Apologies...

Last night's post was so difficult to arrange and upload, that I gave up on putting all the images I wanted to show here.. Tonight I'm in a strange house with limited time and web access, but I'll do some more of them below..
In a sort-of-random order

Doesn't have to be coloured cotton, this is silk taffeta - again 10 layers, but thinner, so closer stitching lines. Also calico/muslin. Note that I have outlined a part and not slashed

Detail and the whole piece - this is Moth Eaten. A quilt I disliked is recycled, and chenille-bodied. Copper wire antennae

Another brooch. Mainly reds, yellows, with a purple layer in the middle

Alternate layers of black and white, with a red leaf.  Also with extra stitching, which defines the lines of the leaf somewhat. I have also done black-and-yellow - perfectly bumblebee

And a last cushion.. Here I have stitched a diagonal grid, slashing only the outer parts.. Colours in the chenille are around the edges again

Sleep well, I'm for bed and sweet dreams...

Last of the Slasher Mysteries...

Sew on the grain - leftovers from the first two samples with a dark blue top layer

Cut through the top layers and not the base, this time the cuts are still on the diagonal but within the straight line squares
Some of the squares, I cut right through...
Washed as before..

Fantastic texture - the first time I saw this, it was used as a crocodile's back in a quilt

Leaf-on-top

The last few bits of those pinks and oranges, cut into a stack of leaves and laid on top of a background piece, then stitched and washed as before.  Keep the shapes simple, but the grain is not so important on these

Stitched, then washed...


Tomorrow, something completely different...

More Frizzled Edges

Now, it's possible to make very subtle and deliberate colour effects with chenille technique.. For my third sample, I found a lot of odd thin strips in the Blue Box (what, you don't have a Blue Box? How unlucky)



















I started with a couple of dark blue layers, then laid strips of assorted blues across these.. the fabrics can overlap a little and should not be sewn together. I made lots of layers with a sort of sea-and-sky thing in my mind

After a while I laid in a piece of bright yellow

Then a few more strips of blues




















Finally, another dark layer all over and a bright yellow circle.. Not sure, could be sun or moon


Sewn - note this time I have made wibbles, but still basically on the diagonals

And here it is washed... The moon, (definitely a moon now) reflects sweetly in the sea. The further up in the mix you put that contrast stripe, the clearer it will be in the end product

I quite often make biggish pieces and cut them up - these brooches are about 2-1/2 inches on their longest dimensions, and were made from 1/8 metre sandwiches..
After cutting and washing the chenille, I lay it onto a stiffener (Vilene/Pellon) and a backing fabric, and stitch around with a straight stitch. Trim to size just outside the stitch, then zigzag the edges..
.
And here's an odd piece sewn raggedly onto a book cover.. the central layers of this one were quite small scraps - you can see the colour-changes coming through
As long as you have one complete layer at the bottom, almost anything else will cohere nicely..
More tomorrow...

Be A-Frayed, Part the Second

Now, I really adore the tactile handle and
softness of Chenille, but it has visual qualities that are desirable too..
One of the things I have experimented with is making imagery using the technique - this is not easy..
I'm fond of landscapes, and this seems like fields and grasses, perhaps

(Part of my Summer Landscapes piece)

However, in order to get any kind of imagery onto chenille, you need a degree of contrast which you may not imagine before you try. 

Here's Sample Two

I've used the same set of Oakshott colours and background as yesterday's sample, plus a top layer of the same dark purple as the base, and a leaf cut from a vivid eggy yellow.  The leaf is raw-edged, not sewn down, and placed so that the grain matches the underneath layers - this is quite important - make sure you decide which way you want it to go before you cut.  Note that I now have 11 layers (12 where the leaf is) - if you have a weedy modern machine you may find it has a coughing fit here; if so, take a couple of layers out.

Press, pin, sew, as before

This time I've kept the sewing very simple, just parallel lines about 1/2 inch apart

This time, I'm going to use The Technology - but I start every channel with a little snip from my scissors

And the very short channels will be cut like this all the way
Longer channels, however, are much easier done with a Slash Cutter

I honestly thought this was a majorly stupid buy until I had used it the first time..
What a nice toy..
Slip the cutter into the channel, push (along, not down) and it slices neatly through all the layers at once

Do check to see that you have reached the base layer in all the channels

All cut

And Washed again (note, this was photographed wet, so it looks rather dark)  Note how much the leaf has blended in, and the colours of the underlayers emerged...

Here's a cushion I made - the chenille is made from the 8 layers of the colours round the outside.. This one has a similar leaf, and change-of direction sewing

More tomorrow..

Be A-Frayed, Be Very A-Frayed

Hello.
I'm Helen Howes, and I'm your Guest Artist for March, on the entertaining and rather compulsive subject of Manipulating Fabrics.

Couple of things - I'm English, so my spelling may worry some of you.. think of it as Trans-Atlantic cultural fusion, or the Language of Shakespeare (he couldn't spell for toffee)

Anyway,  I thought I would start with a relatively new technique - sometimes called Faux Chenille, but also Slashing...

If you haven't seen this before you will think it's rather magical.. if you have, bear with me, as I have a few twists of my own...

Part the first

You need lots of fabric - layers and layers.. it works best with slightly loose weaves (not batiks), hand-dyes, woven colours, solids.. You will find that some printed fabrics look weird, as the white backs take over the design. Plain muslin (USA) or calico (UK) is also fantastic for this









I started with a set of Oakshott cottons (disclaimer, I do a lot of pattern-designing for Oakshott, so I tend to have a lot of their fabrics at my disposal. Such a tragedy...) These are "shot", that is, woven with one colour in the warp and one in the weft.. they shimmer lightly.
This was an odd pack that just came to hand, and has a close set of pinky-purply-orangey colours. I also chose a dark purple for the base colour.  In any set you will see most of the bottom and top colours.
Cut the layers to a shape of your choice (a bit bigger than the end required, as it can distort), then (Hint number 1) cut the bottom layer at least 1/2 an inch bigger all round. If these had Right Sides, they would all face UP..
(Hint number 2, press the layers on top of each other - they will stick together quite well)
Pin in a few places if desired

You will note that I have 10 layers.  Much of the online and printed advice about chenille assumes 5 or 6 layers at most.  This always seems rather skimpy, and you need to sew your lines a lot closer together... I'm lazy and fussy, so I use more cloth...


Sew on the diagonal, starting with a line across the middle from corner to corner.. The diagonal bit is important.  I always use a walking foot, but if you don't have one, pin the layers together and sew..
Sew parallel lines across the fabrics. I'm using the width of my walking foot as a guide here, about 1/2 an inch.  If you have fewer layers, sew closer; more, further apart... DO NOT sew across the ends of the channels, please

All sewn. Now, those of you of an Observant Nature (hands up, if you aren't paying attention?) will notice that my extremely Low Boredom Threshold set in on the second half, and I sewed some different diagonals..

As long as you are working on that diagonal idea, you can play.. Note that the lines that go in and out of the middle are continuous.. You don't want odd thread ends or weak spots anywhere.  Use good thread, cotton or poly, and a small stitch. Check your tension is good both sides

Now you need to cut between the lines of stitching.  I did this sample with scissors, we'll look at the Technology next time.  You will, at this point, understand why the bottom layer is bigger, as you don't want to cut that one.  It makes it easy to get the scissors in the Right Place
Now, take your sample to the sink and Wash It.. I use a little dish-washing liquid and warm water, and rub gently.. Big pieces can be machine-washed, but I don't usually feel the need.. Rinse, and dry

The result is just sooooo tactile..
More tomorrow
HH