Trapunto – The Easiest Way to Selectively Pop-Up Your Quilting

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Fairy boy chasing a button bumblebee
Princess YellowBelly Designs logo

Trapunto is an Italian quilting word that means “putting more batting behind some design elements in your project than others,” which effectively selectively pops-up your quilting designs.  You can see why we refer to this design skill as trapunto – it’s much shorter in Italian!!  Unfortunately, linguistics alone does not make this technique any shorter in execution.  

Back in the early days of my quilting journey I was fascinated by the look of trapunto because the extra batting seriously intensifies the 3-D effect of the design it lives behind and makes for a very elegant looking finished project.

Unfortunately, achieving this effect is EXTREMELY time-consuming and to me anyway – off-putting.  

Our updated, time-saving trapunto techniques allow for multiple fantastic projects – some of them TOTALLY unique…

The Hardest Way to Selectively Pop-Up Your Quilting

Suzanna and I decided to try the trapunto technique on a wall panel we named ‘Fairies in my Garden’, a beautiful piece that depicts 7 pale green fairies playing in a bed of autumn-ish colored tiger lilies. 

  • Fairies in My Garden - how to selectively pop-up your quilting
  • Fairies in My Garden - how to selectively pop-up your quilting

We wanted the tiger lilies to pop more than the surrounding flora & fauna and certainly more than the fairies, since everyone knows that fairies are extremely difficult to see in the real world!   Our solution to popping out the tiger lilies – trapunto.  It’s a great technique with a very simple concept:

fairy girl standing in trapunto lilies
  1. You place batting behind your project and then quilt around only those elements that you want to ‘pop up’… 
  2. When you have those elements quilted, you turn the project over to the back and carefully trim away any batting that is not directly behind your chosen elements. 

So simple, yet so extremely tedious – not to mention time consuming – and a waste of perfectly good batting. 

Suzanna spent hours with a small pair of embroidery scissors, carefully trimming away any excess batting.  As I watched her I decided that there had to be a bigger, better & faster way to do this.  And there was!

  • fairy baby boy sucking his thumb

Developing a Simpler Method – the Princess YellowBelly Way

Naturally, I decided to eliminate the trimming away process altogether. 

First I decided which elements I wanted to ‘pop up’ and then I taped the front of my project onto a large window.  This makes it relatively easily to see through. 

Then I would layer paper over this and trace the elements I wanted to selectively pop-up, making sure to label each shape as I traced it.  It’s quite amazing how shapes very often don’t look like the object they are. 

I would then cut out the shapes from the paper and then cut them out of the batting. 

Using basting spray and a hot iron to hold the batting shapes in the right places on my project, I would then proceed to quilt them lightly along the outside edges. 

Note:

The more heavily you quilt a design, the flatter it becomes – so, if you want a design to ‘pop’ only quilt around the outside edges the first time around.

Once all of my batting shapes were secured, I’d use basting spray over the entire back of the project and baste a layer of batting over the entire back of my project.  This effectively removes all potential wrinkles and pleats from the shaped batting pieces. 

Then I’d spray more basting spray over this layer and then lay down the backing fabric over top of this.  A hot iron works great with basting spray to remove all wrinkles. 

Finally, I’d quilt as desired – making sure to leave my double-batting design elements as lightly quilted as possible. 

Trapunto Light – The Quickest & Easiest Way to Selectively Pop-Up Your Quilting

Wah-la! Trapunto – quick and easy, or, as I like to call it – ‘Trapunto Light’!  The main dragon on my Dragon Quilt was done this way.

stained glass dragon in jewel colors

After I had used this new technique a number of times I found that wonderful new product – Bosal-n-R-Foam.  I actually bought the foam because I was designing a media satchel for the girls’ and the diaper bag pattern I was using as my starting point required this stuff. 

As I sewed with it I found out 2 things:

First, keep it out of the seams, and secondly, pop-up foam is much thicker than batting and when you sew enough of it into something (like a media satchel), it will actually stand up on its own! 

You can bet by the time I was finished with those 2 satchels, I had visions of trapunto dancing in my head, but this time, instead of Trapunto Light I was envisioning:

Mermaid quilt

Trapunto on Steroids!  The Most Striking – Easy – Way to Selectively Pop-Up Your Quilting

You guessed it.  One layer of foam is like 6 layers of regular Warm and Natural cotton batting stacked together, so you get a lot more bang for your Trapunto buck when you use foam behind the design elements you need to selectively ‘pop-up’ your quilting designs and projects. 

This is what I did behind the central mermaid in my ‘Ocean Maidens’ quilt.  As well as the book she’s reading and the starfish around her tide pool.  This striking, and fairly easy, technique made a HUGE difference to how much they popped out of the panel. 

Mermaid tea-cup in quilt

Never-Ending New Applications

I was delighted by the result of this experiment, and continued using this method, until one day another idea came floating into my head.

  • Does the foam ALWAYS have to be behind the design element? 
  • What if I want to add another design on top of the main design and really make that ‘pop’? 
green frog on lily pad pop-up panel

And that was how my Layer Cake Design Structure was born.  You can see examples of this in ‘My Pad’ where the frog is trapuntoed up front as well as in my Christmas Bells Table Topper where both of the bells and the clappers are ‘foam-enhanced”.  I just now made up that phrase – isn’t it great!  

So there you have my trapunto journey, from the original, century’s long traditional way of doing it, to my quick, easy, and super-enhanced way. 

Take a leap of faith and try it just once – I guarantee that you’ll love the results!

Karyl (aka Princess YellowBelly)

Sew-Zone Do’s And Don’ts – Princess YellowBelly’s Sewing Safety Tips

by
Sewing machine with check marks and no symbols
Princess YellowBelly Designs logo

The sew-zone is any place that you use to do your sewing and create your wondrous works of art.  It’s a place for Zen and peace, for relaxation and creativity, for insanity, frustration, chaos – and all the wonderful fruits of both an artist and a homemaker.  It can also be a potentially dangerous place, filled with sharp implements and hidden hazards.  Here’s a list of sewing safety tips that we hold dear at Princess YellowBelly, and will also help you keep your sew-zone inviolate from intruders!

When I was a little girl we lived in a tiny 700 sq. ft. house with 7 kids in the Northern Alberta bush country, right alongside the grizzly bears.  Very “Little House on the Prairie” like, with all the accompanying “adventures” and hardships. 

I learned a lot from those years in 700 square feet with 6 brothers and sisters, mostly from my mother. 

My mom, who was a wizard at keeping this potential disaster whirling in a clockwise direction, carved out her very own sew-zone on the arm of the living room couch.  This is where she worked constantly to keep us clothed, mended, and etc.

log cabin, seven children, farmer and wife, grizzly bear

And even though we ran in age from new-born to pre-school, she had us so well trained in what we could and could not do in her sew-zone, that not one of us ever picked up a pin and stuck it in our mouths, or got injured in any way whatsoever! This was an achievement I took entirely for granted until I had my own ankle biters, and training them made me realize what a genius my mom had been all along. 

So I’d like to pass on some accumulated wise sewing safety tips from both her and I, and hope it will help you out as you create your own zone.

Sew-Zone Do’s – Offensive Sewing Safety Tips

Sew Zone Dos - sewing safety tips sewing machine with a check mark in front

There are a few simple tips and tricks that you can and should do to carve out your sewing niche.  This will help you to preserve your own space without irritating or frustrating others in your family, and will help to protect your sewing projects as well!

Create a Space

Look around your available space and find a place where you can set your sewing machine up permanently. 

  • a plain duty sewing machine
  • Applique foot on Bernina sewing machine - Princess YellowBelly Designs
  • My mom used the arm of the couch so that she wouldn’t have to move her machine and all her sewing paraphernalia at every meal and taught us to respect her space. 
  • I have used an antique office desk that Michael bought at an auction when we were first married.  I have used this desk in almost every conceivable room in the different houses we have lived in, except the bathroom and back entryways! 
  • My friend Barb sews in a large coat closet and she has it so organized that it actually seems spacious and works beautifully.

It’s not the place you sew in that matters, as much as the space you carve out.

Organize!

Having everything organized so that you know where anything is at any given time is a huge time and frustration saver. 

The first thing I do when I carve out a new zone for myself is decide where my ironing board will go in relation to my sewing machine.  If I have the space, I like to leave my ironing board set up on my right side at a right angle to my sewing desk.  This way, I can swing back and forth between the 2 without wasting any motion. 

My sewing machine & sewing table is just to the side, closest to the window

Once the ironing board is situated, I think about:

  • The most-used items I have…
  • The storage containers I have…
  • And the available space in my new sew-zone… 

I try to organize so that I don’t have to actually get up all that often when I’m actually sewing in my zone – I like to be able to concentrate exclusively on what I’m doing.

Have a Strict Start-Up and Shut-Down Routine

This way you will always power up and shut down all your devices and tools in the same order and don’t have to think it through every time. 

Turning your sewing machine on and off each time you sew will lengthen the light-bulb life but also insures that no busy little hands can make that needle go up and down when your back is turned. 

Close up of a steam iron
This iron is cool – but it’s a decent warning, a hot iron carelessly forgotten or set aside CAN be a hazard!

The same principle holds true with the iron.  I know that they have automatic shut-offs now, but I don’t trust them!  And, if your kids are even half as bright as mine, they love to push buttons and it will take them only minutes to learn how to switch that iron back on.  Burns are a horrible thing, so ALWAYS unplug your iron when you’re finished sewing for the day – especially if you have small children!

Make and Enforce Rules about Space Invasion

Do this thoughtfully – for your peace of mind – but reasonably, so that both you and your family can live with it. 

Sewing machine silhouette with yellow warning label "you shall not pass" sewing safety tips

If you’ve got your own sewing room or closet (any space with a door that shuts) train your family to knock before entering.  If you have to sew on the arm of the couch or the end of the table, make sure that no one touches your stuff without asking you first.

Trust me, a few sharp words will go a long ways towards preserving peace in the home when the option is discovering expensive tools missing, your sewing machine damaged, or something caught on fire, (worst case scenario).  Plus, you never want to come back and find that a square which took you two-to-five hours to piece is stained with chocolate fingerprints. 

Take Extra Care with Sharp Implements

If your sew-zone is in the living room there’s no way pins won’t end up on the carpet.  Michael made me a pin catcher by gluing a magnet on the bottom of a long stick, and all I had to do was move it slowly over the carpet and – voila! 

I taught the kids to do this and also to pick up any pin they found on their own and to give it to me.  I rewarded them with a jelly bean per pin, so it was a fun game and they never got hurt either. 

This is more important than slightly OCD-ish neatness, by the way.

Back in the day when I was teaching school, one of my students’ moms swallowed a pin.

Yes, a mom, not her kid – she had the pins in her mouth, was startled, gasped…and down the hatch that pointy little knife went.  (Which is a good reason to leave your pins in the pincushion and not your mouth.)

The medical procedures and trauma that little mishap caused that poor lady emblazoned itself on my brain and I swore that I would make sure my kids knew NEVER to put those little knives in their mouths. 

