This morning I attended the Chapter Advisory Board of the Houston Chapter of the American Sewing Guild. I am the Treasurer and my formal role is tell the others that we still have enough money to continue providing programs to our membership. Most would not find an obligation like this to be a peasant one but I enjoy our meetings as it usually gives me a chance to share another sewing adventure of mine with a group of incredibly talented sewers. Today I brought a handbag I had made using painted fusible web as the basis for embellishing some plain muslin.
This handbag is based on Vogue Pattern 8173, designed by Marcy Tilton and uses her ideas for painting on Steam-a-Seam 2. Marcy uses Lumiere fabric paints and silk fabrics. I, however, use any cheap craft paint I have hanging around and more mundane fabrics like cotton muslin. I did use silk organza as the top layer. There is a great write-up from when Marcy was on the Sue Hausman show, America Quilts. I have taught this technique to an ASG neighborhood group and to the Married Ladies Art and Charty League of Houston. Both times everyone had a great time and I hope I can bring my show to other groups so they can have some play time. Here is the handout I use during the workshop - Enjoy!
MUSLIN TRANSFORMATION WORKSHOP
In this workshop we will look at several ways to change the look of a piece of muslin to create a foundation for a variety of creative projects including clothing, purses, card cases, and other fabric based projects.
Using Fusible Web to color Muslin
The use of fusible web to color fabric is a quick and simple way to provide a base for transforming your muslin. The key advantage is that after the web is painted and fused to the fabric the web retains its stickiness to facilitate the addition of other elements. The process is very straight forward.
1. paint the web (do not worry about wrinkles)
2. let it dry
3. fuse to fabric
4. wait for it to cool
5. remove paper backing
6. admire the results.
Additions to a fusible web painted surface
Fabric scraps – lay them onto the painted surface of the muslin. Can have other pieces of painted web added to them before layout.
Foil – The web painted surface can be foiled either using glue to hold the foil for burnishing (12 – 24 hour dry time before applying foil) or the foil can be directly burnished onto the surface. The former can be very exact while the latter is more free form.
Thread scraps – An ideal way to get rid of your orts by laying them on the painted surface
Ribbon scraps – Lay out ribbon scraps on top of or behind the fabric scraps to add depth
Rubber stamps – Stamp images on the web painted surface or on the fabric scraps. Use pigment inks so that the images can be heat set.
Moving on
Once everything is laid out on your painted surface, to your satisfaction, you will need to secure all the items to each other. Layer a length of organza/chiffon/tulle/netting over the painted surface and additions. Lay a pressing sheet on top of everything and fuse the cover to the embellished fabric. Lay everything on top of a piece of batting. Sew through all layers to secure everything between the batting and the top cover. Determine what you want to do with it and proceed to create something dramatic and fun.
Technical note
Paint – you can use any paint you can get to color the web. You can use acrylic craft paints, fabric paints, fabric dyes, inks, coffee, tea and Kool Aid. I have tried all of these and the only difficulty I have encountered is getting the surface to dry before adhering the web to the muslin. The judicious application of a hair dryer speeds the process considerably. Do not use a heat gun as that melts the web.
In this workshop we will look at several ways to change the look of a piece of muslin to create a foundation for a variety of creative projects including clothing, purses, card cases, and other fabric based projects.
Using Fusible Web to color Muslin
The use of fusible web to color fabric is a quick and simple way to provide a base for transforming your muslin. The key advantage is that after the web is painted and fused to the fabric the web retains its stickiness to facilitate the addition of other elements. The process is very straight forward.
1. paint the web (do not worry about wrinkles)
2. let it dry
3. fuse to fabric
4. wait for it to cool
5. remove paper backing
6. admire the results.
Additions to a fusible web painted surface
Fabric scraps – lay them onto the painted surface of the muslin. Can have other pieces of painted web added to them before layout.
Foil – The web painted surface can be foiled either using glue to hold the foil for burnishing (12 – 24 hour dry time before applying foil) or the foil can be directly burnished onto the surface. The former can be very exact while the latter is more free form.
Thread scraps – An ideal way to get rid of your orts by laying them on the painted surface
Ribbon scraps – Lay out ribbon scraps on top of or behind the fabric scraps to add depth
Rubber stamps – Stamp images on the web painted surface or on the fabric scraps. Use pigment inks so that the images can be heat set.
Moving on
Once everything is laid out on your painted surface, to your satisfaction, you will need to secure all the items to each other. Layer a length of organza/chiffon/tulle/netting over the painted surface and additions. Lay a pressing sheet on top of everything and fuse the cover to the embellished fabric. Lay everything on top of a piece of batting. Sew through all layers to secure everything between the batting and the top cover. Determine what you want to do with it and proceed to create something dramatic and fun.
Technical note
Paint – you can use any paint you can get to color the web. You can use acrylic craft paints, fabric paints, fabric dyes, inks, coffee, tea and Kool Aid. I have tried all of these and the only difficulty I have encountered is getting the surface to dry before adhering the web to the muslin. The judicious application of a hair dryer speeds the process considerably. Do not use a heat gun as that melts the web.
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