2012/05/11

Leaves 101 Tutorial

Hoop up some woven water soluble stabilizer, lower the feed dogs, put your darning/hopping/embroidery foot on for free motion embroidering, choose your thread color and let's make leaves!
This shows Steps 1-4. Below is a close up of Step 1. You start by making a nice sturdy stem, sew out the leaf shape of your choice, and run a vein from stem to tip top.

Step 2: Start sewing from tip top in 'tear drop' loops, from larger, smaller, smallest.
See 2 below.
Step 3. Start at stem or tip top and 'snake' back and forth down the length of the leaf.
           You now have a good strong base to sew your leaf so the threads will all hang       
together when you wash away the stabilizer.
Step 4. Final step is to 'fill in' your leaf. I usually start at the bottom, at an angle, and work my way to the tip top, going right on down the other side. I love variegated thread, it does most of the work for you! But I do make solid color leaves at times, and when I do, I will choose a darker contrasting thread to ziggy zag the outside of the leaf and the stem and run up and down the center vein a couple times.
Once the leaves are completed I rinse out most, but not all, of the stabilizer in warm water. By leaving a smidgeon of the stabilizer in the leaf, it acts like a bendable stiffener when the leaf is dry, making it somewhat poseable.
Have fun with your leaves!

6 comments:

  1. LYNDY I want to thank you for
    the beautiful and useful tutorial.
    Are you sure I am going to try
    and I because I like them
    very much and I want to make
    flowers and leaves.
    A fine evening you want to.
    Blog is very beautiful and interesting.
    translation google

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  2. You are welcome, Quiltonline! Glad you could use the translator. Leaves are very fun to make. Enjoy!
    Vous êtes les bienvenus, Quiltonline ! Heureux que vous ayez pu utiliser le traducteur. Feuilles sont très amusant à faire. Profitez-en !

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  3. Thanks Lindy! Ok so these are thread painted! This will be a good practice and reintroduction to thread painting. I have not done any seriously since 02 when i took an embellishing class in Colorado. I cant remember if that class had handouts. somehow i think not. If it did i have lost them. LOL

    This helps me to remember the steps i need to do!

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  4. Opps that is from Anne. I have to figure out how to publish this with my name!

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  5. Anne! I am so proud of you for 'moving on' to leaf production. I thought thread flowers would have you for weeks! :?}

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  6. Oh Lindy! I have learned the neatest way to make delicate stamens for flowers!

    I also have a bag of alpaca now. How do I wash it? What are the steps to do to work with it? I won't be able to dye for 2-3 weeks as my deck is being remodeled. It will make a great work area when I do it!.

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