Even though this product isn’t new, water soluble stabilizer is one of my very favorite products and I use it in various ways to create different types of thread and fiber effects.

Soft edges…

Lace windows …

Tassels …

This is one of those products that produce seemingly magical results with very little effort.

Water soluble stabilizer comes in two types – hot and cold but cold water soluble stabilizer is by far the easiest to work with and my personal favorite.

And cold water soluble stabilizer also comes in two types – clear or see-through (looks like a piece of plastic) such as Sulky Solvy, or fibrous (looks like a fabric mesh) such as Floriani Wet’n’Gone and Sulky Fabri-Solvy.

Generally with the thin type of clear water soluble stabilizer such as Standard Sulky Solvy, you would need to use an embroidery hoop to stop the stabilizer from distorting as you stitch. However with the fabric type as well as the very thick Sulky Super Solvy (clear type), you don’t need to use a hoop. The stabilizer is thick enough to support a heavy load of stitching.

My personal favorite water soluble stabilizer is Floriani Wet’n'Gone which is a fabric type. The fabric type stabilizers tend to be a little more supportive of a heavy stitch load and you generally need only one layer to work with. Plus I’ve found that this type also washes away more easily than the clear type.

This is an easy tutorial to get you started using water soluble stabilizer.

This is a simple technique for making pieces of fabric using thread and decorative yarn. These fabric pieces can then be used as background pieces on art quilts or other projects, or focus pieces on wearable art and clothing. Or you could extend the width and length and turn it into a scarf!

Set up your machine for standard sewing with decorative thread in the top and the same thread in the bobbin, and use a zigzag stitch.

Tip: You could also use monofilament thread for effects where you don’t want the sewing thread to be visible and the yarn looks like it’s just floating in place. Very magical!

To begin, cut a piece of thick water soluble stabilizer approx 8” x 8”, or cut enough layers so that the stitching doesn’t distort things while you sew. You might have to do a test first to see how it holds up.

Using a marking pen, draw a 1” grid to be used as sewing guidelines. For this tutorial I’m using one layer of Sulky Super Solvy.

Cut some lengths of decorative fiber or yarn 12” long.

Starting from the center and working your way out towards the edges of the stabilizer, position the lengths of yarn along the marked lines and allow the ends of the yarn to overhang by 2” at each end. This will turn into a fringe. Sew the yarn to the stabilizer using a zig-zag stitch.

Continue working from the center out, adding strands of fiber until all the rows are sewn over. Take your time and enjoy the process.

Now sew rows of straight stitch in between the rows of fiber to hold everything in place. This will also help to keep the shape.

The final step is to wash away the stabilizer and watch the magic happen.

It’s always best to follow the manufacturer’s directions, but generally you only need hold it under some running water until the stabilizer washes away. This can take a little while when using this thick Solvy, so I generally run most of it away under a running tap, and then let it soak in a bowl of water for ten minutes or so and then rinse again. You may need to do this two or three times to totally remove the residue.

What you have left is a soft, lacy piece of cloth.

Once you’ve got the basics mastered, you can experiment a little. Try adding other elements such as sheer fabrics, or angelina fiber, or even some free motion stitching using metallic threads.

You could also go crazy and instead of a structured grid, just do the whole thing freehand. This is one of my favorite methods because you know how much I love to work intuitively.

Isn’t that magical? I *love* working with this stuff.

In the meantime if you haven’t explored the amazing world of water soluble stabilizer, you’ll find some resources to get you started.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Tutorial: Making Fabric Using Water Soluble Stabilizer

Machine needle-lace is a very versatile technique and one I use often, particularly for making embellishments. But you can also use it for other applications and one of my favorites is “see-through” designs. This needle-lace heart design is a simple project that demonstrates this technique.

If you’re not familiar with machine needle-lace, it’s made using free motion and sewing small, pea-size loops which overlap themselves.

You will also need to use an embroidery hoop to help stabilize your fabric.

You can download this heart shaped template by right clicking on the image and saving to your desktop.

