Learning More about Free Motion Sewing

Darning Foot attached by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

In my thirst for learning more about free motion stitching I have spent lots of time searching the web for tips and ideas. I came across the work of Meredith Woolnough and then found her website. Check out this short video to see Meredith and some of her intriguing work.

On scrolling through the home page I came across the section advertising a free online course and jumped at the chance to find out some tips from Meredith. It is a short course that just introduces the basics of sketching with thread using free motion stitching but so many great tips packed into some very short, sharp videos.

Thread Sketching by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

I loved the tips about machine tension and how Meredith was so encouraging in terms of not needing much to get in and have a go at sketching with thread. Her work and ideas gave me room to explore a different technique again. My first attempts were interesting as this technique felt very different to my Romeo explorations. I found a hoop that would just squeeze under my presser foot, added an embroidery needle and threaded up with ordinary old sewing thread for my first attempts but then branched out to exploring what happened if I used rayon thread and even double rayon thread in my needle. Lots of fun. part of her free course is the above small project to create a mini garden by thread sketching botanical elements. My attempt is very scribbly but that is fine and I am sure that over time I will gain more control over moving the hoop as I am sketching.

Having explored thread sketching very briefly on lawn fabric I then jumped straight to exploring with washaway stabliser again but this time in a hoop and using a different brand of stabiliser. I had a Frixion pen that Meredith recommended in one of her blog posts so I drew some leaves on a piece of stabiliser, hooped it up and had a go. What fun it was to try and create a stitched leaf that would stay together once the stabiliser was dissolved.

Thread Sketched Leaves by MrsSOnline is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

I can see room for improvement in getting my stitching lines linked well enough and am looking forward to more exploring. I have a copy of Meredith's book on hold at my local library and hope that it will not be too long before a I receive notification that it is ready to borrow.

What would you choose to sketch with thread? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts.