"Summer Swallow": An Experiment in Thread Art

The Experiment

 It was just a thought. A bird, a swallow in blue, and a different approach to applique.

 

The idea of thread play and raw edge applique has intrigued me for a very long time, but I didn't have the courage to try it. That fear of failure thing can get in the way of so much. Finally, this past week, I took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. If it was disastrous, no one need ever know, but I would never find out if I didn't at least attempt something scary.

Oh, my goodness! This was so much fun! I only had to relax and let the stitching flow. Around and around the bird, I stitched, ignoring every rule of precision I'd been holding myself to. Just sew. Free motion stitching in it's most free form. As long as the bird was securely sewn to the background, the details didn't matter.

So what, if it gets a bit messy. I'm new to this, my stitches wander all over the place. Even so, if you step back just a bit, there is a lovely elegance and artistry to the finished bird.

I'm hooked!

I'd started with a 12" square of fabric, so I decided to add some more elements to the sketch. A branch, a few leaves and berries.

Prettier and prettier.

First lesson

Scribble! Your kindergarten teacher was wrong! Scribble inside the lines, outside the lines, or anywhere your crayon (or thread) may want to travel. It's all good.

Second Lesson

Practice first. Draw any shape on a scrap of fabric. Now scribble. You'll get the hang of it before long. Find you comfortable speed, relax, and stitch around your shape. Over and over. Draw another shape, and do it again.

Third Lesson

Use a sturdy stabilizer!

I used my regular stabilizer behind the bird. Even so, all of those scribbling stitches pulled the fabric in and caused horrible puckers. With lots of ironing and stretching, I finally got it smooth.

When it came time to do the branches and all, I place a medium weight, fusible interfacing on the wrong side of the background fabric, and I added the stabilizer, too. It helped so much!! When I was finished with my free motion stitching, I cut the interfacing and stabilizer away from the lines. It still needed a good press with steam, but it was so much better.

 

Stabilizer and interfacing cut away from the outside of the shapes.

Now, the question remained of what to do with my pretty swallow. It would look lovely as a wall hanging. A pretty border around a 10" or 11" square would do the trick nicely.

It can also be cut down to 7 1/2" x 9 1/2". That's mug rug size!

Wait a minute ... I'm making another new purse because I need more photos for the summer bag tutorial I'm writing on my blog.  I need a design that fits an 8 1/2" x 10" piece of fabric for the pocket. Problem solved! On the purse it goes.

The Pocket

A graceful, blue swallow will be singing on my bag this summer. 

The Tutorial is here on my blog:
 http://klee2strings.blogspot.com/2016/03/san-experiment-in-thread-art-and-lessons.html

I'm a happy, happy camper, and I'll most certainly be playing more with thread art scribbles in the future