In the same vein, place all:

  • Scissors…
  • Seam rippers…
  • Rotary cutters…
  • Pins…
  • And anything sharp…
to show a sharp cutting tool in sewing
To show sharp sewing and cutting tools

Out of reach until your kids understand why these are NOT toys!  If you have indoor pets, never stop, because they can’t understand. 

And finally – and maybe most importantly – make sure that you always close your rotary cutter after each use.  This wonderful tool is a razor sharp knife that will cut through skin, flesh, and even bone as easily as it does through fabric.

Fold All Fabric Neatly Before Storing

Fabric takes up a lot of space and the more carefully you fold it, the less space it takes and the more you can stuff in.  Also, I’ve found that it’s quicker and easier to iron out a few folding lines than it is dozens and dozens of stuffing wrinkles.  If you’re really pressed for space, you can trying tightly rolling your larger fabric swatches, as well.

  • 2 20 dollar bills and a 5 on a background of purple-to-pink fabrics sewing within your means illustration
  • thin strips of autumn colored fabric, gold, orange, green, turquoise
  • Large plastic tub full of color-themed grey and silver fabric
  • Big canvas shopping bags to hold supplies temporarily for a particular project - corralling clutter in the short term

Either way, you’ll save time, material, and wear-and-tear on your leftover fabrics.  It’s a win-win.

Sew-Zone Don’ts – Defensive Sewing Safety Tips

Sew Zone Don'ts - picture of sewing machine with a no symbol in front

In some ways these are even more helpful than the do’s in our sewing safety tips and sew-zone protection list.  “Do’s” can come and go with your space, the size and age of your family, and your sewing needs.  But “don’ts” tend to stick around regardless of your circumstances!

Don’t Eat or Drink Anything in Your Zone

Stains are extremely unattractive and cleaning projects you’re working on is a pain.  Get up and go get something if you want, but eat and drink somewhere else. 

My one exception is a water bottle.  This is basically a grown-up version of a sippy cup, and it keeps me from getting dehydrated, but since the little straw tube folds down, and I only keep water in it, chances of dumping or staining are minimal.

Don’t Bleed in Your Zone

Even the smallest pin-prick can leave a drop of blood on your project and blood stains look exactly like what they are.  You have to clean them right away.  Also, if a blood stain sets in, you can actually rip or fade out delicate fabrics when trying to scrub them clean…so take the time to get a Band-Aid. 

A needle sticking into the seamstress's finger - one of the consequences of sewing dangerously

Don’t Sew When You’re Panicky or Pressed For Time

Trying to get something done within a certain time isn’t a bad idea, but rushing to meet deadlines, especially when you’re struggling with a certain technique will result in panic.  And it will NOT end well.  You’ll make mistakes and just have to rip it out later.

Don’t Sew When You’re Tired

You’ll end up with the same result.

Don’t Sew When You’re Angry

Again, for the same reason, especially if you’re mad at the person you’re sewing for.  I once sewed a shirt collar in upside down in a shirt I was making for Michael because I was MAD at him for something… 

Of course, I didn’t have enough fabric to make a new collar, and ended up having to throw the whole thing away.  That was obviously all his fault – since I’m perfect.  However, although I still get mad at him now and then, I don’t sew when I’m “P.O.ed.”

Don't sew when you're emotional: angry face, tired face, crying face emojis

Don’t Leave Supplies Sitting in Strong Sunlight

Sunlight is both your best friend – since natural light is the best to work by – and also your worst enemy, since the sun can deteriorate things quickly. 

I always sew in front of a window if I can because it helps me to see so much better BUT I always replace the cover on my machine to keep the sun off of it.  This is especially true of fabric – fabric fades very quickly in sunlight.

  • Strawberry place setting or table topper - bargello quilted fabric art
  • Home Pastures - a project that used printed fabric panels for quilting

Keep all fabrics hidden along with spray starch, basting spray and plastic scissor handles, really anything that’ll lose its moxy if left out in the sun too long.

Enjoy Your Sew-Zone!

I hope that this gives you an easy list of go-to sewing safety tips and ways to make your creative zone more peaceful, prosperous, and enjoyable.  Fabric art should be about joy and experience, and the more you protect your space, the more you’ll enjoy it. 

OK, enough with the joy.  If you liked our article, or have some tips and tricks of your own, please drop us a line at our email: karyl@pybdesigns.com!

To the greater good of your quiltivity,

Karyl (aka Princess YellowBelly)

Stocking Your Tool Kit with the Other Essentials – Unique Sewing Tools & Their Uses

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Wire shelves to hold sewing supplies, all the clutter corralled in tubs
Princess YellowBelly Designs logo

As anyone who’s ever sewed knows, there’re a lot of tools that you use every day that don’t come with a sewing machine or a beginner’s sewing kit.  Here I’ll talk about some of these everyday items that I personally have found to be very useful.  These unique sewing tools and their uses include oddities like calculators and surgery clamps!

Every seamstress in existence likely has their own ideas of what the essentials for sewing are, but I am sure that mine is the right stuff and you should follow my lead exclusively!  I will now give you the benefit of my great wisdom and experience in these matters as I’m sure you will be confused if I don’t. 

And, if you have an absolutely terrific sewing tool that I haven’t mentioned in this article, or in the first and second articles in the stocking your tool kit series please send me an email at karyl@pybdesigns.com. Plus, if you have trouble storing all these little tools, please check out our article on corralling your sewing tools and supplies.

These sewing tools are practical, creative, and occasionally unique…

Ironing Boards

You absolutely MUST have one of these as there is no other way to iron large pieces of fabric in an efficient manner. 

Just go down to the closest box store and buy yourself a plain old ironing board.  In all the decades that the 2-legged adjustable height ironing board was invented, they have never come up with anything better. 

Why re-invent the wheel! 

Show strips of fabric laid out over an ironing board

It doesn’t matter if you’re short, tall, sitting or standing, a regular ironing board will extend to just the height you need.  They have come up with new and fancy ironing board covers which I change out as needed. If you sew at all regularly, your ironing board cover will get dirty, sticky, and just all around yucky looking.  When this happens I buy a new one and hey-presto – a new looking ironing board!

I like to keep my board permanently open and sitting at right angles to the desk on which I sew.  This way, I only have to swivel back and forth from one to another – very quick and efficient.

One Useful Feature You Do Need in an Ironing Board

Make sure you buy an ironing board that has a metal stand on the end for your iron.  I plug my iron in when I start my day and leave it on till I’m done. It’s great to have a hot iron at the moment you need one, and leaving it sitting on the metal stand means you don’t have to worry about jostling the ironing board as you work and knocking your iron onto the floor…or hand…or lap.  

Ironing Board with fabric

This is also a great way to make sure that nothing catches fire!

If, by chance, your ironing board breaks in some way, DON’T throw it away.  If you have room, keep it and set it up as a place to hang your ironed fabrics, strips, and applique shapes of the project you’re working on. 

Broken ironing boards also make great extra desks – I do my month-end books on mine. 

A second ironing board also comes in very handy for holding the excess weight of a quilt as you’re feeding it through your machine.  Simply set it up on your left-hand side (if you’re right- handed), and at right angles to your sewing machine at the same height.  Lay your project on this instead of on the floor or on your lap. 

This works great and saves a lot of wear and tear on your shoulders!

Irons – A Sewing Tool You Cannot Do Without!

That you will need an iron is a given.  But what make and what model? 

I must be honest here.  I am NOT an iron-whisperer. As a matter of fact, my feng shui is kryptonite to irons.  I never abuse them but they die anyway.

Close up of a steam iron

I always follow the manufacturer’s instructions diligently, never fill them with plain tap water, and turn them off when I’m not using them.  Yet anyone would think that I am a closet iron abuser since they still choke, burble, and die eventually; but since I have the same effect on wristwatches, I have decided not to take it too personally. 

As a result, I buy cheap irons that have no reservoirs to fill and 10 different setting options to choose from. 

When I need to steam something (like seams) I spray the area first with (gasp) tap water that I keep in a handy-dandy spray bottle and then I just set my hot iron on it to press it.  It works like magic. 

When my iron gives up the ghost (every few years) I simply buy a new, cheap one. 

There are too many things in this world to worry about and I’ve decided that the reason irons hate me is not going to be one of them.

I do have one smaller iron which I use in tiny, tight corners.  It’s actually a long wand with a very small clover leaf shaped foot at the end.  It’s small, it’s hot, and it’s perfect for every little thing.

Image of a Dritz brand iron-off

Iron-Off Hot Iron Cleaner by Dritz 

This is a fabulous product that takes all of the frustration out of keeping your iron plate clean and gliding like new.  Basically if you use your iron more than once a month you’re going to want a little bottle of iron-off.

Rulers

Although I consider myself a quilting rebel and loathe matching corners, etc., this does not negate the need for rulers and accurate measuring.  If we’re being totally honest being a quilting rebel and liable to taking hard left turns from the norm actually means using rulers a lot more – because otherwise you’re going to end up with a nasty mess.

I use rulers constantly, and as you would expect, there are rulers for every type of measuring you need to do.

Measuring Tapes

This is the #1 type of ruler.  They are soft and flexible, come in 2-3 foot lengths, and are utterly indispensable when you need to measure anything over 12” long.  Get one and keep it handy.  Trust me, this is one sewing tool you won’t want to do without.

As you can see, I’ve used this puppy so often that there are breaks and pieces of it missing…

School Ruler

Rainbow hard plastic 12 inch rulers

I have a few of the old rulers the kids used for school and I use them all the time.  They’re easy to store, measure up to 12”, and have nice, straight, hard edges.  I don’t just use them measuring, however.  Here are a few other things I use them for:

  • Guides for drawing straight lines (lay the ruler on your fabric and presto!)
  • Making new patterns on paper (we do this a lot at Princess YellowBelly Designs)
  • Smoothing out creases
  • As a barrier for keeping things from rolling off the desk  

Sewing Gauge

I did without one of these for years till Barb convinced me to give it a try and now I use mine constantly.  It is my go-to for when I need small, extremely exact measuring.  My sewing gauge is made by Dritz, is made from a light-weight, bendable metal, is 6” long and has a slit down the center that a blue plastic gauge slides back and forth in.  The blue plastic gauge has 2 points sticking out either side of the ruler that lets you mark your fabric in exact n’ths of inches or centimeters.

Even and especially in fabric art, details and minutiae matters.

Hard Plastic Ruler

The ruler I am talking about here is the 24”x6” one that fits the standard 18”x24” cutting board.  This is an absolute necessity as you can’t use your cutting board and rotary cutter (see the sharp stuff article) efficiently if you don’t have it. 

I bought mine 27 years ago and have put thousands of miles on it and even though some of the numbers are getting worn it still works like a charm. Get one!

  • Show a green cutting board mat with hard clear ruler

Cutting Board

I’m including this here because although a cutting board is for cutting fabric on, it is also a ruler.  By using this board and the hard plastic ruler that fits it, you will be able to cut any number of fabric strips and pieces quickly, cleanly and accurately.  There are many different sizes and shapes of cutting boards out there but all I have ever used or needed is the standard 18”x24” one.

