Fudging It - when things don't quite go as planned

The one thing I have found with embroidery is it doesn’t matter how often you do a technique there are some days when things just don’t go as planned.

What do you do when small gaps appear between the buttonhole stitches or overcast stitches you have painstakingly stitched over the wire on your detached stumpwork pieces?

Previously I mentioned that I usually stitch my detached elements on quilter’s muslin.  The reason for this is because that was how I was first taught and because I always have a plentiful supply of it around.

The good thing about learning on muslin was that it taught me to be meticulous with my stitches and mostly that works for me.  However when I am having a not so good day, little gaps seem to sneak into my work.

However I have learnt a few tricks to hide disguise any gaps that might appear:

1.    You can “fudge it” by filling any little gaps that appear, by placing an overcast stitch over the wire between your buttonhole stitches.

2.    Match the background fabric to the colour of your detached pieces.  So if you are working red petals choose a red fabric for the background fabric.

3.    Colour the white wire to match the colour of your petals.  I have been using Fabrico Dual Tip Pens as these are readily available to me in the store where I work.   They come with a both a brush and bullet tip and are available in 36 colours.  I use the brush end to colour the wire.  Lay the wire flat on a piece of paper and run the brush along the length of the wire.  Roll the wire over and repeat until the wire is completely covered with ink.  Another marker that seems to be popular is the Copic Marker.  Like the Fabrico marker, it also has a wide and a narrow end. 

4.    Use the fine tip of the marker to colour any little fabric fuzzies that peak out around the edge of your work once you have cut out the worked elements. 

 

We are heading off on holidays tomorrow but once we get settled in to our caravanning home away from home, I’ll keep you posted with what has found its way into my holiday stitching basket.

Comments

[méri]

Thanks a lot!

Enjoy your holidays!

[rutholearytextileart.blogspot.com]

I've just discovered your blog, and I wanted to tell you how much I love it! I do quite a bit of goldwork too, and it's wonderful to see someone doing it to such a high standard. I'll certainly be reading your posts avidly from now on!

[Gold n' Stitches]

Hi Ruth and welcome. I have just been to your blog and have been browsing happily for the past half hour. It is great to be able to share information amongst people with similar passions. I will now spend the rest of the afternoon visiting your past posts and checking out the wonderful blog list you have created