Pieces of Home Designs: Crafty Secrets Sewing Challenge

Monday, October 18, 2010

Crafty Secrets Sewing Challenge

A special heartfelt welcome to this month's guest designer Sheila Rumney!

When creating a project have you ever tried a stitch here or there? Whether by hand or machine, stitching adds an eye appealing dimension to your designs. For this month's challenge, design team members were to add any type of stitching to their creations. I used my trusty sewing machine and went to town! Since the month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I decided to make that an underlying theme of this little mini album. Just a small momento to tell a gal that she is not alone and warm hugs, prayers, and memories surround her.

I experimented with different stitches on my basic sewing machine. Each page has a straight stitch border with an ivory thread and dark brown thread base to give more depth and shadow. I think it is important to pick one color and stick with it throughout your design. Make sure it is complimentary to your color palette.

You can see on one of my envelopes that I used a blanket stitch with the default setting. On the cute prayer picture next to it, I used a straight stitch but increased the length of the stitch. The shabby tag is a mixture of two different stitches. Doing this, created a simple vintage feel that I love! Start out with a longer straight stitch then stop your machine and switch the stitch to zig zag. Stitch a few zigs and zags, then switch back to the straight stitch (I like using a longer straight stitch for this). Finally, under my "girlfriend" stamped image there is a faux zigzag stitch stamped below.

Other tips:

make sure you have a strong needle that can handle thick papers in your machine
make sure you have enough thread in your bobbin to avoid unnecessary holes in your project
sew your mats on your layouts to save money on adhesives. Just a dab in the middle will do!
experiment with lengths and widths of stitches and jot down your favorites
try using a darker color thread on your bobbin to give a little shadow and attention to hole punctures
experiment with different threads. I just L-O-V-E the variegated color thread!

Recipe for this mini album:
Crafty Secrets Little Blessings Creative Scraps
Crafty Secrets Girlfriends Images & Journal Notes
Crafty Secrets Sew Art Stamps
Melissa Frances - paper. glitter, rose applique
Maya Road - album, leaf pin
Websters Pages - rosette trim
Vintage - lace, doilies, ribbons, buttons, cookie cutter, wool roving
Other - tea stained envelopes, wooden heart, white acrylic paint, flower applique, tea stained paper doilies and tag, shabby fabric

There are so many different ways to add stitching to your own special projects! Check out our other Design Team members to see what tips and techniques they have to share!