I've been playing around with appliqués lately, trying out a few different styles. This one didn't really work out all that well, but I'll share with you anyway and hopefully we can learn from my mistakes together. :)
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The base is same black T-shirt that I used for The Big Sister Top. (It looks dark grey in the above photo, only because I've lightened the photo so you can see the details.)
I used the "J" template from my fabric letters, to trace and cut out two Js from some pretty pink patterned fabric from my upcycle stash.
Then I pinned them on and sewed around the edges using a short wide zigzag stitch in black cotton. I thought that this stitch type would give the professional appliqué edge that you see on store bought clothes that have appliqué embellishments.
Here's where I went wrong. Both the base T-shirt fabric and the pink fabric are very stretchy. I was worried that the top fabric would stretch more than the bottom whilst sewing, meaning that I would need to lift the presser foot to let it spring back into place, causing me to sew little pleats or gathers to correct. This doesn't look very good or professional, so I thought that if I stretched the two fabrics together, they would then sew at the same rate. But as you can see, it's caused a ripple around the edge of the letters which makes it look quite amateurish indeed.
I think this ripple effect is because when I let go of the stretch, it effectively shortened the stitch length on an already short stitch, so there was just too much cotton per cm. So this technique may work with a long wide zigzag stitch? I'll try that another time and see how it looks.
I'm also thinking that I could use this ripple effect in situations where I want a ripple. Like if I was finishing off the bottom of a skirt or sleeves. Hmm, will have to give this a go another time too...
Meanwhile, JJ still loves her top, and as I'm about process over product, I still like it too. Black is perfect to wear to Playsession as they often use paints that are staining, so it makes my laundry happy as well. So from a little fail, I'm taking a little win win win. :)
xxx
Danya
3 comments:
Okay, this is a bit long, but it is like a tutorial. I teach classes about this kind of thing.
Tutorial:
If you could use something to stabilise the fabrics it would help take care of the stretch. Then you could use a loose or a close zigzag, either would work.
So - stabiliser. they have special stuff, but here are some alternatives.
paper:positive - low cost, just need to tear it away. negative - little bits of paper will stay in the stitching. this might take a while to pick out, or several washes to completely lose. Depends on who is wearing it or if the back of the applique ends up enclosed in someway.
interfacing: like you would use for shirt collars, etc. This can be purchased fairly inexpensively. cut away the excess around the letters. No particular drawback, but fusible stuff can make the area pretty stiff because of the glue. you can leave it in as a backing to the applique or cut away on the inside as well - carefully!
firm fabric - we have something here called Calico which is like US muslin, but a bit firmer. you can use something with a weight like the fabric in chinos if you don't have firm calico/muslin. This works like the interfacing but is more flexible. It is soft on the skin, so if you trim it away next to the zigzag, you can leave it in. It will soften with washing. (make sure you have prewashed calico first because sometimes it is what is called 'Loomstate' which means it hasn't be preshrunk. So when you wash your project, you will get a lot of bubbly texture...sometimes can be used to get that affect! but not in this case.)
Using the stabiliser. Place the stabiliser behind your garment, lay the applique on it. Pin in place through all the layers- or tack/baste if you are into that sort of thing. Do the zigzag or satin stitch round the applique. Removing pins as you go.
If the top fabrics are still moving around, check to see if your machine has a way to reduce the amount of pressure on the presser foot.
I guess that's probably all I can fit in here. But I hope it helps!
Sandy in the UK
It is not about the end result...it is all about the journey. If you have learnt from the process...then it is a success.
i've also made a similar mistake. live and learn! the important thing is to actually learn! i'm glad you asked because sandy's response is what i was thinking the answer was, though i certainly didn't know about all the alternatives-- thanks sandy! :) lisa
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