the house is clean and sam is sleeping, so i'm going to get these answered. =)
from stephanie:
Oh what do I want to know!?!
So much - LOL!!
I am seriously a novice at sewing. I think I have sewn 4 times in my life and the outcome wasn't pretty.:)
I would love to know the trick behind keeping the start and finish of a stitch line on a layout look so neat. I end up with threads hanging all over and I can never get the stitch to start at the edge of the page wihtout it looking all 'bunched up'
Does that make sense?
when i start or end a stitch in the middle of the page, i thread the loose end through a needle and pull it through to the back. then i tape off my ends and trim the excess.
when i start at the edge of the page, i line up where i want to start stitching and then put the needle down through the paper before i start. then i take the loose ends and wrap them around the edge of the page to the back and tape them off.
from kelly :
all i want to know is if you'll move to KY so you can sew on all my pages fOR me - or at the very least, change my needle and thread my machine? ;)
haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. love you kg. sorry. ;) you can move to omaha, though!!! matthew says i should start a business of sewing on pages for other scrappers - LOL.
from heather m:
what a wonderful layout! you are so awesome at the stitching! i love that about your work. i'm too chicken to try stitching through anything but paper but I see people do it with chipboard, acrylic embellishments, etc. Any tips? Also, I'd love to know how to start and end too without backstitching so that my stitch stays put without coming out at the ends. I usually tape the back after I'm done so it stays put but just curious what you do.
i was super chicken the first time, too. just go SLOW. you can switch out your needle for a denim needle if you're really worried, but i've sewn through chipboard w/out even really slowing down. the only time i've *really* feared for my machine was when i sewed through MM puffy letters that were on a maya road sheer which was layered over 2 pieces of pp and the background cardstock. i put my machine as slow as it would go and it went right through, no problem.
like i said above, i pull my threads through and tape them on the back. when i stitched on this chipboard album i took it pretty slow, as i knew i needed both the front and back to have good, even stitches. since i had no "back" to take my threads off on i cut them super short and put a dab of diamond glaze over them to make sure they wouldn't pull out. i may do this more now since it's faster than pulling all those loose ends back, especially when i get overly sew-y!
from patty b:
What do you use to sew on paper? Hand stitch or machine?
i am a machine girl. i just don't have the patience to handstitch!!! my friend doris has always rocked the handstitching and it's a gorgeous look.
from kathryn martin:
Last night, on the other hand, I was trying to sew right over a few pictures and my machine didn't like it at all! The sewing foot kept wanting to stick to the gloss of the photo and not move forward. Then there was the indent that the foot of the sewing machine made on the photos. So my question, how do you successfully sew on photos?
i'm not sure how to answer this, as i haven't had this problem w/ either of the machines that i've had, with any photo paper (glossy, mat, home printed, lab printed). do you know if you can drop the feed dogs on your machine?? if you can, try doing that and manually feeding your paper through. or you might see if there's anyway to adjust the sewing foot up and down.
from tess:
I don't have any sewing machine but I'd love to take a crack at sewing on my pages and projects. Do you think a mini machine would work? There's a mini Janome for around $50 that has at least a straight and zig zag stitch that I've been thinking of getting. Any thoughts?
i used a janome sew mini that i got on qvc for around $60 until last february, and it served me *really* well. i abused it and it never complained.. until i tried to machine quilt with it. for paper project, i would totally recommend it!! it's a good way to get into it without a major cash outlay - and honestly, it was kind of freeing to know that even if i killed it, it wasn't that much $$!
from grumpy72 :
do you "glue" your intended object down first and then sew it. Do you use a special needle or just a regular one?
i do glue my paper down first - but make sure i put the adhesive away from where i'll be stitching (ie : i put it in the middle of the paper if i know i'll be sewing along the edges).
i use a regular needle, and i'm horrible about changing it - even when i'm switching back and forth between paper and fabric projects. some recommend a denim needle, but i've never had a problem w/ the standard ones.
and from kristina :
Love that layout! Oooooh, I have only sewed on my pages a few times and I did enjoy it, but I'm always a bit freaked out when I do it! LOL! What kind of thread to you use?
Any tips that you've learned as you've done your pages that might be helpful to us? You're the pro. ;) LOVE the look of it, by the way!
Thanks, girl! I can't wait to hear all of your answers! Maybe it'll give me the courage to pull out my sewing machine more! :)
i use regular all purpose thread. and i tend to use whatever bobbin is in the machine, even if it doesn't match. ;)
i think my best tip is to just DO IT. get some scrap paper and play around. if you want straight lines or if spacing is a concern, draw a guideline to follow. and i've found that sewing fabric to paper can be a bit trickier, just because the fabric wants to wiggle. if you attach it w/ spray adhesive, don't stitch through it till it's dry. LOL. in that case, the best thing to do is take the extra step and apply interfacing to the fabric so it's a bit more sturdy.
i hope that helps... let me know if you have any more ?s. =) i'm going to set up a typelist over on the side w/ links to the machine that i use and some of my favorite resources and books... so look for that soon. =)
