CHRISTMAS GIFT TAGS

I made some Christmas gift tags from strips of fabric, beads, machine and hand stitching. I only made five for my favourite people! They make me think of stained glass windows.

EXPERIMENT IN FREE MACHINE EMBROIDERY

In my defense, I've only recently bought a sewing machine and am still getting to grips with it. It took me at least an hour to thread it up and another half hour to get the tension on the bottom bobbin right. In the end I took a photo of the bobbin and pasted it into my sketchbook so I have a visual record of which way the screw head points for this type of machining!

After all that, as you can see, I had trouble getting control of where the needle went. The idea was to sew a couple of circles just inside each fabric patch and then join them all with circular stitching outside of the circles. I think this is going to take as long to master as driving a car! I was a little more happy with the line of circular stitching on the left but I need to think more about stitch length and also buy some more threads so I have something that will show up better. The lines of hand stitching at the top were a breeze in comparison and I used some gorgeous hand-dyed linen thread from Stef Francis again. It varies between purple and orange. Unfortunately the scan (it's easier sometimes than photographing) doesn't pick up the subtle sheen on the thread.

I have so far to go, but I'm so enjoying playing!

FIRST ATTEMPT!

This is my first attempt at making a heart. The fabric is calico painted with acrylic paints. The pieces of silk were sewn onto it with the machine and then embroidery was added over the top. The little charm at the bottom says "made with love". And it was!!

As you can see, I have a LOT to learn. The shape is dreadful, the stuffing doesn't quite reach the bottom of the heart, the ribbon at the top is a disaster and should have looked much prettier than it does.

But I absolutely loved doing it and it has taught me a lot... and the only way to go from here is up!