Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Which Witch's Boot - Progress Report

So here is where what is finished as of last night.  And in the process I learned something new.  Instead of using the traditional satin stitch for filling, the pattern calls for a tight blanket stitch to be used on the candy corns and circle flowers.


Now I'm onto the boot.  It's all back stitch which isn't very exciting but it has to be done.



In my last post about this project Jeanie asked if coloring the embroidery was difficult.  So I thought I would share with y'all what I do when doing coloring for an embroidery project.

First, I don't prewash my fabrics except for the backing that I put behind the background layer. All I do to the background fabric is iron it with a little Best Press Starch Alternative. It seems to help stabilize the fabric during the tracing and coloring bits.

While I prefer using the blue water soluable pens when tracing patterns, they do not work well for this type of project.  Instead I used a 005 brown Micro Pigma Pen.  To color I first use a white crayon first to lay down a heavy base to layer the other colors on top of. The white crayon helps for more even blending during the ironing phase.  Then I start LIGHTLY layering the colors. Its easier to add more color if an area isn't dark enough than it is to remove it when too much has been layed down. And once it’s heat set, its permanent.

Prior to ironing, there's an area I don't like I used a Q-Tip to apply a paste made of baking soda and water.  Gently rubbing the paste into the area I want removed acts like an eraser.  Then all I have to do is let it dry and start over.

I hope y'all will consider giving it a try 'cause it sure is a lot of fun.

Till next time...

5 comments:

Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts said...

Thanks for the tips! I just love this project. :-)

The Vegetarian Hunter said...

OK I have to ask because 1. I am interested and 2. I really do not have a clue - so my question, What kind of crayons are we talking about here??
It looks great by the way! Love the stitching on the witch's teeth and those little flowers.

Darlene said...

Great tips - thank you! I'm not a fan of Halloween but I love this design.

Barb said...

ok, I am going to have to start this project! I am afraid to do the coloring, but I have the white crayons and I just have to try it--maybe on a separate "trial" piece first before I begin this one....thanks for the tips!

Sereniticat said...

Oh Thank you so so much for letting us know your process. I've been wanting to do some crayon tining in my embroidery and have been reading all I can on it. I love your tip of laying down the white crayon first.

May I ask where you got the design from? I'd really like to stitch this one.