Outline Drawing with Your Sewing Machine

In this first exercise we’ll start with a simple outline drawing. The most fundamental of drawings have just the outline to help you see the form and shape of the object being drawn.  Think of drawing stick figures for example. So that’s what we’re going to start with this week.

1. Take a white piece of paper and lay your hand on the paper with your fingers spread out and then with your other hand trace the outlines of your hand.

Hand Tracing on Paper

When drawing the outline of your hand on paper, you can use a pencil first and then go over it with an ultra fine sharpie so it’ll be easy for you to see through the fabric when it’s time to trace onto fabric.

2. Now using a light colored fabric on top of your paper drawing, trace your outline drawing onto fabric.  I use heat erasable FriXion pens. 

Place light Colored Fabric Over Paper Tracing

Please note I’ve found that they leave a faint mark on dark fabrics after heat is applied. But that been a problem for me because eventually I’ll stitch over the marks.  Here are several tracing methods you can use to transfer your design onto fabric if you need help.

Using a FriXion Pen Begin to Trace

3. Using your outlined drawing as the top layer, create your quilt sandwich. The felt (batting) will be your second layer, and the stabilizer your third and the backing fabric your fourth. Fasten all 4 layers of your quilt sandwich together as you’ll usually do. I fuse my layers together. (If your going to fuse and you used friction pens remember not to iron on your pen marks so not to erase the marks)

Put all 4 Layers together to Prepare Your Quilt Sandwich for Stitching

4. Lets draw.

Now bring your sandwich to your sewing machine. With your feed dogs down, bring up the bobbin thread to the top. (Helps prevent bird nests forming under your work). Then carefully trace your outline drawing with your sewing machine. Think of this as drawing with ink and no eraser.

You don’t want to stop and cut threads several times.  Use continuous stitching, so whenever possible just travel over previous line of stitching without cutting your threads. It saves you time and avoids frustration.

Watch this video to see how it works.  https://youtu.be/1vlBuGNLBxE

Let me know if you have questions.

Warmest Regards,

Clara
ClaraNartey.com

How to Setup Your Sewing Machine for Thread Drawing

Last Friday, you got a supplies list for what you’ll need to draw with your sewing machine.  Most of the items on the list are easy to figure out but I want us to talk a little bit more about how to get you sewing machine setup for doing this.

I get a lot of questions about sewing machine setup, so I wanted to take care of them upfront. This will be a detailed post geared towards the beginner thread sketcher.  If you already have experience in this, then it will be a refresher for you. Let’s get to it.

Your sewing machine is the most important component of your setup. First off, make sure it’s properly serviced. Clean the bottom of all lint and thread tails.  Oil it if that’s what your manual says or take it in for servicing. It pays to take your sewing machine in for servicing when it’s due.

Sewing Machine: I use a straight stitch sewing machine although you can free motion stitch with a zigzag machine too.  For our purposes, we’ll be using a straight stitch machine.

Sewing Table: If you can have your sewing machine flush with your sewing table, that will be best.  However for small projects it doesn’t really make much of a difference if your sewing machine is on top of the table and not dropped down into the table.

Free Motion Presser Foot: You will need to switch to a free motion foot. That involves unscrewing your standard foot and screwing in a free motion foot. Alternatively if you have a Snap-on Shank Adapter, which newer machines have you just snap on the darning foot.

Free Motion Feet (Photo from tv-sewingcenter.com)

Most machines come with one.  If you don’t have one you can find a universal one which will fit your machine. Usually to buy a universal presser foot, you’ll need to know if your sewing machine has a high-shank or low shank or slant. Check your sewing machine manual for specifications.

Free motion presser feet come by different names - open- toe, C-toe, closed toe, O-toe, darning foot and hopping foot. So don’t get confused when you see these names. Get what fits your sewing machine.  I use the open toe because it allows me to see where I’m going when I’m stitching.

Needle Plate:  Needle plates are specific to the model of each sewing machine.  They are the metal plates which cover your sewing machine’s bobbin case and feed dogs. You may either have a small round whole or a line.  The plate with a round whole can only do straight stitching and the one with a line can do both straight and zigzag plus some decorative stitches.  We’re keeping everything simple.  No need to change plates.  