Specialty Rulers

These are all the hard plastic rulers that come in all shapes and sizes and often correspond to one specific pattern.  They come in triangles, circles, rectangles, squares, swirls, etc. and take up a lot of storage room.  I try to avoid them if I can but now and then I succumb because they are attached to a pattern that I just can’t resist and then never get around to making anyway. 

When this happens, learn to forgive yourself, store them out of sight and as soon as possible, gift the whole kit to someone else.

Small, Essential Sewing Tools and Their Uses

These are the sewing tools that I keep right next to my sewing table in a kidney dish that I brought home from the hospital years ago.  

Tear-drop shaped point turner

Point Turner

This 5” long piece of hard plastic is completely necessary any time you need to push out a point or a curve in a project.  It has an elongated teardrop shape, and, like its name suggests, it comes to a sharp point which you can slide into hard to reach spaces and use to gently push. 

Nothing else (scissors, pencils, skewers, etc.), work like this little tool.  It’s one of those tools that saves endless frustration.

Needle-Nosed Pliers

Red handled needle-nose pliers

Michael says I stole these from his tool box but since they’re still under the same roof, I think it’s more accurate to say that I appropriated them (permanently).

These pliers come into play when you need to pull the sharp end of a pin out of a project and it’s stuck and the head’s come off.  They’re also great for pulling thread snarls out of your machine’s bobbin well, and helping to pull hand-sewing needles through thick fabric sandwiches.  Trust me, it beats a thimble.

Erasable Pens

These are exactly what they say.  Your draw a line or shape with them and after you sew over it simply apply a hot iron and abracadabra – it’s gone!  It really does work like magic.  They come in about 6 different colors but I generally like the black ones best.

  • Shows sewing tools in action
  • Shows an erasable pen in action

Fabric Glue  

I like to put a drop of this under any button or bead that I sew onto a project because it’s a 2nd layer of protection.  Simply apply onto the bottom, lay something heavy on top and leave for 12-24 hours and you have a permanent bond that won’t come out in the wash. 

This is especially important if you have small children around.  An excellent brand of fabric glue is Aleene’s.

Surgery Clamp

surgery clamps used as sewing scissors

I stole – err, appropriated – these from Michael as well.  I guess he had them because he used to doctor cattle when we were ranching, and he doesn’t use them anymore, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t help myself. 

Anyway, I have re-purposed them as fabric tube turners.  These clamps look like a short pair of scissors with the tips turned up but they’re not sharp.  The handle end has two little metal protrusions that you can clamp together.  I simply insert the blade end into a tube, clamp the top end together and pull gently. 

They work great!  If your guy doesn’t have a pair of these handy, I have seen “real” point turners for sale in quilt magazines.  I often use safety pins to help turn my tubes, but if your tube is too small for that, you may want to invest in one of these.

Spray Starch

This is marvelous stuff!! You simply spray it onto fabric and run a hot iron over it.  It not only starches your fabric beautifully so that it will hold its shape as you cut and sew, but it removes ALL wrinkles.  You know, those wrinkles that have been there since you stored that particular piece of fabric?  Spray starching and ironing takes those right out the first time!  I wish I could find some that would work on my face.

  • shows spray starch
    This tool will take you from…
  • Upside down branches in a strip set are a true fracture nightmare
    This…
  • Four times fractured - the devil's in the details
    …To this.

The cheapest way to buy spray starch is by the gallon and then pour it into individual spray bottles. 

The best brand available that I have found is Mary Ellen’s Best Press.  It comes in different fragrances but if I were you I would get the plain scent.  When you put a hot iron on the scented stuff, especially if you’re ironing a lot of fabric, the smell will about knock you out. 

Beware of scented spray starch!

Basting Spray

This is just a mild, sprayable glue. 

Basting spray is one of my favorite sewing tools because it saves a great deal of time and frustration.  It lightly glues the layers of your project together without needing to pin – especially for the smaller projects.  Basting spray also stops 95% of wrinkles from forming while you’re quilting. 

I’ve found out that if you iron your project front and back after you’ve basted it, it not only gets rid of all those wrinkles but the heat of the iron helps the basting spray to adhere more tightly so things won’t move.  It’s great stuff. 

Beware though – this stuff is extremely sticky, so go down to the local dollar store and buy a cheap shower curtain.  Lay this on a flat surface and then lay your project on top of it so that any residual spray will not ruin the surface of your table or counter.

Thimble

These come in extremely handy when you’re hand-sewing as they really save the tips of your fingers.

Sharpie Permanent Fabric Markers  

Sharpie permanent marker felt tip set

Actually, these are permanent on anything you use them on, but fabric is one of the best.  I bought an entire color range of these because you never know which color you’re going to need.  I use my black one the most. 

These come in very handy for drawing in lines that are too small or difficult to sew like the mane on my Sunset Horse and the scales on my Dragon Quilt.  They’re also great for marking over things you want to disappear like the top thread that shows through on the black backing during quilting. 

They’re also great for covering up mistakes and for filling in gaps in your satin stitching, etc.  Very versatile and relatively inexpensive.

Calculator

Large button calculator

I used to do all the math in my head, only to realize time and time again that I had done it wrong and wasted a lot of fabric.  Adding and multiplying all those fractions can turn your brain inside out, so use a calculator instead and be accurate and frustration free.

I’m a little short-sighted, and I hate the complicated calculator my daughter got during her high-school algebra days, so one Christmas the kids got me an over-sized calculator.  It has huge push buttons, runs on a battery, and does simple elementary level math – addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  If you need anything more than that in your quilting – we can’t help you, so please go away!  (Or write us about your genius…it’s your choice.)

Lint brush

There are different types of lint brushes, and they’ll all work…but my favorite so far is a brush for pet hair – go figure!

I use this on the front and back of every project as soon as I finish it. It effortlessly removes the batting fluff, thread ends, dust, etc. that accumulate on every project and can be seen on black fabric like glowing neon. 

A few swipes with the lint brush and it’s clean and professional looking. 

I also run it over any panels that I’ve had on display before I pack them away, as it removes all dust and helps keep your art clean and slows down deterioration.

Remember to Let Us Know About the Unique Sewing Tools in Your Tool Kit

pins holding pieces together

This is my basic tool kit, the tools I use almost every time I sit down to sew.  Since I use them all the time I have made sure they’re of the best quality because when it comes to sewing tools cheap = frustration. 

So buy the best tools you can afford and they will reward you for decades to come.  And remember, the best doesn’t always mean the tools with the most bells and whistles.

We really do love to hear about tips and things from our members and followers.  You can let us know in the comments, or follow us on Facebook!  We do a lot of fun stuff over there and save cool ideas from other artists all the time. 

To the greater good of your quiltivity,

Karyl

Stock Your Toolkit with the Right Equipment – Sewing Machine Edition

Stock Your Tool Kit with the Right Equipment – Sharp Stuff Edition

Stock Your Tool Kit with the Right Equipment – Sharp Stuff Edition

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Sharp cutting tools in sewing

Welcome back to Princess YellowBelly Design’s series of articles on acquiring the right tools to stock your quilting toolkit with.  Last week we dealt with how to purchase the best sewing machine for you, this week we’re going to be dealing with how to use cutting tools in sewing.    

The Sharp Stuff You Need – Piercing & Cutting Tools in Sewing Quilts

Just by the very nature of the beast, sewing requires a great deal of sharp stuff.  These can be a real hazard if you have small children or curious pets, so think carefully how and where to store them so they can’t be accessed by those curious little hands.  There are many and varied storage containers at box stores, etc., so be creative!

Sharp stuff can also be a real hazard to us as we create. 

If I had a dime for every time I’ve driven some sharp sewing implement into a finger, or my lips, or my tongue – I’d be able to buy a long-arm quilting machine!

I have been poked, stabbed, cut, and ripped during various creative endeavors.  They happen, so be prepared to deal with them quickly, but don’t let these injuries slow you down.  Remember, no pain – no gain.

So what sharp stuff is absolutely necessary for your toolkit to be workable?

Scissors – the #1 Cutting Tool in Sewing

This would seem like a no-brainer, but if you have looked at all at the scissors available in most stores these days, you know that selecting the right one for you is mind boggling.  I am not going to tell you which brand to buy, because each of us likes different styles, etc.  I will only tell you what kinds of scissors you need to do your work.

Heavy Duty Shears

I bought a pair of these about 20 years ago when I was sewing jeans for Michael and needed super strong shears to cut through multiple layers of denim.  I no longer sew his jeans for him, but I use these shears almost every time I do any sewing. 

They’re invaluable in quilting and fabric art because they cut through multiple layers at once and since they are heavy duty, they don’t slip sideways and ruin your lines. 

They’re especially helpful in cutting shapes out of Bosal-n-r-Foam and for trimming around layered appliques. 

Regular Fabric Scissors

These are the normal sized scissors for cutting 1 or 2 layers of fabric at most.  I use these to cut out single appliques, thin batting…pretty much everything that doesn’t require those heavy duty (and very heavy) shears.

These regular scissors are now made to be ergonomically correct, and very sharp. 

I know I said that I wouldn’t mention brands, but in this case I prefer the Fiskars brand because the blades stay sharp for years.

Paper-cutting Scissors

My paper-cutting scissors are actually an old pair of regular scissors that lost their sharpness years ago.  They’re useless for cutting fabric but work great for cutting out patterns and templates, etc. 

DON’T EVER use your good scissors to cut paper!!!!! It will ruin them in no time!

Thread Snipping Scissors  

I have a very small pair of scissors whose tips curve up slightly at the tips so you can cut right against a fabric surface without also cutting the fabric. 

These mini-scissors are superior when it comes to snipping off tiny ends of thread on your projects, sliding a blade in under a snarl, or just for cutting thread when you finish sewing. 

I know all these fancy new machines come with thread-cutters, but I learned to do it the old fashioned way and that’s how I’m comfortable.  Also, the thread-cutters break quite easily and scissors don’t, so keep a pair handy.  They’re much smaller than regular sized scissors so don’t get in the way while you’re sewing.

Embroidery Scissors

These little puppies do a big job when it comes to cutting out appliques!  I cut out appliques a lot – so trust me on this one. 

To show embroidery thread

Here you can see that I used embroidery scissors twice – once on the appliqued background, and once to cut the embroidery thread to edge the applique with…very useful tools!

You need a pair of scissors with tiny, extremely sharp tips to get into all the little spaces that most appliques have.  My thread-cutting scissors have the right size tips but they are not sharp enough to snip into tiny places. 

A pair of these embroidery scissors will save endless frustration for you and all your friends will be amazed at the beautiful and exact appliques you turn out. It’s a win-win!

Pinking Shears

These are the scissors that I use the least but they do come in handy now and then.  Use them when you’re working with fabric that frays like a son-of-a-gun.  The serrated edge will help to hold the frays in check till you can sew the seams into it. 

Pinking shears are also great on slippery, satiny type fabrics.  I think it’s the uneven edge that helps to catch and hold that slippery stuff as you cut.

A Singularly Great Cutting Tool for Sewing Fabric Art – Rotary Cutters

Oh what a wonderful day it was when they first started selling rotary cutters to the masses!!!  No tool kit is complete without at least one of these; talk about a huge step forward in cutting implements. 

