Experimenting with your Sewing Machine

A few years ago I had a creative moment and decorated a cheap denim jacket with all kinds of treatments i.e. obscure images printed onto Inkjet fabric sheets, hot bondable Angelina Fibres fused on, buttons, lace and more.  I found some high quality gold metallic thread and then selected some different stitches on my machine and set to work creating my masterpiece.  The result, lots of oooohs and aaahs from friends saying 'do you know, I have never played with all the different stitches on my machine'.

These days sewing machines are loaded with hundreds of variations of stitches and all you need to do is play with them and discover a new kind of joy, as I did with my denim jacket.  Add variegated threads or metallics and suddenly you will be patting yourself on the back for your creative genius.

Another great idea is to clip together two pieces of fabric with a scrap of batting in between and again, play with decorative stitches and different thread combinations.

To whet your appetite, have a look at "Your Machine's Decorative Stitches" by Karen Lindusha.  Karen also shows you how to add texture with netting, tulle or even onion bags.

If you are a crazy quilt fan, you would be crazy not to consider taking advantage of what is already on your machine.  Take a look at "Crazy Quilts - Histroy, Techniques and Embroidery Motifs".