Yesterday I was considering Lara’s comment that she prefers nonwoven fabrics for applique.  I unfortunately couldn’t use either leather or ultrasuede, basically because I need the colors to match the coat and I don’t have the skills to dye leather.  (I also wouldn’t be able to acquire the colors I need as quickly as I would need it.)  I made a brief foray into needlefelting, but was unsuccessful.

Then I decided to see what a very light application of Fray Check would do.  I used the tip of a pin to apply a tiny, tiny bead of Fray Check along the edges of  a test piece.  It came out beautifully, so I made an entire leaf using Fray Check and an overcast stitch.  It’s the left-hand leaf in this photo:

I really like this leaf.  The veining shows clearly without being overpowering, and is delicate enough to satisfy my taste for close-up detail.  The edges are neat and the overcasting looks good – much, much better than in the purple leaf (center) which has hairy-looking edges and irregular overcasting.  I will redo the purple leaf using Fray Check on the edges, and do the other three leaves using this method.

The Fray Check does stiffen the edges slightly, but for this application, that’s just fine – I want them stiffened anyway.  I have not yet wired the edges of the leaf, but will leave that for the very last, when all five leaves are complete.

And, in other news, Prop 8 has been declared unconstitutional by the appeals court.  Wahoo!  Time to go dance in the streets, and hope that the Supreme Court agrees.

(Prop 8, if you don’t live in California, was an amendment to the California constitution that specifically prohibited gay marriage, reserving the term for a union between heterosexual couples.  The appeals court, ruling 2-1, overturned it because it violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – the Equal Protection Clause, which says you may not enact a law discriminating against a class of people without compelling reason.  (It’s actually more complicated than that, but you can read the entire 66-page decision if you are interested.  I read it already, it’s interesting reading!))

I decided to try out Sharon’s idea, and made part of a third prototype leaf:

This worked out okay, but not spectacular – it produces a nice neat bound edge, but a thick, heavy-looking one.

Before working on the third prototype, I had finished (?) the first leaf, a purple one:

The hand overcast edges look a little ragged, but I like the embroidered veins.  The right half is wired with fine gold wire so it can be shaped.  I still need to wire the other half and shape it in a suitable manner.

I think my final solution will be hand overcast edges, but I’m going to “cheat” and apply an invisible edging of Fray Check to discourage fraying.  A heavy application of Fray Check will discolor the fabric, but a very very thin edging (applied with the point of a pin) came out  invisible on my sample, and discourages fraying rather nicely.  So I think I will redo the purple leaf, this time applying Fray Check to the edges to neaten them up a bit.  I may also machine stitch right next to the edge to further stabilize it.  Not sure yet. More experiments!

Talked to Sharon yesterday and got the fine points of finishing for Autumn Splendor.  I’m guesstimating I have ten hours of work left on it, not including the leaves.  Fortunately those 10 hours are largely things I can defer until after the photo shoot, so I’m going to focus on the leaves!  Those definitely have to be done by Sunday.

Another prototype leaf!

Here it is (on the left):

You’ll have to click in for the details.

And here is an annotated version:

The green section is blanket stitch done in a contrasting thread (thanks Lara for the suggestion!).  The turquoise section is blanket stitch done in matching thread.  The royal blue section has the top edge turned under and appliqued down (thanks Lynda), and the magenta is blanket stitch but with much closer spacing.

Oddly, I think I still prefer the overcast stitch from the first prototype, as wobbly as it is.  Second place goes to the machine zigzag, also from the first prototype.

Here is my thinking:

• Blanket stitch produces a nice neat edge.  But the stitches are perpendicular to the edge, which is unnatural in a leaf.  Using a matching thread decreases the effect, but when you look closely at it, it is still somewhat disruptive.
• Applique looks really good – the best, in fact – up until you hit the tips of the leaves.  Then it looks awful.  I’m sure this could be fixed with skilled work, but I don’t have the skills now and am not going to develop them in the next 24 hours.  So applique, much as I like it, is out.
• Machine zigzag produces a nice neat edge, but it feels harsh and stiff.  And looks cheap, according to my admittedly biased opinion.
• Hand overcasting, while irregular, expresses the crinkly, diagonal “feel” of the tiny veins in a leaf.

So I think I have decided to do hand overcasting, either in a matching or slight contrast thread.  Rayon embroidery thread is probably a better choice than polyester or silk sewing thread – the first is too springy and the second doesn’t come in an appropriate color set.  A third option is embroidery floss, but I think it’s a little thicker than I would like.  I will have to experiment, of course.

I also think I like the more complex, articulated leaf (the second prototype) better than the simplified version.  It’s more interesting up close, and looks fine at a distance, too.

I took some scraps and developed a prototype leaf, experimenting with different ways to overcast the edges.  It’s hard to make out the distinctions in the photos, but I’ll explain.

prototype leaf, closeup