  • Strip sets in the middle of a quilting project
  • Back of a strip-pieced panel that used spray starch for ironing
  • Flat seams are often achieved using spray starch for ironing - like in this strip piecing for the Bargello Strawberry
  • Un-ironed seams in a strip piecing project with strawberry colors

Only with a rotary cutter could you hope to get these types of perfectly straight, regimented cuts. Whether you’re doing strip piecing or building a complicated pattern, a rotary cutter is an absolute must!

I bought my first one 27 years ago and have NEVER regretted it. 

My first rotary cutter just had a straight handle…but my second one has an ergonomically correct handle and is a real joy to use. 

Beware! These rotary blades are extremely sharp – like knives on wheels – so they’ll slice open any part of you that gets in their way.

ALWAYS push the blade cover up when you are finished using it.

However, there’s literally no better way to cut perfectly straight lines and strips in fabric than with one of these.  Of course, you also need the right ruler and cutting board but we’ll discuss those in another blog. 

Because of the vast amount of cutting that any quilter will do with a rotary cutter, the blade will inevitably get dull.  I’ve seen that there are machines you can buy to sharpen your rotary blades but there are also packages of replacement blades you can buy.  Even with as much cutting as I do with my rotary cutter, I find it much cheaper to replace my blades than to buy the sharpening machine. 

Pins – Your #1 Piercing and Holding Tool

Pins are another one of those completely necessary items that you can’t do without…but that will turn on you if you don’t watch out! In fact, if your pins are sharp enough, they’ll turn into cutting tools, just not for sewing – they’ll cut you. 

And, just like scissors, you’ll need more than one type.

Garden Variety Straight Pins

These are the pins you can pick up at any sewing supply counter. They’re approximately 1-1/4” from head to tip, reasonably sharp, and reasonable strong.  I mostly use these in my everyday sewing adventures. 

And so will you.  They’re the basic pin.  However, they’re neither strong enough nor long enough to go through really thick layers, so you something different for that.

Quilting Pins

These look just like your garden variety straight pins but they’re longer, coming in at 1-3/4” long so they have way more reach.  They’re also MUCH sharper as you will have occasion to find out if you ever actually have any of these holding your project together while you sew. 

These babies will stab you hard enough to draw blood and leave your forearms and chest looking like you’ve been attacked – which you have been. 

I had a stranger come up to me once after I’d finished a project and tell me that I didn’t have to throw my life away on drugs – that there were other choices!  I had just finished a heavily pinned project and I do have to admit that my forearms looked pretty bad. 

My kids thought this was hilarious by the way. 

  • Peacock Paradis - fabric panels for quilting combined to create a brand-new image
  • Peacock Paradis - fabric panels for quilting combined to create a brand-new image - close up of the original panel's printed peacock

The worst project I ever did, though, was my Peacock Panel.  Each of those gorgeous cherry blossoms had a quilting pin holding it tight.  By the time I was done I was swearing, my upper chest looked like I had a bad case of chicken pox, and I was fantasizing about bib aprons made out of Teflon. 

So there you are.  These pins are absolutely necessary…but beware!

Applique Pins – Or Mini-Pins

There aren’t any pins labeled like this, but these are the tiny pins I use to hold the tiny points of appliques in place while I cut around them.  Most of these are 1” long but I have found some that are even shorter.  Keep your eyes peeled and buy a package when you find them. You’ll never regret it.

  • To show sharp sewing and cutting tools in action
  • pins holding pieces together
  • Sharp cutting tools in sewing

Safety Pins

Get a pack of different sized pins of these – you need them to turn all sizes of fabric tubes right-side-out, and they come in handy in lots of other instances too.

The Tool That Fixes it When Your Cutting Tools for Sewing Have Done Their Work

I’m speaking, of course, of needles.  I can’t think of a single tool that you’ll use more when sewing, or doing fabric art of any kind.

Needles come in 2 categories: hand-sewing needles vs sewing machine needles. 

Hand-Sewing Needles

These’re extremely handy to have around and do way more than just sew on buttons.  My old Bernina sewing machine has a sew-on-button feature but it’s such a bother to set it up for this that I never bother with it. 

A needle sticking into the seamstress's finger - one of the consequences of sewing dangerously

And I’m actually quite fast at sewing on buttons by hand.

You can use hand-sewing needles for many other things as well, such as:

  • Sewing on beads
  • Pulling heavy strands of embroidery thread or twine through your projects
  • Sewing areas your machine can’t reach
  • And a whole lot more!

There is no end of use to these little darlin’s.  The best thing to do is search out a package that has needles in multiple sizes and lengths. 

Make sure you get some that have very large eyes – these are essential for pulling through large strands of thread and since the needles with the largest eyes are also the longest and strongest ones, you will be using these a lot.

You might also consider getting some that are very thin with hair-line eyes because you’ll need them if you want to sew on tiny little beads.

Sewing Needles

As anyone who’s ever tried to purchase a package of machine sewing needles knows, these come in different sizes from the smallest (11) to the largest (18). 

The smallest needles are for sewing your most delicate fabrics and the 18’s are for fabrics that are very heavy going – like denim.  In the middle of these are the ones I use the most.  I use 14’s for all my regular sewing as they have a good deal of strength, and 12’s for all of my top-stitching because they make smaller holes in your fabric as they punch through it.

  • Applique foot on Bernina sewing machine - Princess YellowBelly Designs
  • Applique foot on Bernina sewing machine - Princess YellowBelly Designs

A Quick Aside about Sewing Needles

All conventional wisdom says that you should change out your needles at the end of every project.  This is a complete waste of money.  Do like I do and use the same needle until it breaks. 

It’s almost like a built-in protection system, when the needles get too dull to work effectively, they can’t punch through fabric, and the power of your sewing machine will break it. 

The only instance I can think of that I would deliberately start a new project with a brand-new needle was if I was sewing a wedding dress for one of my daughters.

Specialty Needles

Because technology just never stops inventing bigger, better, and faster things there are now sub-genres in sewing machine needles. Of course there are!  These are:

Metallic Needles

These come in size 12 and are specially made to stop metallic thread from breaking so frequently.  Metallic thread is very delicate and I had totally given up trying to sew with it until I found these needles.  Get some if you sew at all with metallic thread – they are another frustration saver.

Jersey Needles

Like their name implies, these are made for sewing knits – which are a pain – and also work extremely well on satins and chiffons.

Jeans Needles

These are size 18’s but they seem to me that they’re even stronger than just the generic size 18’s.  If you’re doing fabric art that has a lot of layers, you will need these. I know from personal experience how strong these needles are as one didn’t even bend, let alone break when I sewed it all the way through my thumb – nail and all!

Seam Rippers – The Re-Cutting Tool for Sewing

Here is another very sharp piece of equipment that you will need.  In all my years of sewing I have never yet made ONE project that I haven’t had to rip something out! 

to show a sharp cutting tool in sewing

Therefore I’d advise getting a seam ripper, if you don’t have one already.  They come in all sizes and shapes but here is the one I like best. It’s made by Dritz and is 5-1/2” long.  The blade is only 1-1/4” long, the rest is an ergonomically shaped pink-and-yellow thick plastic handle that sits perfectly in the palm of my hand. 

It’s very comfortable to hold – which is a good thing since I use it so often, and the end is rounded so that it doesn’t dig into my palm when I put pressure on it. 

I use this seam ripper 95% of the time but there are instances that I need something more delicate as when I have to rip something out of chiffon.  For that I have a much more slender one that has an attached magnifying glass. 

Actually, Suzanna uses this one because I say my eyes can’t see those delicate stitches.  Mostly I’m just lazy!

A knight holding a seam ripper kneels before Princess YellowBelly to receive the championships of horrible fabric art experience and triumph - enter your story today

So there you have it – our list of sharp stuff cutting tools for sewing that’ll save you time.  We hope you’ve found at least one new tool that’ll save you time and frustration – and hopefully with some careful shopping – you’ll also get to save some money.

If you haven’t already, please read the first article in this series, and keep a look out – our concluding toolkit article will be coming next week.

Stock Your Toolkit with the Right Equipment – Sewing Machine Edition

Stocking Your Tool Kit with the Other Essentials – Unique Sewing Tools & Their Uses

Stock Your Toolkit with the Right Equipment – Sewing Machine Edition

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Welcome to a new series! There’s a lot of things that you need to have in your sewing toolbox; some of them are big items – like choosing the best sewing machine, which we’ll cover in this edition. In upcoming episodes we’ll cover more necessary items every quilter should have on hand, from scissors, to thread, to little “gadgets” that you might not think of getting on your own!

How to Save Money and Still Have the Best Sewing Machine for a Quilter

Unless you are a professional seamstress (sewing for others)…a quilt store owner giving classes and selling everything remotely related to sewing…or  a professional long-arm quilter; you really won’t be needing all the bells and whistles that every quilt store and magazine insists that you must have. 

There’re lots of fancy dreams about sewing machines out there – but how do you know which is the best sewing machine for you?

How do I know? 

I’ve been sewing for 30 years and creating fabric arts and quilts for 14 years, and the closest I’ve ever gotten to all the bells and whistles was when I purchased a Bernina sewing machine.  It was an Artista 170 and the listed price at that time was $3,000.00. 

I didn’t actually pay that, however.  I got it for $800.00 because it had been a demo model. 

I’ve sewn on this machine for 10 years and really enjoyed all the fancy stitches, etc… until they stopped working so well.  Then the Bernina salesman told me it couldn’t be fixed and I needed to purchase a new one. 

Since I’d been diligently taking this machine in to be cleaned and maintained on a regular basis – and paying over $100/visit, I decided that I’d let Michael have a look at it.  Michael is a great mechanic – very methodical and thorough. 

He discovered 4 things. 

One: the machine had never been oiled or even properly cleaned.

Which meant that all the money I had spent supposedly having that done had been wasted. 

Two: the Bernina manufacturer had used shoddy metal

Spring on a sewing machine, trouble with a Bernina

Probably on everything, but especially on the jingle-zazzle (forgive me, darling, I don’t remember the precise term) that’s used in sewing all of the fancy stitches, and ultimately the zig-zag stitch, which is my most valuable stitch.

Three: Bernina does not provide a shop book for do-it-yourselfer mechanics to figure out how it works. 

This didn’t stop my sweetheart, and, being Michael, he stripped that Bernina down to the frame and figured it all out himself only to find yet another problem.

Four: As a “civilian” you can’t purchase a replacement part anywhere. 

Michael & Karyl Fitzgerald from Princess YellowBelly Designs
Karyl Fitzgerald & her husband

Not from Bernina itself, and not from the sewing machine repairman in ANY of the quilt stores!  Michael was EXTREMELY ticked off.  And, just to show them, figured out how to make it work anyway. 

The upshot was that the Bernina sewed for me for another 5 years but has now, finally, given up the ghost entirely. 

I say all this to tell you that Michael and I have been having long discussions about what I must have in a machine, what I would like to have, and what is just an added pain in the neck and the pocketbook.