Generally you would use this technique on one or two layers of fabric, or a quilt block. Transfer your heart shaped design to the top of your fabric, hoop your fabric in an embroidery hoop, then stitch one or two rows of straight stitch around the design to stabilize the fabric.

Using small sharp scissors, cut away the center of the design close to the stitching line.

Cut a piece of water soluble stabilizer and pin the stabilizer in place underneath the cutaway design.

Fill in the design with machine needle-lace, then stitch a row of satin stitch to finish off the edge.

For added embellishment, you could also sew a row of decorative stitching around the outer edge of the design.

You could use this design as a quilt block or as a design element for a small project. Isn’t it pretty?

And of course, you’ll find even more inspiration for using this technique on my “Titivations” DVD. Visit the Instructional DVD Section of the store for details.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Now You See It, Now You Don’t

The Flower Stitch Foot is only available for machines with a low shank and as you can see from the photo, the foot is bulky so attachments that are already fitted to your machine such as an inbuilt even feed foot, may cause problems when trying to attach the foot.

Although traditionally used for creating small circles on fabric for decorative use, the Flower Stitch Foot can also be used with water soluble stabilizer to create great fringes and dangly things.

And this is how it’s done …

On a piece of water soluble stabilizer, using your Flower Stitch Foot select a utility or satin stitch on your machine and sew a number of circles in random sizes. You will also have to sew a straight stitch underlay to help hold the shape of the stitches once the water soluble stabilizer is washed away.

Draw your fringe design on a separate piece of water soluble stabilizer.

Cut out your circles (but don’t rinse yet) and position them on the piece of stabilizer you used to draw your fringe design. A dab of water will hold them in place.

Using either straight stitch, free motion stitching or a decorative stitch, sew rows of stitching to attach the circles. Remember, if you are using decorative stitches, you will need to sew a straight stitch underlay so the stitches don’t unravel when the stabilizer is washed away.

Rinse away the stabilizer, allow the piece to dry, and press with an iron, and . . . voila!

This technique, along with other great techniques, can be found on my instructional dvd Titivations. Find it in the Instructional DVD Section of the store.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Fun with the Flower Stitch Foot

Book Wraps are great projects to make either for yourself or to give as gifts. They are easy to make and offer the perfect opportunity to express your creative self through your use of embellishment.

This project demonstrates a technique for making fabric using Decorative Stitch “Art Lace”, and then using the resulting fabric to make a Book Wrap.

Decorative Stitch “Art Lace” is made by sewing overlapping rows of decorative stitches onto a piece of water soluble stabilizer. The soft lace pieces are intended to appear haphazardly sewn with stitches gently falling away to reveal irregular shaped holes and stitch clusters, adding a very contemporary appearance to your projects.

Supplies

• Piece of Decorative Stitch “Art Lace” (see instructions) slightly larger than the finished size of your Book Wrap
• Fusible Peltex slightly larger than the finished size of your Book Wrap
• Black cotton fabric slightly larger than the finished size of your Book Wrap
• Fabric for lining slightly larger than the finished size of your Book Wrap
• Strips of fabric in a contrasting color to your “Art Lace” fabric for border,
  - 2 @ 1½” x finished length of your Book Wrap
  - 2 @ 1½” x finished width of your book Wrap
• Fusible webbing
• Angelina fiber
• Low loft cotton batting or felt slightly larger than the finished size of your Book Wrap
• Machine wrapped cording:
  - for “wrap-around” – 60”
  - for “decorative edging” – the finished length x 2 plus the finished width x 2
• One large decorative button
• Two large beads

Calculating the Finished Size of Your Book Wrap
Finished Height = height of book plus an extra 1”
Finished Width = width of book x 2 plus thickness of book x 2 plus an additional 8”

Step 1—Make the Decorative Stitch “Art Lace”

• Make a piece of Decorative Stitch “Art Lace” slightly larger than the finished size of your Book Wrap.

Instructions for making Decorative Stitch “Art Lace” can be found here.