Multiple/ZigZag Needle Plate and Single Needle Plate (Photo from GoldstarTool.com)

Feed Dogs:  Now that we’ve talked about Needle plates, lets take a look at feed dogs.  They are the metal (teeth-like) things in our needle plate.  They help move the fabric along when you’re sewing.  In free-motion you don’t need their help.  You’ll be moving the fabric in the direction you want.  You’re the boss here.  So lower your feed dogs.  If you don’t know how, check your sewing machine manual.

Stitch Length and Stitch Width: Since you’re now the boss lady of your sewing machine, you don’t need your machine to determine your stitch length for you.  Turn down both stitch length and width to zero. The length of you stitches will now be determined by the speed of your sewing machine and the speed at which you hands move your fabric.

Sewing Machine Speed:  Some people recommend setting your sewing machine at the highest speed possible when doing free motion stitching.  I set mine at a medium speed.  I find that setting your speed at a level you can control is important. 

If you haven’t done free motion stitching before, I want you to know that it takes a while to get a knack of the hand-eye coordination. So don’t get frustrated and give up too soon.

When free motion stitching, keep your eye on your destination, where you want to stitch next.  Don’t focus on your hands.  Just like when you’re driving you’ll keep your eyes on the road and not on the steering wheel.

It takes a little practice but you can do this.

Let me know if you’ve got any questions. I love the interaction so don’t be shy to ask questions.  Those of you who’ve already got experience in doing this, please feel free to answer questions too and give your opinions and share what worked for you.

Now get your materials for making a quilt sandwich ready.  The fun stuff starts on Wednesday. We’ll be making and using a quilt sandwich on Wednesday. See you soon.

Warmest Regards.

Clara.
ClaraNartey.com

The Best Part

 So, I had a couple of the fabric collages fused together. Next I began stitching over the surface of the collage with my machine. My goal was to secure the scraps where I had loose edges or fraying areas, as well as to provide some overall texture and color. I used lots of my fancy machine-generated stitches, especially in areas where they would be highlights. I reduced the foot pressure so I could easily make circular and loopy lines of stitching, in between straight stitching. Then I added some free motion stitching. Best to do that as a separate step, to avoid having to reset the feed dogs too often.

 

Straight, decorative, and free motion stitching

Finished collage sheet with fabric, decorative papers, book pages, and digitally printed fabrics

So, I had a couple of sheets of fabric scrap collage all stitched. The clock was ticking, my suitcase was nearly ready, my stops along the route were secured. By this time I had conceived of adding a bit of hand embroidery to the little pieces. I love to embroider in the car (especially if someone else is driving :-) and this was a great excuse to get going with it again

Travel embroidery kit - nice clear zippered sections. A repurposed toiletries travel bag.

 Almost time to leave!!! Back into my studio to get all this into a container for the trip. So, I flipped the collage sheets over, marked the correct dimensions for those little art machine boxes with a Sharpie, and started chopping.

Marking the back of the sheet and cutting

 When I collected all the little collages and turned them over, I was astonished! So many of the pieces were such lovely little compositions! I couldn't have done better if I had planned each one.

The whole collage sheet all chopped up.

I scooped up all the little pieces, dropped them into a zip lock bag, grabbed my embroidery kit, and hopped into the car with a sort-of-a-plan! See you again on Friday to conclude this particular tale.

now for something different

This post is going to be short on words, but heavy on photos. I'm a fibre artist, with a passion for techniques. I became involved with Robin Atkins, Bead Journal Project (BJP) in 2008/2009, and haven't looked back since. Although my fibre roots have been neglected lately, I hope to correct that in the near future. My 2010 BJP pieces, are probably my favourites, as they combine my love for fibre, free motion stitching, beads, paint, memorabilia and found objects. Each tells a personal story!

I only completed seven in this series, but it's definitely something I would like to revisit in the future. If you'd like to hear more, please visit my blog! To think that it all started with a simple triangle!

The Bead Journal Project is now on Facebook, and will be open for new members, in December of this year.