Here are my conclusions:

What You Need in a Sewing Machine Depends on What You’re Planning to Create With it

After a potential financial horror story like this (imagine if I’d paid full price!) you might be leery of getting a sewing machine at all.  Forget that thinking.  Unless you’re one of those people who sews entirely by hand…but even for those who quilt or piece by hand usually do end up doing a little bit with a sewing machine.

Get your quilting out from “behind bars” by buying the best sewing machine for your needs

This is the #1 item you MUST have in your tool kit or there’s no use in going any further. 

Whether you use it:

  • Just to do the mending…
  • Making your own clothes…
  • Or quilting…

The sewing machine you purchase must be able to perform smoothly, without constant breakdowns, and get the job done with a minimum of fuss.  Here are some things you should consider and look for.

Just Because it’s Expensive, Doesn’t Mean it’s Any Good 

I actually don’t think that any of the big, brand name quilting machines could possibly be the best sewing machine for quilters. 

  • 2 20 dollar bills and a 5 on a background of purple-to-pink fabrics sewing within your means illustration
  • Handing holding cash and coin money over purple and pink quilting fabrics sewing within your means illustration

Like I said, I will never buy a Bernina again because of the shoddy workmanship…the unavailability of a shop book…the expense of a maintenance visit…and the refusal on the company’s part to sell individual parts to the unwashed masses. 

I have checked with Baby-Lock and Janome and this appears to be their standard operating procedure as well. 

Barb bought herself a new Janome a few years back and it cost her around $8,000.00! 

I would say this is insane because you have to sew professionally for this to be at all financially sound, and Barb sews way less than I do.  Also, Michael found out on his many travels via the Internet, that Bernina at least, sells their machines in Europe for half the price they sell them for here, and I find that very upsetting.

What You Don’t Need in a Sewing Machine

If you are into embroidery in a big way, then you will obviously need a machine that does this – but shop very carefully.  I’m sure there are ways to purchase the best sewing machine for specialties like this without paying top dollar. 

A sewing machine that's been stripped down to it's metal frame on a kitchen table in front of a window

The internet is always a good place to start – and my favorite quilting store recently moved buildings, and marked their machines down by 50%. 

However, if you only want to do the occasional monogram, like I do, you only need a machine that does a nice satin stitch and has free motion quilting. 

Buying a Cheaper Machine Can Force Ingenuity

I have often lusted over machines that have a wider throat because it is so much easier to push a larger project through them.  But, since I’ve never had one, and refuse to spend thousands to obtain one, I used my in-born creativity and figured out ways to put smaller pieces through before joining them to the larger piece. 

This is called quilting in sections and there are a lot of ways to go about doing this, and believe me, they work!  So don’t spend thousands for a larger throat machine if you don’t absolutely have to.

  • Applique foot on Bernina sewing machine - Princess YellowBelly Designs

Plus, a big reason I quilt is to keep my mind sharp.  So trying new and even difficult techniques is good for me, anyway.

Be Wary of Those Oh-So-Tempting Accessories

Other things that are nice but not necessary are:

  • Needle-threaders (these break easily)
  • Thread cutters
  • A knee presser foot instead of a foot pedal
  • And 300 fancy stitches – of which you will probably only use 10.

There are always exceptions, of course.  My eyesight isn’t great, so if I didn’t have my kids around, I’d probably need a needle-threader.  I’ve known of quilters who sadly suffer from physical ailments, and they actually do need the knee presser. 

What You Do Need in a Sewing Machine

That being said, there are a few qualities and features that you need to look for if you’re going to be successful in find the best sewing machine for you.

This is my best sewing machine – the second of two identical machines which does all the work of my Bernina for roughly $140 a machine

Durability

This means a machine that is well made with the best material available, especially when it comes to the shanks (whatever those are), and other internal workings, etc.  It must be built with good steel. 

You can find all this out if you check out each machine’ website, but you might also want to ask your local shade-tree mechanic for advice if you can. 

Maneuverability  

If you’ve never owned a machine with a computer in it, it will astonish you at how much they weigh!  My Bernina was just a regular sized machine, but it weighed at least 3 times more than one without a computer. 

  • a plain duty sewing machine
    Many of my beautiful and innovative quilts have been sewn on this simple, humble little workhorse sewing machine – don’t underestimate them!

The weight factor become much more of an issue the older you get. 

If you plan on moving your machine around to quilting circles, classes, maintenance checkups, etc., consider the mechanics of moving it.  Barb has to have her son load hers into the car, and moves it around in a wagon because there’s no lifting that sucker for anyone over 50.

Motor Strength

Machines that are advertised as Heavy Duty, are to my mind, the best sewing machines for overall sewing, especially for home sewers who do more on them than just quilt. 

For example I also like to do:

Applique foot on Bernina sewing machine - Princess YellowBelly Designs
  • The mending
  • Sew curtains
  • Various household decorations
  • Sew clothes for Michael, etc.

Besides doing all my fabric art stuff.  This requires that my machine have the strength to sew through several layers of denim and still be able to stitch chiffon fabrics. 

Free Motion Quilting

If you do any fabric art or quilting at all, you will need the free motion quilting feature.  This is becoming more and more common in almost every brand of machine – don’t buy one that doesn’t include it.

A Strong Zig-Zag

When you think about all of those fancy stitches that the top-line machines have, ALL of them are created with a zig-zag stitch.  So it makes sense to be sure that this part is created with the strongest steel and machined perfectly, and that it can be easily oiled, cleaned and maintained, because if it can’t, your fancy stitch feature won’t last very long.  Ever heard of planned obsolescence? 

The Best Sewing Machine for You is a Hard Decision

One problem with the smaller, cheaper machines – like my own Singer Work Horse – is that they tend to have a limited life, and when they go, they’re gone.  So just know that you won’t be able to extend the life of one of these quite as much as a big machine.

Michael and I finally concluded that the three features that I used constantly in my work were straight stitching, zig-zag stitching, and free-motion quilting. 

So this is all I’m going to purchase at present.

Sometimes it is more cost effective to buy 2 different machines to accomplish different tasks than to buy one machine that does it all.  Like a plain, regular sewing machine and a separate serger or embroidery machine. 

Both machines will be more simply built and therefore more easily maintained.  The more features you stuff into one machine the more there is to go wrong. I finally decided to buy a $130.00 Heavy Duty Singer for the bulk of my sewing, and am thinking of purchasing a Brothers 1500 that does nothing but straight stitch and free motion quilt. 

A sewing machine that's been stripped down to it's metal frame

The Singer has an excellent zig-zag feature and this way I can spread my sewing over 2 machines without wearing them out.

The Snob Factor

Beware, beware.  This is a monster that can get you into all sorts of hot water financially. 

“The nose is up…the eyes cast down!”

It’s a combination of jealousy, keeping up with the Jones’s, and wanting to stick your nose up in superiority while looking down on mere mortals.  It’s a great temptation and being human, we all do it from time to time.

This is no less true than in the quilting world. 

Just walk through a quilt show and listen to the people around you running down a machine sewn binding vs a hand-sewn one, etc.  This totally human tendency can be completely harmless if you keep it in your head. But if you let it into your wallet it can be BIG trouble and cost you BIG bucks.

Don’t fall for the “more expensive it is, the better it is and therefore, the better I am” lie.

A $200.00 machine can work for you just as well as a $5,000.00 one if it does what you need it to do. 

Princess YellowBelly Designs logo

So, give a careful think about what you need your sewing machine to accomplish, do your due diligence on the Internet by checking out each machine you might be interested in, talk to friends and fellow seamstresses about their machines and recommendations, be realistic about your budget for a new machine, and make your choice. 

HAPPY SEWING!

Stock Your Tool Kit with the Right Equipment – Sharp Stuff Edition

Stocking Your Tool Kit with the Other Essentials – Unique Sewing Tools & Their Uses

Food for Fabric Art Thought

by

Or…Inspiration from the Kitchen

I have recently been constructing some new patterns – which will be debuting for your fabric art enjoyment in the next few months.  The great thing about creating new quilting patterns is that it gives you a lot to think about, creative food for thought, so to speak.

However, as with any creative journey, stepping off the beaten trail can raise interesting problems.

And as I was contemplating how to get around a problem that was not cooperating with my genius, it occurred to me that of all the ways I could think of to fix it, all of them came out of the kitchen. 

Many creative endeavors mirror each other’s techniques – including two you might not expect, cooking and sewing

So then I started looking back at all of the things I’ve designed and realized that almost all of my designs originate from 6 types of food that we all know and love. 

Drawing Inspiration from the Kitchen in Your Fabric Art

I also realized that strategizing at the beginning of a new project is much simpler and quicker if I think in terms of these 6 foods.  So, for all you brave adventurers in the fabric art jungle, I thought I would share my insights with you.

The First Food for Thought – Casseroles

Casseroles are a basic and frequent dish in my household because they are easy, quick and delicious.  Everything in one dish and voila! Dinner is done! 

Many fabric art patterns mimic this very same concept – especially quilts. 

With a quilt or a large wall hanging the basic principle is to keep adding design elements in all directions until you have both the size and the design you want. 

Mostly you start with a main design element.  This could take the form of:

  • A panel
  • An applique design that is the main focus
  • Or a basic pattern structure and you move out from there. 
  • Home Pastures - a project that used printed fabric panels for quilting

These “Casserole Quilts,” are beautiful, functional and meet many needs at the same time – just like an edible casserole! They often tell stories, but the tales they tell are not as involved or intricate as the stories in a specific subcategory of casserole quilts.

Secondary Casserole – the Casserole Pie

A second type of casserole is the kind with a bottom crust, but no top.  Let’s refer to this as the casserole pie. 

You start with the bottom crust (background) and you layer all of your ingredients (design elements) into it.

If you were making food, you might include things like leftovers from the fridge, a can of mushrooms, or even fresh vegetables that are going a little limp.  But when we talk about making a casserole pie quilt, you’re adding visual storytelling elements.

In this type of construction, almost all the design elements you will be adding are appliques and bling. 

With a casserole pie quilt you are telling a story, not showcasing a specific design so that each project you make like this is totally unique.  My best example of a casserole pie is my Coral Reef panel where I added almost 200 appliques onto my background. 

  • Landscape quilt designs taken to the next level - super busy coral reef panel
  • Underwater corral reef - very busy example of a background in one of our landscape quilt designs

It took some time but it was well worth it as I never get tired of looking at it and every time I do, I find something new to amaze me – even though I made it. 

When I finished it, the kids all begged me not to put it in the shop to sell as they were as fascinated by it as I was. 

This kind of project is time-consuming, but like I said, well worth it.

The Second Food for Thought – Turn-Overs

These are exactly what they sound like, and they work the same way in fabric art as they do in the kitchen. 

When you turn the completed project over, you have a finished product with a beautiful, and uniquely finished edge. The beauty of this type of design is that when your project is turned right side out all the edges are neat and finished. 

The ingredients are placed on a bottom crust, the top crust is added, and you flip the entire thing over or in fabric art, right side out. 

I use this technique often in smaller projects such as my Maple Leaf Table Runner, The Autumn Spinner, and my Specialty Christmas Stockings (coming soon). 

