Sewing and Crafting

[Ayla]

Hey Susie,

I am busy working away at tree ornaments that I am creating out of plastic canvass, embroidery thread, and seed beads. Most of my ideas are coming from one of those craft collection books you can find all the time at stores like Crafts Canada or Michael's. However, if you are creative ( as I imagine you are ) you can design your own patterns on graph paper then needlepoint to your hearts content.

These are detailed crafts, but because they are small, fairly easy to work on and fast.


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[susieB28]

Awesome Ayla thanks!!! Btw, kids and I made "light bulb santas" the other day, and they turned out great!

[Tala]

Susie and anyone else who is looking,
Here is a site that has lots of crafts ideas and etc for kids and parents as well. http://www.makingfriends.com

[Tala]

Can someone help me? I am wanting to learn how to embroider yet I dont konw of any sites that show you how or have pages to print that shows you how to do it. Anyone know of one?
Thanks!

[anniejoan]

Hi Tala:

I found a site with embroidery instructions at Craftown. Here is the page and it has illustrations as well as text. http://www.craftown.com/instruction/embroidery.htm

I've done embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint and a bunch of other things, including acrylic and watercolor painting etc. One of my goals for 2002 is to get back to these creative pursuits.

I can be found chatting in WomensSpace most evenings so if you'd like, drop by and we can encourage each other.

Have fun!

anniejoan

[Tala]

Dear Anniejoan,
Thank you so much! I do chat in WomensSpace a lot or whenever I can (mainly). I have been looking for someone to be able to check things out with because some of the instructions are confusing at times. Plus now I have a visual tool that will help so much! You are a Godsend!
Have a wonderful weekend!
/me leaves anniejoan with a cup of tea and chocolate bon bons

[anniejoan]

lol Tala! Glad you found it helpful. Often, I just do a search for "crafts" and then am off for hours looking at different sites! I'd get more done if I spent less time searching and more time actually working on all the projects I see that I ooo and ahhhhh over! lol

I spent some time this afternoon organizing some embroidery floss. Now I know where to find them. lol

The more you craft, the more you collect! I love it!!

anniejoan

[Tala]

Anniejoan,
Right after I saw your post I went into the chatroom yet you werent there. Anyway, I do lots of crafts but this is something that I want to do for special reasons. I just have a question~which might sound stupid~ but hey you never learn if you dont ask.
When using the floss for the embroidering, and it comes in a skein with many threads, you actually use one thread per use? If you can get back to me, it would be greatly appreciated. So far all the sights I have seen dont tell you that one answer. Thanks again Hope I see ya in chat real soon. **OH yeah we have chatted before under a different nic.

[anniejoan]

((( Susie ))) That is so cute! No wonder the kids will love making it and bringing it to their teacher. Isn't it amazing how creative people can be?! I have seen tons of booklets in craft stores over the past few years that are all about crafting with clay pots!

Hi Tala: Ask away!! That's how we all learn!! The number of threads of floss depends on the type of stitch and the type of fabric being used. With 6 strand embroidery floss, you can use 1 to 6 strands, depending on the effect you're after. And embroidery floss is only one type of thread you can use...others are pearl cotton, crewel wool etc.

If the pattern you are using doesn't tell you the type of thread or the number of strands to use, try making a little sampler swatch and experiment with the different numbers of threads for the different stitches you will be using on the same fabric as your project. That way, you can see what looks best. For example, the French Knot is a stitch for texture so it needs to be bulky, so generally 2 or 3 threads are used.

If you are doing cross stitch, the number of strands of embroidery floss is determined by the weave of the fabric used because the idea with cross stitch is to cover the fabric. Let me know if you want me to do a thread/fabric guide chart. I have tons of books and am sure I can find it.

Happy experimenting!!

anniejoan

[Cod]

WOW, (((anniejoan))) there is NO end to your talents. I'm impressed.

I went through a cross stitching phase earlier in my life. That was after the crochet phase, which was after, the oil painting phase, which was......

[Tala]

{{{{{Anniejoan}}}}}}
Oh wow see that was something I didn't know about. The thing I am doing doesn't say what type of stitch so I was at a loss. If you could do that chart that would be so great and very helpful to me and others. Not sure of the fabric though cause it was given to me with stencilled items on it and I was asked to embroider it. So now you see my problem. Thank you so much for answering that question. I do know how to sew by hand real well. That is the only sewing I know since I haven't the time to learn to use my singer yet.LOL Thanks a bunch

[anniejoan]

(((((( Cod ))))) lol I know what you mean about trying different things. The one and only time I tried knitting or crocheting was when I tried to make a Christmas stocking for my door. It didn't turn out at all...came out all distorted. I worked so hard on it that I didn't care and hung it on my door anyway. Comments from those who came over were: " Oh, nice Christmas, uhmmm, bell??" ROFL

Hi hi Tala:

Ok, if you are working with a stamped design, it is likely on linen or on cotton so your embroidery stitches should look just fine using 2 or 3 strands of cotton. Cut a 12 or 18 inch length of floss, then separate the strands. You'll find what length works best for you. You want the stitches to cover the stamped/stencilled design so you may have to play around a bit with it.

For cross stitch, the general guidelines are as follows:

11 count Aida cloth 3 strands
14 & 16 count Aida cloth 2 strands
18 count Aida cloth 1 or 2 strands

The needles to use for cross stitch are Tapestry needles size 24 or 26

If you are working on 14 count perforated paper or plastic canvas, use 3 strands of floss with a size 24 Tapestry needle.

Hope that helps. Have fun!

anniejoan

[Tala]

{{{{Anniejoan}}}} Thanks so much! I dont have tapestry needles yet and once I can get some I shall. Now what is Aida? Is that a name brand of the floss or refers to something else? I do hope to chat with you but alas I must make dinner. So hopefully later on tonight I will be in the chatroom to chat with you. Hopefully then I can let you know my real nic. LOL I will explain it all to you then, ok? Have fun crafting!

[anniejoan]

((((((( Tala )))))) Glad we were able to connect in chat last night!

If the design you are working on is stamped on linen or cotton, the type of needle used for that are called embroidery or crewel needles.

Aida cloth is a type of even weave fabric used for counted cross stitch. There are different manufacturers and you can buy them in different amounts of cloth. The tapestry needles used for this type of cloth have blunt points because the fabric isn't pierced...the needle goes through the spaces in the weave. The higher the count of the weave, the smaller the cross stitches. The aida cloth looks like woven squares with tiny holes around the squares. It can be found in any artsy/craftsy store so check it out and you'll see what I mean. The count refers to number of stitches per inch. So a 14 count aida cloth has 14 stitches per inch whereas an 18 count has 18 stitches per inch.

Counted cross stitch refers to cross stitch using a fabric that has no design on it. The design is charted on a graph and each square on the graph represents one stitch to make on the cloth.

Have fun!

anniejoan

[Terri]

When I was pregnant, the last few months I had to be inactive because of pregnancy induced high blood pressure so I made a neat crewel embroidery from a kit that I bought. I had it framed it looked so nice and when I moved to Florida I entered it in the Strawberry Festival (like the State Fair) and won second place. Can you believe that? All I did was follow directions. I started embroidery when I was a little girl. My mother used to let me embroider hankies and pillow cases, stuff like that. Once you learn the basic stitches you can be very creative in making your own designs and patterns. I have not done embroidery in a long time, but this conversation brought back some memories for me and makes me want to do something! Thanks ladies.