A lace work textile bowl to keep or to give.

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try” – Dr. Seuss

I write a blog for Bernina International which I thought I would also share with you on my site, so here it is below.if you want to visit the Bernina blog site here is the link.

http://blog.bernina.com/en/

What I am sharing with you here is just me playing I am sure there are better ways and other techniques to create these bowls.I hope you will take these ideas and own them with your own flair.

Having been operating my Bernina B720 for a couple of months now I am beginning to play with the possibilities she offers me.

I am a free motion textile artist mainly using straight and zig-zag stitch. Now I have my new machine I like to play with what it has to offer and how this can be incorporated into my free motion textile art work.

I am sharing with you a project that you can make or just enjoy the process and it was an experiment for me in combining techniques on water soluble fabrics. This is a pictorial project with instructions.

These pretty bowls have lots of decorative uses and they come in all shapes and sizes.

Materials

Water soluble fabric

Sticky sided water soluble fabric

yarn, thread, fibres

Rayon machine embroidery threads

Fabric stiffner

Free motion embroidery foot

Trace around the rim of your bowl on to water soluble fabric.

Measure approx form the enter of your bowl to the edge.

Measure approx form the centre of your bowl to the edge.

Then mark this the length for the center to the edged form the center of your original tracing .

Then mark this the length from the centre of the original circle which creates your finished size.

Lay your fibres and yarns on the top of the marked water soluble fabric.

Place a piece of sticky sided water soluble on the top of the layer out fibre to hold it all in place.

Place a piece of sticky sided water soluble on the top of the layer of fibre to hold it all in place.

First layer of stitching completed.

Place you stitched water soluble fabric over the bowl and shape by creating darts.

Cut the dart shapes out and bring to edges together using sticky sided water soluble to hold together .

My second row of stitching is circular to interconnect all the stitching together. In lace work all stitches must connect.

Reshaped over the bowl by using tucks /darts do not cut these.

Sewing over the tucks/darts with a decorative stitch.

Prepare your bowl by covering wit plastic wrap.

Prepare your bowl by covering wiht plastic wrap.

Drop your stitched water soluble fabric into warm water.wash until nearly all sticky feel dissapears.

Press the wet textiles over the bowl to shape.

Stiffen with a fabric stiffner I use watered down PVA glue

Close up of the stitch work stiffened.

Ta da when its day it should stand quite stiffly.It can then be embellished with more lovelies.

Ta da when its dry it should stand quite stiffly.It can then be embellished with more lovelies.

I love the play of light with a T light in them.

I embellish mine with some hand stitch in hand dyed threads and little sari ribbon ties.