These fabric art turnovers are made with a specific process, which I do videos on in various patterns. 

  1. Start by constructing a slit in your backing fabric and then laying it right side up. 
  2. Next, lay your background fabric right side down on top of this, and then place your batting on top of that. 
  3. Then pin your template on top of that and sew all the way around the design. 
  4. Trim closely with scissors and then turn the entire piece right side out through the slit.
  5. Finally, push out all edges with a corner turner and press flat. 

Voila!  You have a neat and finished piece.

The Third Food for Thought – Sandwiches

In most places I refer to a quilt sandwich as being three simple layers – backing, batting, and the front of the quilt.  But in this case I’m talking about a specialty method which is still in development, and I’ll soon have some products, namely my Christmas Stockings, available to show you.

For now, let’s break it down in basics:

Just like in the kitchen, fabric sandwiches are constructed using 2 pieces of fabric – except here we use turn-overs as the pieces of bread.  I make fabric sandwiches when I have a back and front to a project with an opening in the center – like a pocket.  Most of my Christmas Stockings are sandwiches. 

First I construct the backs and the fronts separately using the turn-over method, then I layer the 2 pieces and sew them together around three sides, leaving the 4th side open for the pocket. 

Sandwich making is an extremely handy skill to acquire and when they are made correctly will awe all of your friends and acquaintances.

The Fourth Food for Thought – Layer Cakes

Layer cakes in the fabric world are constructed exactly the same as in the culinary world – one layer at a time.  Most of my fabric art panel projects are layer cakes because they lend themselves to this technique beautifully and are the easiest way to construct them. 

Layer cakes are built starting with backing fabric, then either batting or foam, background fabric, and then however many layers you put on top of that. 

The biggest layer cake I have made to date is My Pad, my frog on a lily pad panel.  It is 7 layers thick and for the final layer I had to use a size 16 needle as I used 2 layers of batting and1 of foam in the construction of this.  This project was a lot of fun to make, but most of my layer cakes are only 4 layers (backing, batting, background and the design elements).

Projects such as

  • Running wild black horse sunset wall hanging quilt
  • Running wild black stallion on the beach at sunset, black, orange, gold, red fabric art interior wall art

This type of project is only limited to your imagination and how strong your sewing machine motor is – so be bold!

The Fifth Food for Thought – Pie Crusts

This is a technique I have just thought up and used it for the first time on the Freedom Flight piece – which is my eagle. 

I tried a couple of the above methods first but nothing worked as the tips of the long feathers were impossible to turn so there was no finished edge.  Finally, after a lot of frustration I decided to try finishing it off all around the outside with a tight satin stitch – and it worked…

…Mostly. 

I’ve been working on my technique and have discovered a few tricks to help make it an easy and viable choice for some projects.

  1. When I am sewing a “pie crust” type of project, I construct it on a piece of fabric that is larger than the design. 

Then, when my design is all there, I sew around the outside of the design with a ¼” margin all around the outside.  Then, using a sharp-tipped scissor, I trim all of the excess fabric away as close to the stitching line as possible without cutting through it. 

When you finish doing this, you will have your design all finished except for the edge. 

Here’s why I call this technique the pie crust – I have all the ingredients on the inside with a top and bottom crust & I finish the edge by crimping (satin stitching) the edge to give it a nice finish. Keep your project nice and tight as you feed it through the machine and go slowly so the satin stitch covers all of the edge.

  • I get out the “evil” quilting pins for fine-point work.

As in the case with my long eagle feather tips, sometimes you will have points that are impossible to get a nice, smooth satin stitch on if you go right to the points.  Plus, you’ve got to hold those points tight when there’s literally no material available to put your hand down on. 

I solved this by using one of my long quilting pins, poking the tip through the entire point and pulling gently with the rest of the pin to hold the point tight. 

Then I stop sewing approximately ¼” before I reach the very tip, turn my fabric, and still holding the point tight with the pin, I start sewing down the next side. This trick of holding the point with a pin tip works a treat and takes all the screaming and frustration out of crimping this pie crust.

  • Once you have satin stitched all around the outside and are pleased with the coverage, use a small, sharp-pointed pair of embroidery scissors to trim off all stray threads. 

Stray threads are inevitable, but it is the work of moments to trim them off.

Also trim off the very end points that you left unsewn, and your project is finished, nice and neat – and – if you sewed the outside edge with variegated thread – as I did in Freedom Flight – visually interesting.

The Final Food for Thought – Stuffed Crust

This is my version of the stuffed crust pizza.  Which delightful invention, by the way, is the only reason I ever darken the door of Pizza Hut.

When you need foam inside of a shaped pattern, such as a stocking, none of the previous methods will work because foam is too thick to turn like a pop-over or to do a pie crust edge around. 

Then I thought of the art of stuffing something and hey-ho! It works!

It works when you cut out 2 exact same shapes out of fabric and a matching foam shape that is approximately a ½” smaller all the way around. 

With wrong sides together and using a ¼” seam width, sew the shape together leaving an opening anywhere from 6 – 9” long depending on how large your foam shape is.  Turn your fabric piece right-side-out and push out all curves and corners.

Iron flat making sure the seam is not twisted to the front or back, and iron over the opening edges with a ¼” seam. 

Carefully insert the foam shape through the prepared opening adjusting to fit. 

When you are satisfied that it’s positioned correctly, stitch down the opening as close to the edge as possible. 

And that’s it! These are the 6 main sewing techniques inspired by foods from the kitchen.  At least that I can think of right now.

But as time goes on, who knows – genius is an unpredictable thing!

How to Use Embroidery Thread & Yarn Uniquely in Quilting

by
American bald eagle flies wings spread with the colors of the flag, red, white and blue

You can use a lot of different techniques and materials to create vivid, realistic, 3D images in your fabric art.  One of the coolest materials is embroidery thread, and the many techniques you can use to apply it to quilts, panels, and wall-hangings.  In this article I’ll show you how to use embroidery thread, and yarn, to outline and uniquely highlight your quilting and fabric art projects.

Outlining your work as you go should be a constant in your thinking as you plan your masterpieces.  Just like in any other 2D art-form that strives to represent 3D reality, like:

  • Regular embroidery
  • Crewel
  • Needlepoint
  • Cross-stitching
  • Painting
  • And coloring

Placing an edge around your creation creates depth, shadows, interest, and gives your shape a definitive edge that is extremely pleasing. 

From the subtle to the dramatic – embroidery thread & yarn add impact

Colors of an Outline

An outline edge is usually a darker shade – but not by that much.  The more it gently blends into the greater body of work, the more effective it becomes. 

If, for instance you’re trying to give depth and meaning to a strip of red fire – you might try using a very thin line of crimson or burgundy.  A mottled green background, on the other hand, can be made very realistic and 3-dimensional by sewing random stippled lines of dark hunter green throughout. 

The exception to that rule are blacks and grays.

For some reason – probably because these are the colors of shadows – black and/or dark shades of gray work well as the edging color for almost everything. 

Occasionally, however, you’ll want to use a lighter shade of the same color – even a white. 

This is where studying photography comes into use.  These are highlights, or blown-out colors, just like it pictures.  We use these colors to express light, reflected light, sunlight, even candlelight.  The lighter the shade is, the closer our eyes will tell us it is to the point of light.

When I was doing my mermaid, for example, I wanted to make her hair more textured and 3D than the printed panel allowed.

So I used pale yellow embroidery thread to trace out her hair – and it looked really, really weird.  It actually turned our mermaid kind of ugly.

Then my daughter – who’s a photographer – pointed out that she had two colors of hair, the white-blonde that was being hit by the “sun” and the dark blonde over her shoulders, in the “shade.” 

I pulled out the light embroidery thread over the mermaid’s shoulders and replaced it with a darker gold.  The result was – if I may say so myself – stunning.

How to Use Embroidery Thread

I am a big fan of outlining different areas of my creation and usually it’s the major focal point that I take extra time with. 

There are a number of different ways to highlight different shapes such as satin stitching, ribbons, sewing “rope”, etc., but the technique I want to go into depth here is how to use embroidery thread and yarn to create unique outlines. 

The same techniques work equally with either embroidery thread or yarn, by the way.

Step One – Double Edging Principle

Because outlining with embroidery thread takes both hands, there is no free hand to smooth down the edge of the shape you will be outlining.  This makes it extremely difficult to catch the edge of the fabric with the embroidery thread. 

I did this on my first outlining project and hated the end result, so I figured out a way to nullify this problem. Of course! 

I use matching thread on the top and with a narrow zig-zag I sew down around all the edges of the shape to be outlined BEFORE I even bring out the embroidery thread.  This way, your fabric edges are neat and secure and you don’t have to give them another thought as you go around your edges. 

  • Golden owl's beak - paperbacked fusible webbing used for sewing appliques on quilts
  • Golden owl's talons - paperbacked fusible webbing used for sewing appliques on quilts
  • Golden owl's eye - paperbacked fusible webbing used for sewing appliques on quilts

I know this sounds like you’re sewing the edge twice, and you are, but the extra time and thread is way worth it because it ends the frustration of outlining and leaves you with a neat, attractive edge. 

Trust me on this, take the extra time necessary!

Step Two – Have the Best Possible Needle

The first thing is to have the right needles. 

Trying to do this with a regular embroidery needle is almost impossible and so frustrating that you’ll never want to highlight with embroidery thread or yarn again.  The solution is to use a large-eye hand sewing needle, but this can be a little tricky to.

Yarn, as you know, varies from thick to thin, but even the thinnest yarn is too thick to pass through the largest eye of regular sewing needles. 

Even embroidery thread, when used on a quilt, can get to be a lot, very fast.  When I highlight with embroidery thread I use 2 sets of 6 strand thread and this makes quite a thick rope.  To clarify – embroidery thread comes in a strand of 6 threads.  When you embroider with it normally, you separate the strands into threads of 2 or 3 threads each and this goes easily through the eye of an embroidery needle. 

However, when I highlight with embroidery thread I use 2 complete strands of 6 threads each, so this is 12 threads in total. 

It’s quite thick and you can get one strand through a large-eyed embroidery needle, but getting both of them through is almost impossible and you can forget about yarn completely. 

Like anything, there’re ways to get it done, it just takes a while, and I don’t have much patience.

So, I have just ordered 2 different sets from Amazon of hand-sewing needles. Both of them have especially large eyes, and one looks to be sharp, as well. Hopefully these will take the frustration out of this part of the process.

If any of you readers have any knowledge of any other kind of needle I would sure like to hear from you!

Step Three – Getting Enough Line

Having to stop and start continuously because you’ve run out of thread is a MAJOR pain in the neck!  So you need to get enough line to finish an area.  And – after some trial and error – I’ve come up with a way to eliminate the guess factor.

Take a rough measure of the area to be outlined and double it, at least.  Ideally your thread should be 2.5 times longer.  So, if the area is 10” make your thread length 25”. 

Even up both strands of thread at the bottom and tie one knot.  This is a large knot, but it disappears underneath the batting or foam and no one will ever notice it. 

Leave about 7” of thread hanging through the top of the eye so that the thread won’t pull out as you sew. 

You’re now ready to start.

Quick note:  Just as in all embroidery, the inside of your pattern should be completely finished before you start the outlining. 

An extra note when quilting:  I don’t outline entire panels, I simply pick the focal points and outline these. 

And a bonus note, as well.

Along with the outlining procedure, I place either an extra layer of batting or a layer of foam behind the image to help it pop and I do the outlining before I put the backing fabric on. 

This way the embroidery knots and thread as you move from one area to another are completely hidden inside the panel.  Of course this means that you have to plan ahead which areas will be highlighted and when. 

For example, on my Ocean Maidens quilt, I decided that I would outline the main mermaids’ tail and highlight her hair with embroidery thread. 

I started by tracing just her shape onto paper, making a foam cut-out from that, and putting the foam just behind her.  Then I did all the insides and the highlighting and outlining first.  Then I placed a layer of batting over the entire back of the panel and continued on, thus hiding all my embroidery mess. 

On My Pad, I did the lily pad and frog first, using embroidery thread to outline all the different sections of the frog before I placed it on my backing/background sandwich.  So, if you’re planning to highlight, plan carefully how you will construct your project before you make the first cut.

Step Four – Choosing the Right Colors.

When you think about how to use embroidery thread correctly, one of your primary concerns should be color.  One of the next should be shading. 

Once you are ready to highlight or outline, think about the colors of the shape you’re outlining.

As I said, I use 2 different strands of embroidery thread and usually I use 2 shades of the same color – one dark and one light.  I try to match the colors to those in the fabric. 

Step Five – Sewing with Embroidery thread

As a quick aside, pulling the needle with the 2 strands of thread through either batting or foam can be quite difficult.

A needle sticking into the seamstress's finger - one of the consequences of sewing dangerously

One way I get around this is to appropriate Michael’s needle-nosed pliers and use them to pull the entire thing through to the front of my project once I push the tip through. A good fitting thimble is another extremely useful in saving in saving your fingertips when you are pushing the tip of the needle through to the front.

Once your needle is through, pull gently until all of the thread is on the front.  Then pull the thread out of the needle.  Thankfully, we’re done sewing this stuff by hand!

The thread you have in your sewing machine should either match your embroidery thread, or be invisible as it is the outlining effect of the embroidery thread that you want to emphasize here. 

Applique foot on Bernina sewing machine - Princess YellowBelly Designs

When I highlighted the mermaid’s hair, I used gold shimmer thread in my machine so it would sparkle just a little and make her appear more magical.  So think carefully about your choice of sewing thread. 

Once you’re ready, set your machine on a narrow zig-zag stitch, just wide enough to cover the 2 strands of embroidery thread, and set your stitch length approximately halfway between a regular stitch and a basting stitch – so not real tight but not too loose either.

Step Six – Tips to Finishing in Style

To maximize the effect of the 2 shades of embroidery thread, grab hold of your thread about 5” away from your sewing needle and start twisting it gently together, laying it down along the edge of your design and sewing it down as you go. 

This is why you need at least double the length of your shape, the twisting takes up a lot of thread but it makes a delightful edge.  Besides, embroidery thread is relatively cheap. 

When you get to the end of your outlining, re-thread your large-eye hand sewing needle and pull the thread end through to the back. 

For sharper highlights, one alternative to a satin stitch is using embroidery thread strands

If you’re all done, knot it off.

If you’re not and you have another area to outline walk your thread over to the next starting point by weaving it in and out of just the batting or foam layer.  Bring the needle back up at your new starting point and continue on as before. 

This technique leaves you with a beautiful outlined edge and all the mess invisible.

If you want to use yarn to outline instead of embroidery thread, the technique is exactly the same BUT I NEVER use 2 strands of yarn – it just becomes too thick and even with the aid of the needle-nosed pliers it is impossible to pull it through the fabric.

Yarn gives a much higher definition to your outline and increases the 3D effect of the object being outlined.  I used black yarn to outline the seams of the treasure chest in my Ocean Maidens quilt and it really helped it to appear more realistic.

NOTE:  There are times when you might want the outlining to be the focal point of an area as when I used a Christmas red and green together to outline the wording on my 12 days of Christmas panel.

Also, sometimes you may only need one strand of 6 threads to make your point if the thread is in high contrast to the fabric.  I only used one strand of black embroidery thread to make the outline of my eagle’s eyebrow on Freedom Flight.

Outlining is Essential!

When I first started cross-stitching many years ago I thought that my images looked just fine without the outline stitches.  Mostly I was just lazy.  My friend Jenny was totally disgusted by my attitude and took my piece away from me and did the backstitching herself so that I would see the difference – and it was HUGE. 

NEVER underestimate the bang you will get for your buck when it comes to outlining and highlighting.  Take the time to do it – you will never regret it!

Creating Movement with Fabric Art Quilts & Projects – Part 3 – Thread & Accessories

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3 wise men following yonder star

I hope you’re enjoying our series on our creating movement in fabric art.  As you may have guessed by now we here at Princess YellowBelly Designs believe in the power of movement.  We believe that scenes on a quilt or fabric art panel should move in order to move the viewer.  This is the entire basis of creating emotional, artistic fabric art. 

In my first article I talked about that principle, and how to understand the theory behind creating movement. 

In my second article I talked about how to use your largest medium, fabric, to its best possible advantage.  How to mix darks and lights, create shadows, flow, temperatures, etc.

Now we’re on to the last two major mediums: thread and accessories. 

The right mix of fabric, thread, and accessories creates a magical story

Plus I’ve tossed in a few other back-up singers into your fabric art movement choir so you can create solid pieces of art all the time. 

Creating Movement with Thread

Believe it or not thread creates movement.  We’re talking about here are your topstitching, quilting, and appliqueing threads – not the thread you use to sew your seams together.  Seaming thread should be beige, 95.5% of the time.

If you don’t know why, don’t worry, we’ve got a whole article about beige thread.

  • Two rows of different variegated threads on different sized spools - beautiful, vibrant colors
  • Irridescent purple, gold, and silver holoshimmer metallic thread
  • cream thread against an autumn table runner

So – which thread do you use to do your highlighting, quilting, or appliqueing?  Once again, the answer lies in what you’re hoping to achieve.

Intent Makes all The Difference – Once Again

If you’ve read the first two article on this you know that in order to create art you need a clear vision in mind.  If you’re at the part of your project where you’re quilting or topstitching, then you should already have developed a very beautiful and moving project.

one leaf of a rustic country table topper - heavy use of quilting foam makes this variant of a quilt burst and pop

And making the right thread choice is usually pretty easy by this stage. 

Your fabric art panel will already have specific themes, colors, and moods well developed.  And you just need to make some smart choices when choosing which thread to finish the project. 

Threads are great at adding a little sparkle or enhancing a certain mood.

Depending upon the project you can use many threads, or only one or two.  Just be aware that the larger and more complex your piece is, the more you’ll be changing threads while quilting, appliqueing, and topstitching.

Collecting & Managing Your Thread Options

As many fabrics as are available in each and every color under the sun, there are as many different threads.  And then we get into the fun threads, such as:

I used to have a few loose spools of thread rolling around in a basket, but as I got more and more into fabric art I found I needed more and more thread colors. 

Finally I found a discounted deal on an entire set of quilting thread by Aurofil. 

They came in their own plastic container with small spools on one side and large spools in the other.  Each ‘color’ has approximately 5 shades and I have used these over and over and over.

I’ve had this set for about 7 years now, and am just starting to use up some of the more popular spools.  If this set doesn’t have what I need, I go to my specialty thread box.  Naturally this is where you’ll find all the fun threads.

When I’m considering my top-stitching choices I always take a cruise through these boxes and only if there isn’t anything that will work, do I go to the quilt store for something new.

For instance, I used lavender thread for my bobbin when I was stitching my ‘Ocean Maidens’ quilt because my backing fabric was a mottled lavender, grey, green and blue.  I completely used up 4 left-over spools of lavender thread and started a 5th before I finished. 

  • Bead in the middle of a turquoise and purple background, right in the middle of a quilting project

Note: Even though each of these spools was a slightly different shade of lavender, no one will ever be able to tell, and now I have more room in my thread boxes.

Making the Fateful Choice

Now, looking at the options for doing the highlighting and everything for your quilt – these should be your considerations:

Mood

When we were debating thread choices for the Ocean Maiden, Suzanna decided that since mermaids are magical creatures, we needed a magical effect.

To her that meant metallic thread in all its variations, heavy on the silver.    

Just between us I got tired of all the thread changes, but she was absolutely right – the end result is shimmery, magical, and adds to the mystery and intrigue of the mermaid.

Popping

If you want a certain design element to simply ‘pop off’ your panel, then use a highly contrasting thread color and stitch it heavily. 

This is usually something like a satin stitch. 

The wider you make the satin stitch, the more pop it has.  This is especially true with variegated thread because the different colors really show up well in this application. 

Get Criss-crossing seams in an autumn crazy quilt when you use spray starch for ironing

This is also a good technique for metallic thread. 

In judicious amounts.  A little sparkle goes a long way, especially in a satin stitch, so I typically us a narrow satin stitch with metallic.  Also metallic thread does tend to strip and break more than other threads, so you’ve got to decide how much you want to fool with it. 

Sparkling

I like to use metallic threads in autumn panels because the bronze and gold go so well with autumn themed fabrics.  Also if the sun (gold thread) “shines” on the panel it just lights up.

I also like to use silver or gold in projects of a Christmassy nature.

And, like I said, I used a huge amount of silver and lavender metallic thread on my mermaid quilt. 

Try to keep a balance with sparkle thread though – a little bling goes a long way.  Notice how your eye is drawn to the mermaid tails first – you only notice the rest of her second, and that’s how it should be.

Highlighting

Three wise men going to Bethlehem in our panel

When I want to highlight something I will use a bold color choice – often black – but stitch it with a straight stitch or an open zig-zag.  This will draw the eye eventually, but not grab the lion’s share of attention and that’s what highlighting is all about.

Fox applique on a panel with a zipper back

Blending

If you want something to just lay there and be quiet, use a color that matches your element and stitch it either with a straight or blanket stitch.  Your eye will pass right over it while your brain registers only the movement – and that’s where your movement comes from!

I use beige to top-stitch backgrounds. 

How to Use Accessories to Create Movement in Fabric Art

I’ve actually already covered this topic in depth because I love to accessorize so much.  So please check out my Bling Blog for ideas on accessorizing your fabric art. 

What I just want to point out here is how to use these accessories to move the eye across your project. 

  • Owl and butterfly button on a zipper back background

In my Coral Reef Panel, I used long thin, orange-ish leaves that I found in an autumn arrangement at Walmart.  I pulled the wire off of the back and then used them to represent sea grass. 

When you look at this panel, your eye sees these and follows them along, and this creates directional movement. 

Anything that will make your eyes track from one point to the next creates movement. 

I also create this effect by:

  • Sewing buttons or beads on a line
  • Ribbons that lead from one element to the next
  • Crystals that draw the eye to certain elements (I do this for eyes and flower centers)
  • And in the Ocean Maiden I’m using bubbles to finalize the illusion of movement 

Give your imagination free reign when you’re thinking about what accessories will enhance your projects.  And keep an open mind when you’re wandering the aisles of stores looking for inspiration.

