This design is FREE with purchase of $5.00 or more for 1 week when the next letter is posted~
This letter will then be for sale in the $3.99 Shoppe Do NOT add it to your cart.
This design will be automatically added to your cart when the $5. threshold is reached
This week Dee sewed the design on water soluble stabilizer for free-standing lace.
~ This design is FREE with purchase of $5.00 or more for 1 week when the next letter is posted~
This letter will then be for sale in the $3.99 Shoppe Do NOT add it to your cart.
This design will be automatically added to your cart when the $5. threshold is reached
This week Dee sewed the design on water soluble stabilizer for free-standing lace.
Circle Geese and Mariner’s Compass Using Two Different Variegated ThreadsI was asked for examples of designs that do well with variegated threads. That inquiry inspired this post.
Generally, any Quiltering (quilting), Redwork, or Bluework designs work well with variegated threads as shown above with the Circle Geese around the Mariner’s Compass. It’s when you get into satin stitches and solid fills that variegated threads become problematic, as these bad girls show their unpredictability.
Summer’s Gold Quiltering Designs came out beautifully with this orange => yellow variegated thread. If you’re into quilting (or quiltering as I’ve come to think of it when using an embroidery machine), the variegated thread can add a new dimension to your project.
Summer’s Gold Quiltering Designs in Variegated Threads
Some variegated threads do okay with satin stitches as shown below. However, most variegated threads stripe when used with satin stitches. I got lucky with this dark to light green variegated used to stitch the leaves. The rule of thumb in using variegated with stain stitches is test sew, before committing to your project. I know that sound pretty straight forward but I have a rainbow of Post-its littering my sewing room to remind me of that very thing.
I used variegated green in all of the Monogram Potpourri designs but because the leaves are so small it worked out perfectly in creating the illusion of varying light upon my leaves.
The inset image shows how the variegated thread “shows off its light.” – Monogram Potpourri No. 3 with monogram – Close Up
Although this Hardanger Squared design has a lot of satin stitches it did well with this particular multi-colored variegated, principally because the colors in the thread has short segments, allowing for a higher rate color turnover through satin stitch sequences.
Hardanger Squared – Hardanger Machine Embroidery – in Variegated Thread of Purples, Greens & Blues
Using the same variegated thread for the satin stitches, as shown above, this Illusions design below looks good – interesting even – but at the cost of losing some of it’s illusionary effect. As a consequence, I’ve put it in my What If pile, with a note to try sewing it with an ombre thread, just to see how how the thread shading affects the illusionary effects of the design
Illusions Machine Embroidery in Variegated Threads
These two designs are from our Nutz N Boltz collection and these all look great with variegated threads
Nutz N Boltz in Variegated ThreadsNutz N Boltz in Variegated Threads
As you can see, variegated threads are a mystery as to how they will turn out when going from one design to another. That’s why is is important to test sew them in various stitch forms to see how they are going to show up when sewn onto your particular project. That’s where my Thread Sampler Designs come in.
My Thread Sampler Designs will simplify your variegated thread life. They are for hoop sizes 4 inch to 8×11 inches. These are easy to sew reference sheets for yourself of your variegated thread stash. They will help you determine which threads best fit your project before sewing it. It takes a lot of the guess work out. You’ll be glad you went through the exercise making Thread Samplers.
Making Lace? Stitch it right the first time. Always keep a spool each of white and charcoal Wonderfil Invisafil 100wt on hand to fill those bobbins and up your embroidery game.
"When people ask for time, it's always for time to say no. Yes has one
more letter in it, but it doesn't take half as long to say."
No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference – audiobook
Narrated by the author
"The conception of people acting against their own best interests
should not startle us. We see it occasionally in sleep-walking and in
politics, every day."
"Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity
becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better."
― John Updike
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