We are at the halfway point of this years 100 Day Project and I'm having so much fun with it I wish it was a 365 day project! I knew I wanted to play with free motion stitching but other than that I had no plan. I played around a bit for the first week then I did a monster and suddenly it became a free motion stitched monster a day project! A lot of people are curious about the process and are maybe intimidated by it or think you need fancy machine so I thought I'd show a bit of the process so anyone you wants to give it a try can.
All you need is machine that can lower the feed dogs, my machine is a simple singer nothing fancy, you'll need a darning foot (inexpensive) and I'd recommend quilting gloves - I like Machingers with the grip finger tips as opposed ones with the grips on the whole palm. I used Essex linen backed with shape flex as a stabilizer. Basic thread and a disappearing ink pen.
I start with a sketch in my sketchbook - rough as you can see!
For the most part I have just drawn right on the fabric without making a full size sketch but here Im showing how to transfer a full size drawing onto you fabric. Use a sharpie on tracing paper to draw your full size drawing, tape it to the back of your stabilized fabric.
You can either use a sunny window or hold it on a lamp shade as I did here. Use a disappearing pen to trace the drawing.
Lower the feed dogs, and use a darning foot to allow the fabric to move freely under the needle with the presser bar down. The grip gloves help move the fabric in all directions, how fast you go & move the fabric will determine the stitch length, this takes lots of practice...I suspect not even 100 days will have me perfecting it! Follow your sketch lines going over them a couple of times but try not to go directly over your previous line, I think this gives it a very loose charming sketchy look. Have Fun!
Here is my simple basic machine, gets the job done!
When your done stitching spray your piece with water to get rid of the disappearing ink & press it to get the bumps out.
The Finished Piece!