Accessories are actually one of the few elements I recommend purchasing on a whim.  Especially if you shop at antique and thrift stores like I do a certain decorative element will probably be gone the next time, and you’ll never see its kind again.

The Most Customizable Accessory – Appliques

This is a French word – you should be able to tell by its weird spelling – for any extra shape that you sew onto the front of your project. 

One of my favorite custom-made appliques…ever!

You can buy embroidery appliques in the sewing section of most stores.  They are quick and easy to sew on, but they’re not terribly unique or lifelike.  If you want anything realistic looking you have to do it yourself. 

There’s a relatively easy way to this – check out my Appliqueing with Confidence blog. 

What I want to emphasize here is that appliques are one of the most powerful elements you can incorporate into your projects to create movement. 

All of the appliqued mermaids in my Ocean Maidens quilt help to keep the eye moving, especially since each one is a different color and shape – sort of- and they’re all engaged in different activities.

When you add an applique it’s like a spotlight has been shone on it – everyone notices it instantly. 

Bonus!  Back-Up Singers in Your Fabric Art Choir

Wow!  I can’t believe we’re almost done with one of my favorite subjects in the whole world.

Still, while we’ve covered the three major mediums that can be used to create movement in fabric art, there are a few more hidden elements that you can take advantage of to increase the impact of your project.

Batting

You can read my blog on batting for all the different choices you have in this area.  In short form, your batting choice will help you to emphasize certain elements of your fabric art.  There are a multitude of techniques and batting types you can choose, so I definitely recommend giving the whole article a read!

Foam

Think thicker, more emphatic batting.  I also have a foam blog, so just hop on over there and read it. 

Background Quilting Techniques

I estimate that for about 80% of all my project backgrounds I sew a simple free-motion stipple pattern when I quilt.  It’s fast, easy and does a super job of holding everything together.  You don’t need a pattern; stippling is simply sewing swoops, lines, and squiggles all over your background without sewing over a previous line of stitching. 

Just think of it like dropping a long piece of string onto your project and following along it as it curls and dips. 

You can also do spreading ripples, sunrays, and feathers as quilting on your background without a great deal of trouble if you’ve got a free-motion quilting feature on your machine. 

Specialty Quilting Patterns

When I want a specific shape to quilt onto my background I use one of my plastic quilting templates and use either my chalk ponce or an erasable pen to trace out the pattern.  I did this on my Cassidy Rose quilt and my Starburst quilt. 

Sometimes, as in my Camel Panel, I use a cookie cutter for the shape I want.  A specific shape quilted onto your background, draws the eye (creating movement) and also helps the background to become an integral part of the story – rather than just lying there.

In the Ocean Maiden quilt, I used metallic thread to quilt in rows of a ‘loose’ feather shape to look like waves on my ‘Mermaid Sea” border. 

  • A pointing Wise Man in a Christmas panel
  • Twinkling star is a good strategy in landscape quilt designs

Always think carefully about what you want your background/borders to say or do and then quilt accordingly. 

Your fabric art is as unique, beautiful, and vibrant as you are yourself.  And the results you can achieve are limited only by your imagination – and the number of times your thread breaks.  I hope you enjoyed this series on creating movement in fabric art.

Next week we’ll be back with another great topic.

Black stallion running wild against red, orange, and gold sunset backdrop fabric magic quilt

In the meantime, please consider signing up for our FREE newsletter.  It’ll help you stay up-to-date on what’s going on in the world of Princess YellowBelly Designs.

You can also email us with specific questions or comments at karyl@pybdesigns.com.  Until next time, all our best!

Creating Movement with Fabric Art Projects – Part 2 – How to Use Fabric

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Welcome back to our blog series on creating movement with fabric art.  Last week we talked about the principles of creating motion in fabric art.  We also talked about why we have to have movement in order for it to be fabric art (as opposed to a traditional quilt).

I hope that I’ve been helpful in opening your eyes to one of my favorite things.

And I also hope that you’re feeling encouraged and excited about starting to create movement with fabric art. 

As I mentioned in my last blog, there are three necessary elements to create movement – fabric, thread, and accessories.  With those three simple, beautiful items, you can make any item flow, move, and bewitch the eye. 

These fabrics are your canvas, your brushes, and your paints. Enjoy!

This week, I want to talk about using the biggest of those three mediums: fabric.

Creating Movement with Fabric

This is the biggest choice you have to make for any project – because it’s the biggest part.  It also sets the tone:

  • Dark and broody…
  • Light and sunny…
  • Day or night…
  • What century…
  • Fun and whimsical…
  • Beautiful and inspirational…
  • Etc.  

Creating Movement with Fabric – Colors

Color choice is everything in fabric art. 

This goes for your thread and accessories as well, of course, but the fabric is the determining factor – always. 

Movement in fabric is dictated by:

  • The colors you use
  • The way you move between them – think of a rainbow
  • And the patterns printed on the fabric itself. 

When you go to a quilt store you will see whole shelves of the same color – like green – in 50 different shades and patterns.  And any one of those shades and shapes of green could be right in the right project. 

You have to make the right choice.  Here’s the easiest way to do it.

Lay out your choices on the cutting table next to each other, stand back and look carefully at how they go together. 

If you want to draw the eye subtly and gently, use different shades of the same color scheme from light to dark. 

If you want to accomplish a visual punch to the brain, use bright, highly contrasting colors. 

However, even a visual punch – such as a Bargello pattern – employs light-to-dark shades of the same color scheme to achieve its effect. For my ‘Bargello Strawberry’ table topper we used 5 different shades of red from light to dark. 

  • Flat seams are often achieved using spray starch for ironing - like in this strip piecing for the Bargello Strawberry
  • close-up of Bargello pattern and small green seed pips
  • Bargello pattern table topper, rich red fabrics with a green leaf

The varying shades were very distinctive when we laid them out side by side at the quilt store, but when they were sewn into 1” squares it became very hard to tell them apart.  What you see is a strawberry that moves from light-to-dark so subtly that it appears mottled – exactly like a real one. 

Take the time – or make the time – to think about the effect you want from your finished project. 

If you make a mistake in a color combination, you will usually be able to see it very quickly – as I did when I used blue in my wedding ring quilt.  The first set that I put together just screamed at me, so I tore it apart and chose a different fabric.

Peacock Paradis - fabric panels for quilting combined to create a brand-new image

Consider Shadows in Your Fabric Choices

We often don’t think about shadows in real life.  But shadows are the very definition of what we see.  Shadows:

  • Give depth to color
  • Layers to scenery
  • And impact to moments

Most importantly, shadows create 3-D effects that enhances your background, makes the visual much more realistic, and adds a great deal of interest.  Shadows should be added whenever you want to make something appear deeper or to show the way the light is moving. 

If you’re creating a stone wall, for instance, and using a grey mottled fabric for the stones, then you need to deepen the scene.  You can do this by adding fabric strips of either darker grey or black strips. This will create the 3-D effect you need. 

Experiment with the width of the “shadow” so that you achieve the right effect without overwhelming the main element. 

Another way to achieve shadows with fabrics is to use a darker shade in a strip-pieced pattern.  I especially like to do this with crazy quilts, strip quilts, and pinwheels. 

I also like to look at photographs and then try to model my shadow effects after them.

  • Criss-crossing seams in an autumn crazy quilt

Pay Attention to Design and Pattern

The other way to create movement with fabric is to use fabric printed with many different designs. 

Having just finished my ‘Ocean Maidens’ quilt, I’ve spent a lot of time gazing at fabric with swirls (waves), bubbles (water), dots (floaty organic material), and leaves (ocean flora and fauna). 

The entire quilt appears to move, especially as we moved the fabric from light through dark to simulate the ocean from top to bottom.

If I had chosen the exact same color scheme but in plain fabrics only, my ‘ocean’ would just lay there, boring and dead.  So always plan ahead and know what effect you want to achieve before you lay out one cent or make your first cut.

Handing holding cash and coin money over purple and pink quilting fabrics sewing within your means illustration

How to Save Money & Avoide Mistakes

As always, I’ve got a few items on my “don’t” list, as well.  Knowing what not to do, what not to choose, and why not will go a long way in saving you time and money.

“Don’t” Tip #1

Unless you absolutely have to, don’t buy plain fabric.

You’ll really maximize your moneys’ worth by purchasing multi-colored fabric or fabric that is printed with a design in the same color scheme. 

The multi-colored fabric allows you to bring in any other color that’s also printed on the main fabric.  If you have a gold-based fabric with green & orange swirls on it, then you can bring in green and orange fabrics and they will all run together – which is the exact subtle effect we’re looking for. 

Fabric that is printed with a design – such as bubbles – will often use the same color scheme from light-to-dark, which allows you to bring in each of these shades.  This simple trick moves color through your project and moves your eyes to follow it, thus creating movement with fabric.

Simple!

“Don’t” Tip #2

Try not to buy on a whim, ever.  If you’re super-attracted to a fabric, chances are you already have something similar.

Always go through your stash before you head for the quilt store to buy fabric for a new project. 

Large plastic tub full of color-themed grey and silver fabric

If your stash is anything like mine, you can often find all the fabrics you need right at home without investing a cent.  Remember, most of the time you’ll only be using a quarter yard of any one color in any project – if that – so you don’t need an entire building to stash your stash. 

If you don’t have the exact right color:

  1. Take your project and the fabrics you have already chosen from your stash to the quilt store
  2. Mix and match carefully
  3. Buy only what you need. 

You’ll save a lot of money this way and keep your stash under control at the same time.

“Don’t” Tip #3

Don’t allow yourself to be bullied into fabric choices that you loathe just because it’s what’s hip or modern.  Or even if it’s called for in the pattern. 

Personally, I have to love the colors of the fabric I’m working with or my dislike shows in the finished piece.  Besides that, I get no joy out of creating it and life is way too short to spend time on things that you don’t like. 

I absolutely loathe the ‘modern’ color combination of pale, washed out teal and that anemic brown you see everywhere and I refuse to spend one cent in buying those color schemes.

As I’ve said before, autumn is my favorite season so I have a great many of those fabrics in my stash.  I also love the jewel tones of purple, turquoise and jade – so I have a lot of that. 

Different colors – whole new art set

It’s amazing how many different places you can use these colors. 

And often patterns, even traditional patterns, don’t need to have the exact fabrics.

When I did my one and only Jinny Beyer quilt I used the fabric supplied in the kit – because I loved those colors.  Later I saw a quilt at the quilt store that used shades of purple, green, and turquoise instead of pinks, reds, and purples. 

The effect was, and almost always is, equally stunning. 

  • These are the exact same pattern, a Princess YellowBelly original, but the colors are totally different…

However you go about creating movement with fabric, remember, it’s about the story.  You don’t want your quilt to sit there.  You want it to move people through the context, to fold in light and shadow, emotion and love.

Next week we’ll finish out this blog series by talking about the other two mediums used in creating movement with fabric art; thread and accessories. 

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