Step 2—Make a sheet of Angelina Fiber

• Make a sheet of Angelina fiber slightly larger than the finished size of your Book Wrap

Step 3—Make the Machine Wrapped Cording

• Make lengths of machine wrapped cording as per the supply list.

Step 4—Make the Decorative Stitch “Art Lace” Fabric

• Lay out the batting
• Place the black cotton fabric on top of the batting
  Note: The black fabric acts as a background for the Angelina fiber and helps to reflect the color of the fibers.
• Place the sheet of Angelina fiber on top of the fabric
• Place the “Art Lace” on top of the Angelina fiber

• Pin all layers together to hold everything in place.

• Using a free motion stipple stitch, sew all layers together.
  Tip: A metallic thread that blends with the color of your Angelina fiber will be virtually invisible which helps to showcase your lace.
• Press lightly with a warm iron.
• Trim the fabric 1” larger than the finished size of your Book Wrap.

Step 5—Fuse the Fabric to the Peltex

• Place the Decorative Stitch “Art Lace” fabric on top of the Peltex and press with a warm iron to fuse the layers together.
  Tip: Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the “Art Lace” Fabric to protect the lace.
• Place the lining on the under side of the Peltex and press with a warm iron to fuse the layers together.

Step 6—Trim to Size

• Trim all layers to the finished size of your Book Wrap.

Step 7—Prepare the Border Strips

• Iron the fusible webbing to the back of the border fabric.
• Using a rotary cutter or sharp scissors, cut a wavy edge along one side of the border pieces.

Step 8—Attach the Border

• Align the straight edge of the border strips along the edges of the Book Wrap and press with a hot iron.

• Using a decorative stitch, sew around the inner edge of the border.
• Using a satin stitch, sew all the way around the outer edges of the Book Wrap.

Step 9—Add Decorative Cording

• Align the machine wrapped cording “decorative edging” to the inner edge of the border, and using a zigzag stitch sew in place.

Step 10—Make a Side Pocket

• Make a crease 4” from one end and fold towards the inside.
• Pin in place.
• Using a zig-zag stitch, sew along the top and bottom edges to secure in place. Alternatively, hand stitch the edges in place.

Step 11—Attach “Wrap-Around” Cording

• Fold the length of cording in half.
• On the side opposite the side pocket, mark a halfway point down along the edge on the inside of the Book Wrap.
• Hand stitch the cording in place.

Step 12—Attach Button

• Attach the decorative button to the outside of the Book Wrap, in the same position as the “wrap around” cording. Make a thread shank under the button so you have room to wind the “wrap-around” cording around it.

Step 13—Finishing

• Thread the large beads through the bottom of the “wrap-around” cording and secure with a knot at either end.
• Tie some decorative knots in the cording.

• Slide the front cover of your book into the side pocket.

• Close the book and fold the Book Wrap around it.
• To secure, wind the “wrap around” cording around the book and under and around the button.

Enjoy your beautiful Book Wrap !

This technique and many others can be found on my fabulous instructional dvd Titivations. You can find it in the Instructional DVD Section of the store.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: “Decorative Stitch Art Lace” Book Wrap

Water soluble stabilizer offers great opportunities for art quilters to get very creative. Decorative lacework, needle-lace, lace inserts, embellishments—the possibilities are endless!

Combining water soluble stabilizer and the decorative stitches on your sewing machine is a creative way to make “art lace” which is lace with irregular shape and a contemporary appearance. This type of “art lace” can be used in art quilts as focus or background pieces.

Supplies

• Sewing machine
• Thread of choice for top
• A fine thread of similar color for the bobbin
• Water soluble stabilizer

Machine Setup

• Standard foot
• Slightly loosen top tension

Directions

Cut a piece of water soluble stabilizer approx 6” x 6”
Sew a cross- grid pattern of straight stitch approx 1/2” apart
Select a decorative stitch and stitch between the grid lines from left to right

Stitch between the gridlines from top to bottom.

Rinse away the stabilizer, handling the piece gently, and watch the magic happen.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Decorative Stitch “Art” Lace