Skip to main content

Fabric Test

For Oliver's first Halloween bag I want to make a jack-o-lantern center panel with the orange solid. The problem with that is that I'm not very experienced with needle-turned applique (I've only done one little heart patch on my recycled linen quilt.) I think I'll be okay with turning the pumpkin shape, but how do I get a face on it?

My solution is to draw one with a Sharpie and embroider around the edges. Since I've never tried this I needed to test the fabric first to see if the ink will bleed or wash out.

Here we go.

Passed the bleed test.

Passed the wash test.

Here he is this morning after drying last night. Success!

Comments

nightsmusic said…
Just an FYI, I've done that in the past. Over time, it will fade. The Sharpie, I mean. Can you outline the face? Or would that be too much?
the author said…
Oh, rats. Okay. Thanks for the heads up on the fading factor, Theo. Maybe reverse applique? I've never tried that, but I should be able to find instructions online. I'll do another experiment tonight.
nightsmusic said…
I used to do watercolor painting on tshirts and such and would use the Sharpies to accent the flowers or whatever I'd painted. Eventually, all the colors would fade from the washing. Babies make a mess, at least mine did, and their washing was probably twice as often as mine own so...I just wanted to mention it.

Popular posts from this blog

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.

Goodwill Gamble #2 Arrives

My second Goodwill gamble arrived; this is one I paid ten bucks for last month. Just inside the lid was a big roll of plastic mesh that I think is for latchhook work. In the auction listing it looked like fabric to me, so that was unexpected. Someone at the seller's end was nice enough to put a note on this pinned fabric. I'll put on my gloves before I take it out to inspect it. The embroidered green fabric turned out to be 1-1/2 yards of sequinned and three-dimensional designer fabric. I'll guess this cost somewhere between $20.00 to $30.00 a yard, and it's in pristine condition. But here's a shot of everything in the lot, which is mostly crafty odds and ends with a small amount of cotton fabrics, a large amount of synethetic fabrics, and some other surprises. The original owner of these was probably a Catholic school teacher; these beads, crosses and medallions are the kind of rosary kits for kids to make at Sunday school or Bible camp (and s...

Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...