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Sewing Decorative Stitches
It's Easy to Do!
Sewing decorative stitches doesn't mean having to learn hand embroidery or using machine embroidery. Unless your sewing machine is truly ancient, there's magic waiting to happen right there in front of you!
In the past few years, so much attention has been given to home machine embroidery, that I think many sewers overlook the numerous wonderful decorative stitch options which are built right into their sewing machines. See the photo to the right? Every stitch was done using stitches that came built into my sewing machine. Even the wavy stitch I chose to use for the quilting which, unfortunately, can't be seen in this photo! There is not one machine embroidery stitch on here.)
Sewing some of these built in decorative stitches requires the use of a special needle for the proper end result (such as a wing needle for heirloom stitches), but many of them are sewn using your regular universal sewing machine needle.
So, have you experimented with them yet?
If you haven't, what are you waiting for? Grab some scrap fabric and see what happens!
Tips for Sewing Decorative Stitches
Sewing decorative stitches does take a bit of practice since quite a few of them cause the fabric to travel off your stitching line when the needle moves around as it creates the design. Here are some things I have found that help me.
- Use a chalk line or other fabric marking technique to show you where the design needs to be stitched
and align it with the little notch located on your presser foot which indicates the center (i.e. middle) of the foot. Keep your eye on this mark and keep it on your guideline. NOTE: It is also helpful if you add a second guideline the same width as your presser foot. Keeping the edge of your presser foot on this second guideline will also ensure you are not sliding off center while your decorative stitch is being sewn.
Don't watch the needle, it may be moving right, left, backward and forward and at forty-five degree angles. Again, watch the middle of the presser foot for the forward movement as the design develops. Keep the middle of your presser foot aligned with your guide. NOTE: If your design is wavy, the guideline will still help you determine if you are aligned or veering too far off the mark.
Put your fingers lightly on the fabric near the presser foot and gently guide it to keep it in alignment to (not necessarily directly on) your marked guideline when the needle is moving forward.
Also, stitch at a slow to medium speed! Going fast increases the chance of getting off line and also the chance of fabric bunching and stitch problems.
If you are sewing on delicate fabric or loosely woven material (like some linens), it is a good idea to place a strip of lightweight paper stabilizer underneath. This gives the thread more to hold onto. I use a product called Stitch & Ditch Heirloom by ThreadPro. It comes in 3-1/2 inch wide rolls, a size which works great for this type of stitching.
Before sewing decorative stitches on your actual project, test the stitches several times on scraps of the same material to get the feel of the needle movement. This way you will know what to expect. This also lets you see if you've made the right choice of stitch (and needle size) for the fabric. You may find you need to make adjustments to the width or length of the actual stitch depending on the density of your material.
Have Fun!
Sewing decorative stitches should be fun and a process that gets your creative juices flowing!
Decorate near a hemline, on cuffs, around collars, along button plackets, anywhere you want!
Sew a single line of decoration or double lines!
Use colored threads for lively contrast or those in the same color family as the material you are decorating for a more subtle effect. (Personally, I'm a bit conservative and like tone on tone effects.)
YOU, however, can go wild if you so desire. It's YOUR choice for YOUR project.
"Happy Stitching!"
I hope this gets you fired up about experimenting with the decorative stitches built into your sewing machine. Should you want to look for other ideas or information on adding decorations to your sewing projects, you can search from here. Just come back from time to time to see what's new!
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