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Shirley Adams' The Sewing Connection (h

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Wearable Art On Any Machine ~ ,
If you have a lovely top-of-the-line machine with all its bells and whistles, you have directions for
endless embellishments it will automatically do. Whether new or 50 years old, coax any machine into
these ideas as long as it will straight stitch and zigzag.
A vest is a perfect garment for embellishing as it is lesser than a coat or jacket, uses very little fabric,
J "-1 and is more a fun item than a more serious one. Many of these techniques you would hesitate to use on
~ .\} a coat which usually wouldn't welcome the sense of humor a vest encourages.
~~ :,~ On thos.e important gar~ents you have to stop and ask yourself about the term, "wearable
\}' . \) art": "Is thiS art?" and "Is It actually wearable or have I gone too far?" On a vest, so what!
<:-.~ Throw out all the stops and just have fun with it.
r-. Couching: One of the easiest ways to embellish. Couching is applying yarn, cord, narrow
~ ribbon, heavy or lumpy threads by zigzagging over them in place on a fabric surface. Use
'\ invisible (clear monofilament) thread in the needle so it won't show. Any thread is fine
""~ from the bobbin. An insignificant garment can turn into an eye opener with some of the
gorgeous yarns found in yarn shops. Be sure what you apply is care-
compatible with the garment it will become part oE "" ~
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High concentrations of it will enable you to work other color . ~ ....

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combinations in to coordinate separates. Create a plaid on a solid ".

.fabric. Embellish something from a few seasons ago in your closet to ~

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give it a new look. j

Ravel yarns out of a scrap of skirt fabric to couch onto a sweater to wear with it. Use colored
embroidery thread and decorative stitches to embolden a plain narrow couched ribbon. I've used
a lot of couching on vests, jackets, tops, and coats throughout my Alternatives pattern line.
~ Decorative Stitches: If your machine has decorative stitch capability, create a simple
~ design around a neckline or repeat so many times it becomes an all over design. ,"~ _ )(' J" -.', _ _ ..

\ ~.) Think also about some of the newer threads and the different effects produced ~ -t~ ,l-u~' -~(..... -,' 4"
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with twist or stripe, or using different weights. \. .. } \) '\..: ,} ,,-

Machine Lace: Requires nothing but straight stitches. Create fabric by laying
a bed of water soluble stabilizer on the bottom. Cover this with a combination of threads, yarns, cords,
narrow ribbons, bits of fabric cut into snippets, serger tails or anything else whose color combinations
are interesting. On top, lay another sheet of the Solvy and pin generously all over the sandwich to
temporarily hold together. Set your machine on straight stitch, use an embroidery foot, drop the feed
dog. Randomly stitch all over the project, removing pins as you come to them. Remember that top and
bottom layer will be dissolved, therefore, stitch in an interlocking fashion so nothing will fall apart.
When it seems solid, swish it in warm water to dissolve all the stabilizer. Smooth out on a counter to dry.
Find more in Alternatives 102.
Applique: Use this technique to affix pieces offabric to your garment. You might
have all finished edges by turning under the little applique seam before stitching
to the fabric with an applique stitch. You could, however, back it with thin
fusible interfacing, stitch all around the edge in a narrow seam, slash a slit in the
interfacing and turn it right side out, then fuse to the garment.
Satin Stitch around a raw edge. Or, fuse a piece of WonderUnder or other fusible web to
the backside of the applique, then fuse it to the garment. One stitching line down its center
would be sufficient.
Shirley Adams' Sewing Connection and AI:ternaJ:ive.!TM@ 2002 Class/Workshops
 We've become quite casual about raw edges in embellishment and a little raggedy
edge texture can be interesting. There is no reason why you can't just do a stipple
stitch all over appliqueed pieces to make them as one with the mounting fabric.
Wrinkled Fabrics: Hold permanently in place as the garment is washed by backing
with a thin fusible interfacing. I have stipple stitched all over to make sure nothing
moves and to add interest. Several of these are in Alternatives 104.
Bobbin Work: Another choice to hold all those wrinkles in place or create an interesting
picture. These can look like time-consuming hand embroidery designs, but in reality it
is very quick machine stitching. This is good for any thread too big to go through the ,'"
needle, but smooth and can be wound on a bobbin. Think perle cotton or perle rayon, # " , , \

metallic Candlelight or Decor 6. These all work beautifully. Do all your work wrong '-'"
side up. This means you can interface the fabric backside and draw whatever lines necessary
on the interfacing. Put it in a hoop, and use an embroidery foot, straight stitch.
Either loosen the screw one-half to three-quarter turn on the bobbin case tension
or, for some machines, buy a second bobbin case with a permanendy looser screw.
This is so the heavier thread will pull through easily. Elongate the stitch length
and stitch whatever lines you like.
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Bypass the bobbin tension and add more texture - a third dimension. Put the ~~"" ~:: ~ ,/ I
bobbin in the case and simply lower and raise the needle to draw the bobbin \ '\: \ \ ':....... : ~ :
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thread up through the hole in the throat plate. Lower the feed dog, hold your U',' ,/ "..
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fabric taut in a hoop and free motion stitch making a little loop with each stitch. l''!~- \:/:
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Alternatives 107 and 307 demonstrate this well. ilt. ....
Free-Motion Stitch with regular thread to create pictures. Dropped feed, straight •
stitch, hoop, embroidery foot and thread paint away. Maybe a flower, maybe use.. ~ \ i~ ,,"
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metallics and create a fireworks display. "......,,\ ~.' A,;,
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Weaving is one of my special delights. Typically I use a thin fusible interfacing for .:ij~:~ ___".
the base, cut in the garment piece shape. Fusible side up, weave strips over it, then ""~I:".-:/~\ '~" '':tE
press to have them all permanently in place. The 103 vests are woven of ribbons,
fabric tubes and torn fabric strips.
Pin weaving or Off-The-Loom Weaving is such fun there's an entire pattern ·
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407 devoted to it. Not the whole garment, just parts of it or use for bags. Sometimes
used as a supplement when fabric runs out, sometimes strictly as an embellishment, 1Ii_l~i
this activity is a little addictive and hard to stop once you've started. Beautiful ~
yarns in breathtaking colors are hard to resist. Turn back to the 400 pattern
page to see some ideas for the end products. Or, do the reverse ...
Unweave: Pull threads in the interior. Through the empty channels you've
created pull other yarns or ribbons to make your piece of fabric really different.
Entredeaux stitching might also be done where the pulled threads were. Unweaving
(raveling) the edge makes a lovely fringe on fabrics that ravel easily.
Color Blocking or Piecing: No need to explain this. Whether a quilter or not,
everyone has done some of this. A great way to have an absolutely free vest, this
nicely uses those scraps you hate to throwaway. Sew them together in the standard \~
seams, or try butting the raw edges together. This is a great idea for curved 11\
piecing. Cover the raw edges with bias tape a la Koos van den Aker. T
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Whatever embellishment you dream up for some of the garments you make,
this is the dessert at the end of a meal. Wearable art is like having a delicious bite of
chocolate.
Shirley Adams' Sewing Connection and AI:ter~TM @ 2002 Class/Workshops