*TRAPUNTO* with Thick Threads

As I promised I will show you how I did this small quilt. To warm up follow the exercises explained in the previous post HERE and adjust the tension in your sewing machine if necessary.

Draw a house shape on a piece of paper and use it as a template. Iron fusible webbing on the back of a colored fabric and trace and cut the house. Iron to a piece of solid color fabric. In this case, I used white fabric.

Following the first step of my TRAPUNTO technique published in Quilting Arts magazine Dec13/Jan14, prepare the first layer. Choose your thread, in this case I chose 12w Aurifil in a monochromatic color.

For the focal point I chose a combination of my *practice designs* and changed the color thread to add interest. I did not draw the shapes on my final piece only a straight line on the roof where I wrote with dark brown 12w thread the words "my house".

After finishing sewing the design by machine, I decided where to place my *toppings* (that's what I called the hand-embroidery or beading details). In this case, I decided to use only thread, so with the same 12w thread I started to do hand embroidery.

Following the instructions of the article, prepare the  final layers.

Load your sewing machine with 28w thread on top and stitch the background. I chose a variegated color to give the viewer a surprise element once they get closer to the quilt. Finished the border with a zigzag stitch.

I hope you will try this technique adding texture to your work with trapunto combined with thick 12w and 28w thread.

Learn how to add *Texture* in your work with my NEW Article in Quilting Arts Magazine

 

The Dec2013/Jan 2014 issue of Quilting Arts magazine is out, you can find it here. In there you will find my latest article where I teach you how to add *Eye Popping Texture* to your work.

 Let me show you another idea on how I use this technique by doing Christmas ornaments.

For the hearts I use one of my drop cloth fabrics with a variety of Aurifil 12w thread colors.

After observing the marks left on the cloth I decided which parts to enhance with hand embroidery and I started to work.

Once finished, I cut the hearts out and pasted them on a red fabric.

 After following the directions from the magazine article and having sandwiched the layers together I started free motion sewing around each heart with red Aurifil 28w thread. Then I cut around the heart shape leaving approximately 1 inch of border. Afterwards,I finished the edges with a close zigzag/satin stitch. I then sewed a colorful string on the top and I made a hole in the bottom for little messages.

I hope you will try this technique and start adding texture to your work with an easy way to do trapunto.

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Can You Make a Piece of White Fabric *sing* With Thick 12 and 24 Weight Threads?

The answer is yes, if you use good quality thread! I used Aurifil 12 and 24 weight in this piece for machine and hand embroidery.

If you have been reading my blog you must know by now how much I like texture in my quilts. I try to obtain it in many different ways. For this *quiltlet* I chose to add texture with thread.

For that, I picked 4 different spools of 12 weight thread in shades of pink (colors I don't usually pick) for the flowers, 3 different spools of 24 weight thread in neutral colors for the background and a slippery white silk/cotton fabric.

To add even more texture, I did a trapunto technique for the heart.

After I loaded my sewing machine with a 12 weight thread and a new needle (100/16 sewing machine needle for home sewing machine or 20 needle for a mid-arm/longarm machine), I started to draw-sew the design.

Once finished, I did hand embroidery using the same thread.

When I was happy with the added details, I took the *quiltlet* again to the sewing machine and loaded it with 24 weight thread this time.

I chose the classic meandering stitch and sew with the three different spools of neutral color threads to add interest to the background. It's more fun than just one color.

details

The finished heart!

The monochromatic color of the flowers stand out with the splashes of color achieved from the different threads in the background. A surprise for the viewer!

I hope this gives you an idea on what to do with a simple piece of white fabric.



Can this *Quilt* be saved?

"Sunny Butterflies" 26 by 45 inches

Well, this is the finished quilt and I have to say I am quite happy with the results.

But this is how I found it while reorganizing my studio:

 I started this quilt 6 years ago. Examining the composition, I realized why I didn’t finish it—I used only dark colors and no contrast to harmonize! What was I thinking.

I asked myself: How can I bring this quilt to life? I challenged myself to make this quilt sing with *texture*. For that I used leftover batting, thick 12 and 28 weight threads for hand and machine embroidery and seed beads.

First, I needed to rip the bottom part of the quilt, where I used thin threads....sigh, this is such a tedious work.

Then I loaded my sewing machine with 12 weight aurifil thread and started sewing with extra batting underneath. After that I hand embroidered with the same thread and applied seed beads.

When I was happy with each butterfly, I loaded my sewing machine with 28 weight aurifil thread and started sewing freely.

I am happy with the end result and I feel I made my quilt sing!