Course Description

Come along with your sewing machine and join me and a group of like-minded stitchers and sew up the mysteries of fabric applique and free motion machine embroidery in this fun and informative fabric applique picture making workshop. Working with your own sewing machine and a delicious array of colourful fabrics you will have the opportunity to create your own unique picture in fabric and stitch in this versatile medium.

Working with fabrics in pattern, plain, textures and colours you will be shown how to create a collaged composition. The technique and skills of placement, spacing, and balance will all be covered, alongside working with colour, pattern and form. Techniques in free motion machine stitch will be demonstrated. This will give you the skill, knowledge and confidence to create a stitched visual flow of interest and line definition within your own fabric applique picture.

How to finish, edge or hem your picture will also be covered. Completed pictures can then be framed in your own time or made into cushions or bags at the workshop. A picture is not just for the wall!

Suitable For

This course is suitable for beginners or improvers alike. Everyone works at their own pace in a relaxed and creative environment under the guidance of expert machine embroiderer Linda Miller.

Requirements List

• A simple picture, photograph or drawing that inspires you or use one of the templates supplied as inspiration for your own picture in fabric and stitch.
• An Electric sewing machine, in good working order which can drop the dog feed teeth or has a plate that fits over the teeth
• Table sewing light and extension lead
• Any machine sewing threads that you have, either dress making threads or machine embroidery threads
• A selection of fabric pieces in the colours and textures that you wish to work with
• Heavy/medium weight calico. Approx. 1 meter
• Bondaweb (Bondaweb is a iron-on fusible web with adhesive on both sides, used to bond fabrics together permanently for applique) Approx 2 meters
• A darning foot/free motion machine embroidery foot that is compatible with your machine
• Your sewing machine manual. Sewing machine accessories (feet, oil, screwdriver, etc.)
• All bobbin spools that are compatible with your sewing machine
• Size 80 machine needles. Hand sewing needles
• Notebook and pen, pencil, paper, ruler
• Fabric scissors and small embroidery/sharp scissors
• Reference materials such as nature, landscapes, animal, bird pictures, drawings, photographs, patterning- visual material that interests you

It is very important that your machine is in good working order and that the feed dog teeth can be dropped, or that a plate can be fitted over the teeth and that you have a free motion machine embroidery foot/free motion darning foot that is compatible with your sewing machine and fits correctly. Please bring all your sewing machine tools and the sewing machine manual.

Please bring as much as you can from the equipment list, if however, you do not have any of the list, I always bring everything with me, (except sewing machines) and items can be purchased at a small cost.

Materials Cost

There will be a charge of £5 - £10 to cover the cost of all materials. Do bring along any fabric, bondaweb and threads you have along with your sewing machine and all its sewing machine accessories.