Machine Embellishing – Project 2

Following on from my earlier ‘How to Use Your Machine Embellisher Tutorial’, I would like to show you another way to use your embellisher…

Project 2: Decorating Denim

Cut a small square of denim and several differing size organza circles (these don’t need to be exact, or even ironed… unless you are wanting a crisp finish).

Place one of the organza circles onto the denim and place under the needles of your embellisher ready to start work.

Slowly punch the organza circle into the denim base. You will notice that it shrinks the organza into a 3-D form, with a textured center… this is your flower head.

Repeat this action for the remaining flower heads.

Once finished remove from the machine and decorate by hand. Here I have used simple embroidery stitches and seed beads.

And there you go… all finished!

Why not turn this into a panel for a pocket on a bag? Or fancy decoration to the hem of your jeans?

I hope this gives you some ideas…
Sara x
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Here’s where to get your materials and equipment… Sara’s Texture Crafts

Sara’s Texture Crafts: Machine Embellishing – How to use your Embellisher with Fibre

For this tutorial I am using a Janome Embellisher (please remember there are lots of other makes of machines out there).

First of all gather you materials… for this test piece I am using felt fabric with wool rovings, but you could use anything from denim to sheer woven fabrics, yarns and stray fibres or threads. Always have a small pair of sharp scissors too… these will come in handy.

Before you begin, lets look at the parts of the machine you need to be aware of… firstly the punch needles. These are like the dry felting needles in that the points are blades with several barb cuts along the edge. These are very sharp, so watch your fingers at all times! My Janome came with two needle fittings, this one that has 5 needles and the second that has just 1 needle. To start I suggest getting used to using the 5 needle attachment. It fits right in like a normal sewing machine needle.

Next is the guard area… You have two! The first is the smaller, which is a standard sewing machine guard. This will help you guide fabrics under the needles without damaging your pinkies… The second is a larger eye guard for protection against breaking needles and also helps keep roving fluff down while you are working… don’t want stray strands floating around and getting into your eyes.

Everything else is exactly the same as your normal sewing machine (except for the lack of any thread or bobin cases required!)… you have an electric pedal, which you can set to fast or slow… best to go slow as you start and secondly the side wheel, or needle wheel. This helps you move the needle through the cycle of it’s rotation, which is handy if you want to use it to get the needles to hold fibres in place before you start.
For the next part I have my piece of felt fabric and have taken a strand of wool roving fibre.

I place the fabric and fibre under my needles, by rotating the side wheel and make sure that the guards are down in their safety position. I continue to use my fingers to make sure the roving stays in its desired position as I start to put pressure on the pedal.

You will find that the fabric can be moved quite easily under the needles as they rotate to the highest position, so as you work gently (not too fast you will break a needle!) in a circular motion. This allows the needles to catch all of the fibres into the felt below.
You will notice as you work the fabric that the needles will create small holes, rather like pig skin leather… this is where you fibre is being pushed through the underlying felt fabric.
Continue working until your fibre is worked into your below fabric in your desired design.

You are now ready to start using other colours of roving to build up your picture.

Why not check out the reverse of your work as you go… the fibres that have been pushed through the fabric by the needles almost create a picture of their own!

Once you have finished covering your area, or building up your picture you can take the piece away from the machine and continue to decorate it. Here’s what I made…

Think about adding beads, sequins, or embroidery stitches… these are easy ways to create further texture… you could also add needle felted or wet felted 3-D shapes, like my ‘Early Spring’ gallery piece.

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Here’s where to get your materials, equipment and feltmaking supplies… Sara’s Texture Crafts

Crafts: Top tips for using computer printable fabrics

As a fashion and textile designer I have had experience with computer printable fabrics from plain cotton (with no adhesive), to iron-ons and peel and stick versions. So I wanted to use this guide to share my tips for using these products successfully.

1.Selecting you image – Make sure that your image is smaller than the sheet, I would suggest a border (margin) of 1 to 2cm is left unprinted all the way around the sheet. This is to avoid the edges of the fabric being caught under the ink cartridge holder, as it moves across the width fabric. By doing this you will ensure that the ink cartridge holder will not need to go from the very edge to the very edge of your sheets.
2.Before you start printing make sure that your sheet is flat. Sometimes sheets will curl if left for a while before use.
3.If you are using the plain cotton sheets, which do not have adhesive backings then you can iron the sheet on the reverse. I would suggest a cool setting.
4.If you are using the iron-on or peel and stick versions then place a book on the floor, add your sheet on top (paper side down), add a sheet of A4 plain paper to the fabric side (so as not to mark). Then add a selection of heavier books on top and leave over night. In most cases this should be enough to flatten your fabric sheet.
5.Before you load the fabric into your printer, check the fabric’s surface for any stray threads. If you leave these on they will cause misprints on the finished article.
6.Load the sheets into the printer and make sure that they are sitting straight in the feeder tray. If the fabric sheets are not straight this may lead to ink blotches at the sides of the sheet.
7.You can use the usual settings on your printer, as there are no special set-up requirements.
8.Once printed leave the fabric sheet for one hour to dry flat. The fabric should now be colour fixed.
9.Peel off the backing and the fabric is now ready to use.
10.Iron-on versions will require heat attachment. So place the adhesive side onto the desired garment, or fabric base and iron until the printed, iron-on cotton sheet is fully fixed in place. When you are doing this please always use a scrap of fabric to protect you ironing board surface. Although these sheets are colour fixed after an hour very dark prints could potentially bleed a little. There is nothing worse than damaging your ironing board cover, as it could lead to marks on your clothes.
These sheets really are simple to use and can make a really simple but effective addition to clothing, accessories and bags, handmade cards and dolls.

I always carry these items in stock, so do drop in… Sara’s Texture Crafts

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Here’s where to get your materials and equipment… Sara’s Texture Crafts