“Lemonade Makers” is dedicated to all those who life gave lemons but made lemonade out of them and are having a great time enjoying their lemonades.
This week, I did two things differently with “Stitch the Sketch”. I decided to move from monochromatic to a multicolor scheme. I also changed subjects from flowers to explore other stuff. In this video, I demonstrate the use of tear-away stabilizer for tracing onto fabric.
Here’s my pencil drawing of “Lemonade Makers”
And here’s the stitched drawing
Here’s the reverse side of the stitched drawing
And here’s the video that shows how I put it all together.
Tips, Tools and Techniques: Thread Color Choices
Since this is the first episode in which I used more than one color of thread, I thought I’ll share with you how to make your own thread color choices. So here ….
- While I was demonstrating how to trace onto fabric using a tear away stabilizer, I chose a thread color that was close to the color of the background fabric. The pros – it makes the outline stitching fade away when you start coloring or shading your design. The con – it’s a little hard to see because there’s very little contrast between thread color and fabric color.
- The thread color you choose for blending needs to be a few values apart. If you choose thread color which is very close to the next thread, you’ll not get the beautiful mixing of colors you want. Your stitching will look like it was done with just one thread color.
- Remember the color of the thread will look darker on a spool than how it’ll look when stitched.
- Finally, purchase a paper thread color chart to order threads online. Computer monitors vary in resolution so the thread color you see on your computer screen may be totally different from what will arrive in your mailbox.
So here you have it, 4 tips to help you choose your thread colors. What are your own tips? Do share. Let me know if you’ve got any questions. I’ll be glad to help.
Warmest Regards,
PS: Watch all the Stitch the Sketch Videos and read about the techniques.
This is lovely Clara! Nice color choices.
Thank Janis. Not having used more than one color in the last 18 pieces, you won’t believe how nervous I was choosing colors for this one. What saved me was – I didn’t think, I just did it. 🙂
Tear away paper!! On order now. Never heard of it before but it makes sense with what you are doing. I also would never have thought up sewing the outline with a similar thread to background. Thanks for these ideas.
You’re most welcome Shauna. I wish I could see some of the projects you’re working on. Let me know how you make out with the tear away. Remember to set your sewing machine speed a little (just a tad) slower than usual when tracing. Since sewing along marked lines takes a little more focus. You don’t want the stitches to be too tight either, then the paper will get stuck in between the stitches when you go to tear it away.