Sunday 22 September 2013

I have been dragged from the pits of earth to start afresh

Ok, it' a bit later than intended but I've been busy finding work and fitting in exercise. And now for the continuation of my wonderfully odd blog and ramblings of my Sudden Madness.

Well, I did it people! I succeeded in passing through A Levels successfully, gaining some very good grades in Textiles, Photography and Business Studies. Watch this space - you could see the next best fashion/ textiles entrepreneur to blow your minds!!! But until that happens, I'd like to share several things that I've been doing since I last left you all.

If you aren't aware that I work for a soft furnishings and Haberdashery shop, well, now you do; and in the first image you can see a sample of a Jane Churchill furnishing fabric usually used for children's curtains (which I bought as an off-cut). Now, I adore Winnie The Pooh, and have done since I was a year old, and thought that a child-hood memory would sooth the stress of the A Levels I was undertaking.

Original Jane Churchill sample.

So, I drew from eye an image from the sample I had onto a plain white cotton square, and went around the pencil lines with black embroidery thread using back-stitch. I filled in the characters with according colours using satin stitch as this gave the best coverage of colour.
This was just the start. I enjoyed doing this so much that I ended up doing the same thing with the other characters. Not all of the book's characters are on the sample as you can see, but I decided to use images online to fill in the gaps (based around the original drawings, of course!).

 Once I had completed 6 squares, I opted to sew them together, with right sides facing, in a patchwork format, which resulted in the composition below.

 
But I didn't want to stop there.....
 
 I traced over leaf patterns onto strips of fabric the double the length of the width of the embroidered patchwork, and used a satin stitch on the sewing machine to go around the edges. I used embroidery scissors to cut away sections to leave the following patterns; which for those who don't know is a technique called Cut-Work Embroidery. 
 
 Sadly, I wasn't too keen on the way the maple leaf had turned out, as I wanted a more curved line. So, I ignored those and carried on with the other leaves all the way down the fabric strip. I then put gathering stitches along one edge, pulled them up, and attached each panel to the main panel on either side.
 
 Although you can't see it, (purely because I was lazy and forgot to take pictures of the last steps as I was so excited that it was almost complete!), I created another panel for the back, which ultimately allowed it to transform into a cushion cover.


 The above photo is its finished self, unfortunately without the cushion as I haven't got one in its size! I am considering to stuff it with toy stuffing to fill it out and then secure it shut so it doesn't come out; but that is a task yet to do.
 
What do you think? I was so proud of making this despite revising for exams and finish off my tedious coursework that took priority *cough* *cough*.
 
And so my quest shall continue, as I have many more projects tucked away down my sleeve. Please keep visiting to see what happens next in my crazy and unexplained mind!!
 
 
Until the next time,
maddening wishes xxx
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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