Orts
(aka Tips and Tidbits)
"Embroidery
is the surface applied to a textile with the hairs of an
animal, the spinnings of a worm, the growing of a plant,
the efforts of a scientist...through the eye of a needle" Author
Unknown.
Thanks Long Beach Chapter
What
is a Stitcher?
Someone who clips coupons and hunts for bargains at the supermarket
but buys untold amounts of fabrics and thread regardless of
price.
Someone who cannot see cobwebs hanging from the ceiling,
dust balls under the bed, or a sink full of dirty dishes,
but can thread a needle in the dark.
Someone who hides the mending until the garments are outgrown
but always has a needle in her hand.
Someone who sees life through the eye of a needle, and that
is a very special thing.
Thank you Bucks County Chapter |
Thimble
Tale
Back in the days when sailors went to sea in wooden
ships under canvas sails, they used a leather sheath,
which they wore on the thumb, when mending heavy
sails. It saved pricked fingers, but was thick and clumsy
to use.
Then a London metalworker, John Lofting, happened to
see one of these “thumb bells”, hurried back to his
shop,
and duplicated it in thin steel. His wife found it so
useful that soon all her friends were clamoring for them,
though most preferred to wear it on a finger instead of
the thumb.
Slurred over the years to “thimble”, the tiny metal
finger
brought Lofting a fortune and revolutionized sewing
habits.
Chain stitch
Do you have difficulty embroidering chain stitch—the
stitches are too long, uneven, or won’t follow a curve? Don’t
despair! Dust the cobwebs off your sewing machine and choose
a thread to match your fabric. If your chain stitch is meant to
be on a curve and you have a tendency to follow the grain of the
fabric, lightly draw the curve on wax paper or tear away. Set the
stitch length to 3 and sew through the paper and fabric. When you
have finished, peel away the paper. Working into the hole created
by the sewing machine at the end of each stitch, embroider chain
stitch over the top of the sewing line. It sounds simple, but it
works—try it also for stem and backstitch. To embroider coral
stitch, catch the fabric and thread between the holes. To
embroider chevron and herringbone stitch on a curve, machine two
rows, the inner stitch length on 3 and the outer on 4 (you may
need to experiment with stitch lengths). You now have a guide for
these stitches and don’t have to avoid using them.
Thanks
to Camellia Chapter, EGA
Need to measure something quickly? Try using a dollar bill. It
is about 6" long and 2 1/2" wide
Pass an unthreaded needle through your canvas. If the needle falls
through the mesh smoothly, without force, it is usually the correct
size. With the needle threaded, make sure you don't have to tug
at each stitch.
When you stitch with metallic thread, you should never use any
other thread in the same needle. The eye of the needle gets
sharpaned by the metallic thread.
Thanks to Stitchers By the Sea
When working with metallic thread, cut several short lengths ahead
of time and dip both ends in colorless nail polish and dry. This
keeps the core from sliding yet the thread goes through the fabric
easily.
Thanks to Northern Lights Chapter |
