I Can't Help It.......

Isn't this a lovely fall picture? How would you interpret it in fabric? You know that if you used plain white fabrics for the pumpkins, you'd pretty much have this:

You could add lots of stitching to develop the textures and values that make them life-like. But what if you could just choose fabric to do the work of all that stitching? And I don't mean cut out pumpkins from a printed fabric!

This is where I can't help but preach about the merits of choosing the right spot on the right fabric and lessening the work for you! Let me show you what I mean.

To make a little row boat, I found myself going to my tried and true method. I make a drawing (or tracing) of the boat, and then trace each major part onto tissue paper. From there, I make a stencil by outlining the shape on paper, and cut out the shape. I use the hole, or stencil, to find the right spot on the fabric. By right spot I mean the place(s) that get the dark and light and medium values I need. I don't have to stitch at all. Here are more details:

Don't get me wrong, you know I love free motion stitching to make realistic elements, and love to teach it, but why do extra work?

Do you have some tips you'd like to share? I'd love to post them. Just shoot me an email. Oh, and please share this blog with someone you think might like it.

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