With all the ads on television for back-to-school supplies, Fall must be close at hand. This month, Anita Goodesign released a new design pack called Autumn Splendor. So, we have it confirmed, Fall is close at hand. The design pack has 16 different leaves in 2 sizes. They are done in your embroidery hoop using a unique three-step technique. You can incorporate yarn, ribbon, thread, fabric scraps, and  anything you can trap under a layer of tulle, organza or lace.

This design pack comes with a 14 page step-by-step tutorial. The following is a short introduction to the process of creating these sew outs – with a slight tweak…  I decided to sew out several leaves in a large hoop instead of one leaf per hooping.  This saves some hooping time, reduces the amount of trimmed away stabilizer scraps, and takes advantage of the multi-needle machine automatic thread change feature.

I hooped 2 layers of water-soluble stabilizer in a hoop large enough to stitch out 3 leaves.
If you are going to stitch out only one leaf at a time, 1 layer of stabilizer will be enough.

Stitch out Step 1 which is a placement stitch. Because all three leaves are going to be the same color, I placed the base fabric right-side up on top of the stabilizer before stitching out the placement stitch.

For the filling I used thread. If you read last week’s blog, you read about the tub I put scrap fabric in – well, I also keep embroidery thread trimmings in a large plastic jar, for just this type of project. Do not ask about other similar containers…. or their contents.

The top fabric is organza.

Stitch out Step 2 — the tack down stitch. This will secure all three layers to the stabilizer.
Remove the hoop from the machine, but do not remove fabric from hoop. Trim the base fabric, filling and topping close to stitching line.

Place the hoop back into the machine and finish stitching your design. These stitches are the details and they finish the raw edge of the appliquè fabric.
Remove the hoop from the machine and the fabric from the hoop. Trim excess stabilizer away from leaves, but not too close to the stitching.  That is the advantage of using water-soluble stabilizer.

Rinse excess stabilizer away with warm water. I wanted to shape my leaves, so I didn’t rinse all of the stabilizer out. To create shape, I draped the wet leaves over some crumpled foil and let them dry. If you want them to be flat, rinse all of the stabilizer out and lay them on a flat surface to dry. If necessary, use an iron to press flat.

(Image from design pack)