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...