I'm still having a wonderful time with my daughter's family visiting, so I shan't be able to respond to any of your posts for a while, yet.
But, in the meantime, I thought I would share with you the process I used to make my dragonfly. It might also be adapted for butterflies, too, I think..
I placed a sketch of some wings sandwiched between 2 layers of organza in my embroidery hoop.
Following the pattern, I gently stitched through the top layer
then I removed the paper pattern, and began stitching through both layers adding beads
the finished, beaded wings for the right side
cut from the 2 layers of organza, leaving a margin
the organza wings were carefully held over an open candle flame and singed close to the bead line
adding beads while the material was in the hoop took quite a while
although I was happy with my right wings, I wondered about making a set of wings in one piece, and sewing on the beads after the singeing. How would it work?
this time I sewed through the top layer of organza, following the pattern, and removed the paper
I used the outline stitch through both organza layers twice, following the shape of the wings
I made the left wings, and a set of joined wings
then I cut them out, leaving a nice margin
and singed the organza to the stitching line
I tacked the middle of the joined wings to the fabric of my thread roll-up, and began sewing the beads onto the thread seam. This went much faster
Once the wings were finished, I added beads for the head, thorax, and lower body of the dragonfly, stringing them together and sewing them onto the fabric.
Then I added crystals in black and purple for the tail
the wings are 'free floating'
I'm sure there are many marvelous tutorials on how to make dragonflies, but I wanted to share with you how my dragonfly came to be.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz
That is so cool. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSo clever to sandwich the sketch between the layers of transparent fabric. I will definitely use that tip! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteOh dear, singeing (as opposed to singing) sounds like something I'd rather avoid! But the result is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips - for the beautiful dragonfly.
ReplyDeleteSuz your dragonfly is beautiful. Thank you for sharing your technique. Isn't it interesting how you tried another approach and it worked better. As my friend Elle of ellendacoop.blogspot.com always says, "What If"...
ReplyDeleteEnjoy family and making memories my dear.
That is really something. Thank you for sharing the way you did this. It turned out nicely. I like that the wings are free floating. I'd be afaide I'd burn the whole piece up singeing the edges. :-)
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
I have been thinking about you so much --- not about your wonderful creativity -- that is so evident from your wonderful posts but I have just been thinking about the wonderful time you have been having with your daughter,grand daughter and son in law! Such precious times xxx
ReplyDeleteSuz, thanks for sharing your tutorial! What a great idea. I will keep this in mind (if possible) to try sometime. I keep forgetting you can 'singe' organze.
ReplyDeleteYour wings look terrific Susan and thanks for all the great pictures and explanation of the process. Would using a soldering iron along the edge of the beaded organza be a bit easier than a candle perhaps? Have a wonderful rest of your visit with family :)
ReplyDeleteI wondered about a soldering iron as well. The dragonfly looks lovely stitched onto the backgroung fabric. Enjoy your family. Cheers
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and tutorial Suz - I will have to give this a try on an upcoming porject. Thank you for sharing! Glad to see that you are enjoying your summer!
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