I’ve been trying to make some sunflowers using Aquamesh Washaway embroidery stabilizer. This method allows me to make individual flowers that I can move around on the wall hanging I am making before I figure out their final placement. I’ve got 6 of them made in varying sizes and have decided I don’t really like the ones I’ve made so far so I want to try something a bit different.

Here is a photo that I used to draw out the design on the left side of the drawing. I love this sunflower color.

After studying the petals on my sunflower photos, it seemed like I should make layers. I drew out three layers and highlighted the petals I wanted to stitch in each layer. Flower #1 are all the petals on the first layer, flower #2 are the petals on the second layer and #3 are ones behind both.

Then I got the idea to try to print a design onto my Aquamesh Washaway embroidery stabilizer so that I don’t have to keep redrawing the layers, if my layer idea works. I was a bit worried about how the ink would act for the end product, especially since I would be dipping it into water. The stabilizer is not stiff enough to run through the printer on its own, so I thought I would iron it to a piece of freezer paper that I cut to 8 ½” x 11”. I cut the Washaway to that same measurement, then ironed them together. The Washaway shrunk about an 1/8” all around. Note to self…maybe cut washaway larger than the freezer paper, then recut the edges. Maybe it won’t matter. (It didn’t). I definitely will need to scotch tape the feeding edge so it will hopefully go smoothly into the printer. Now…where is my tape?? Guess I need to buy some more of that. The first attempt to get this through the printer failed, the two pieces wouldn’t feed. But good to go on the second attempt, although I should have turned the piece I was copying from around so I had more space to hoop up flower #1.

I’m going to use Sulky 30 wt 100% cotton thread on this sample.

Here I’ve got the washaway in the hoop, ready to start sewing. (I had to add a bit of washaway above petal layer #1 so it would stay tight in the hoop).

Ugh! My Bernina 770 is yelling at me! Oil me! Oil me! Oil me!

Don’t you just get ticked off when that happens??

Oiling your sewing machine is a necessary evil, especially when doing this type of embroidery work. I just don’t like doing it, especially right when I want to start sewing! About 10 minutes later and a very bad language conversation with my bobbin case, I finally got to do some stitching.

I would straight stitch the petals, then go back and zigzag stitch over them.

All the threads need to be connected to other threads otherwise they will just unravel when you rinse the washaway out.

 

That being said, after I stitched the individual petals so they would hold together, I realized that I needed to somehow connect the petals in each one to the center, otherwise they’d just be flopping around after I removed the washaway. So, I cut a square of tulle, placed it behind each petal  layer and stitched it down hopefully enough to hold the petals together. I wasn’t too worried about how the center looked at this point in time, I just needed it to be structurally sound. Then I trimmed the tulle down in the shape of the center stitching. When I drop these into water to remove the washaway, the tulle should hold them together. Fingers crossed anyway!

I stitched over each layer with a darker thread to give a bit of contrast and then cut off the other flower drawing because I want to see how this is going to look before I make any more sunflowers. I’m not really happy with it so far. I don’t like how the thread is stitching up, nor the color.

After cutting most of the washaway off and rinsing the washaway out, I layered the 3 layers and I can see that some of the inkjet ink remained so the thread appears darker. I’m disappointed with that but maybe I can add some acrylic paint to the petals once they dry. It’s also very wet at this point and may lighten up when dry.

It did lighten up when dry. Looks more like a multi legged starfish to me.

If I want to make a starfish in the future I think I can do it! My petals sure look like starfish legs to me!

I’m going to paint my sample.

I used my Posca acrylic pens and I like it better, but it’s still not what I am looking for in the flower I want to put into my project. This is about 2” wide. I think my layer idea was successful though and that this technique might work for a different type of flower. It does have lots of dimensionality. It’s quite stiff from the glue in the washaway that doesn’t all get rinsed out.

That was a fun learning experience.

But, back to the drawing board…

Happy Creating!
Tesi Vaara