I've done just a little machine embroidery in the past but nothing serious. This is the first time I've used a hoop and to begin with I found it tricky - somehow I kept tilting it towards me and I seemed to have very little control. Having spent years dressmaking it took me some time to get used to the free movement of the fabric and the idea that it's all down to me. However I persisted and this was the result.
I can see that the marks I made could represent mood and feeling. The jerky marks look quite dramatic whilst the rounder ones are much calmer. There's a difference in texture as well. The more often the stitch goes over a given space the denser the colour and the more intense the texture becomes.
I have bought an additional bobbin case so that I can alter the tension screw without messing up my regular bobbin. I've had a go at changing the bobbin tension and all I can say is there's a way to go. I probably need a bit of practical help from someone with experience. Either that or lots and lots of practice in order to learn from my many mistakes.
I have a long way to go with this but I can see the possibilities opened up are enormous once I've gained some confidence.
I'm pretty reluctant just to aimlessly practice machine embroidery. I'd far rather do something I find pleasurable and maybe try something new. I've bought some Markal Paint Stiks and decided to try them out.
I selected some hessian and placed pieces of masking tape at random. I then went over the edge with the Paint Stiks. There was no great issue about the colour because I only have 3; blue, brown and purple. I waited the obligatory 48 hours, set the colour and selected cottons. I chose 3 shades of blue, brown and purple.
All I wanted to do was experiment with the stitches and hope to gain a bit of confidence. I'm still at the stage of finding it tricky to manoeuvre the fabric myself.
I started with just straight lines in two shades of purple. I had intended to do all three shades but I liked the textural way the hessian showed through.
Next I tried a rotational movement in the two lighter shades of purple and this wasn't so successful. I don't think there was enough contrast between the colours. However, the texture was entirely different to the first example and didn't make any particular use of the hessian.
I started this with a blue grid (not very accurately) then decided to infill the shapes. It was time consuming but gave a completely different effect.
This was a straight stitching but a sort of cross hatch effect that I quite like. I started with darker blue and over laid it with a paler one.
Here I wanted to do a sinuous, variegated line and I groaned when my my machine started clunking. Undaunted and knowing that what is a disaster in dressmaking is not so in embroidery I carried on and got what I had wanted (sort of)...
...but when I turned my work over it looked so much better. This is what I had been striving for on previous practice sessions! The trouble is I've no idea how to replicate it.
...so I turned over and worked from the back with blue and brown thread for the next section. It's a pity it's not as attractive as the back of the previous one though.
By this time I was starting to get a bit twitchy about what was wrong with my machine so on this one
I tried to make a chevron design so I could complete the work and get to sorting things out. Frustrating.
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| The completed practice piece |
I like the way the Markal Stiks perform. I can see they can be blended (wearing light rubber gloves). It seems a good way to apply colour to a specific area and be able to see what the finished result will be. I suppose the flip side of that is that you get no amazing surprises.
I'm getting more control of the stitches as I become more experienced but at the moment the results are far short of my aspirations!
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