Apparently I am going to finish the four seasons blocks before the alphabet. The snowflakes on this block have traveling threads behind them, and I thought I would give you my little tip on how to reduce the appearance of these strands from the front. Of course, the embroidery always looks pretty good until you iron it, when a couple of things happen to make the threads more visible — they are pressed flat against the fabric which also creates a little ridge. To correct this, I use my little Clover iron to press the fabric under each one of the traveling threads (I use a straight pin to lift up the threads). This pulls the threads slightly away from the fabric and flattens the ridge. I think you will be surprised at how well this works. I try not to travel between elements when I’m embroidering, but sometimes it can’t be helped. There was no way I was going to tie off all of those French knots.
Thanks for the tip, Martha! I hate it when the threads show and sometimes trying to tie them off to avoid ‘traveling threads’ causes a knot that shows through worse!
The knots are very effective snowflakes!
Wow. I can’t blame you for not wanting to tie off all those knots! Haha. This block is fantastic, looking forward to seeing the last two seasons.
Martha! I see that you are featured on Sew, Mama, Sew today! Congratulations! xo
I try not to travel too much but it happens and I can always see darker threads showing through my fabric when I look at the pictures of my work. I love the four seasons blocks. So cute!
Luv your site !!! Where can I find the complete alphabet for the Q you use on this title ???