A little bit about the course.
If you are new to free motion embroidery you may wish to start with my 'Flowers and Grasses' course.
How to make 3 raw-edged appliqué fabric birds (using templates supplied).
How to create Moss stitch by adjusting the tension on your machine.
Cable stitch using thick threads in the bobbin and working in reverse.
Feather stitch to create loops and textures, using your machine and fine threads.
How I layer up the pulled frayed fabrics to create a collaged background.
How to create your own bird template.
My tips and tricks for sewing creatively.
How to experiment with different thicknesses of threads.
At the end of the course you will have gained confidence with your machine to explore texture in many forms and learn how to use your machine to its fullest.
I explain a little about framing but do not show this in detail, this can be found in the framing course.
This is the Long Tailed Tit embroidery you will be watching me stitch. This embroidery is made using three fabrics in the background, the juxtaposition of plain fabrics and pattered add a visual texture. I use a standard machine foot for about half of the sewing which enhances the textures created in free motion embroidery. I use different thicknesses of thread and show you how to create these gorgeous loops in your work.
For this bird, I will be concentrating on creating texture with different thickness of thread and playing with the tension on your machine, on the top and in the bobbin. I'll also be illustrating how the movement of your hands and fabric create changes to the texture of the stitched lines.
I use this bird to show you how to create your own bird templates, using an image, tracing paper and a light source.
For this beautiful bird we will be concentrating on creating texture with fabrics, layering them up and fringing or ripping the edges of our fabrics. You will be exploring the different qualities of fabrics and variations in creating background compositions. I show you how to make the bird in fabric first, to help you with your composition and colours.
This course is at your pace, meaning you can start whenever you wish and take as long as you want.
I have transcribed the videos underneath each video, if you are hard of hearing, you can read it.
If English is not your first language you can copy and paste this into google translate and read the information in your own language
It will be available for many years to come.
There are 28 short videos to watch.
There are templates of the birds in the form of PDF's, so that you can download from your computer or tablet and print on a home printer. There are also template for most of the of the leaves.
There is a Facebook group to join along with all of the other students on my online courses.
You can ask me written questions at the end of each lesson that I will reply to, as soon I'm able to.
You can send me images of your work too, either within each lesson or via email.
My email is johilltextiles@gmail.com if you wish to contact me to ask any questions.
Courtney can help you with any technical issues like access to the course works, she works for me part time.
It is quite remarkable how the speed of your hands moving the fabric and the speed of the motor of your sewing machine can effect the patterns you can create.
I just love these wonderful soft and interesting edges that can be created by ripping, fraying and pulling threads from the edges of the cloth. Explore which fabrics work best and notice what you prefer.
See how many different fabrics you can find to work with from silks and cottons to linens and wools, from fine and translucent sheers to chunky threads and easy to fray edges.
You can achieve this effect in free motion or with your regular sewing foot on and the feed dogs raised. It can be varied by adjusting your machine stitch width and length, it works especially well when using variegated threads. This technique is so much fun to do and it is really easy and looks so exciting, all your sewing friends will want to know how you achieved it.
See what threads your machine will work with. In my opinion, the best machines for this are old Berninas, Janome 2200 (other mid range Janome), good quality basic machines but not necessarily high tech digital ones, these can be a bit fussy when you are trying to experiment. Very inexpensive entry level machines may be harder to experiment with.