Given the fact this is my first attempt at a stuffed animal, and it actually does pass for an owl, I suppose we can call this victory. And even though he’s something of a mild disaster with that crooked beak and those crooked wings and that black thread around his face that probably should have been white, I kind of love him. (I definitely love him more than I would have a disastrous cat from the book I’m using.) Maybe someday, after I’ve perfected sewing curves and maintaining a better seam allowance, I’ll make him a friend.
So, what did Deb learn with this one?
Things About Stabilizer
Tunneling. This is what happens without stabilizer.
So last entry, I said I didn’t use stabilizer, and I didn’t — not for pieces that I had put fusible web on. However, today, I did use stabilizer (not on any fusible web pieces though), and I’ll say I am a fan of stabilizer. What is stabilizer? you ask. Well, the stuff I got (Sulky Tear-Easy Stabilizer Roll) kind of has a paper-y texture. You use it as a bottom layer to keep your stitches flat (the technical term is “tunneling”; without that extra stability, a zigzag stitch will make a “tunnel” with the fabric. I saw it with my test stitches. (That fabric scrap even had some interfacing fused to it. See visual.) Also, it’s great for edging. Example: on my Hoot Mess, you see white fleece layered over black fleece on his face. I appliqued the white onto the black before applique-ing the whole face onto the gray fabric. Well, those raw edges get pulled into and chewed up by the throat plate of the machine without that layer of stabilizer. And bonus: the stabilizer seemed to make everything easier to guide; it seemed to glide better over the base of the machine. After you’re done sewing, just tear the stuff off the back. I keep a finger over the stitches just to be more gentle about it, and I didn’t bother getting every little bit. Who’s going to see it past that adorable face sliding off his face, anyway?
Things About Fleece
Can’t use fusible web on fleece. Fusible web fuses best at a high temperature (cotton or linen setting on your iron), and I hear that’s bad for fleece. Maybe there is a way to use fusible web on fleece, but I don’t know it yet. Hence the crooked wings and beak. (In hindsight, I could have pinned that stuff down, but I was feeling reckless.) But he really had to have the soft fleecy bits. I insisted. I was surprised how easy fleece sews though. I’m totally sold on fleece.
Things About Fusible Web
I think I went into this yesterday. I’ll drop it all here too since it kind of popped up in the middle of my book rant yesterday rather than in a logical format like today.
Fusible web is basically a sheet of glue you melt to your fabric shapes, and then you can place those shapes on OTHER fabric where you want and then iron them down so they stick. Fusible web comes in varieties with AND without a paper backing. Me being me, I naturally bought the kind without a paper backing (Mistyfuse White Sheer Fusible Webbing). Have no fear, Deb, for the paperless web you bought can still be used. Sandwich it between parchment paper and iron away! If you’re feeling fancier, you can buy the press “cloth” they specifically make for that stuff (Goddess Applique Pressing Sheet.) I’ve used both, and both work equally well. The upside to parchment paper is you can just toss it when done versus having to clean any remnants of fusible web off the pressing sheet. Not difficult, but you might find that annoying. That and making sure you use the same side of the sheet for the glue every time.
It all sounds more complicated than it really is. Visualize these things layered as if you’re looking at your ironing board:
Iron
Parchment Paper (or pressing sheet)
Fusible Web
Fabric Shapes (Wrong Side Up)
Parchment Paper (or pressing sheet)
Ironing Board
Once that step is cooled off and done, here’s the next stack:
Iron
Parchment Paper (or pressing sheet)
Fabric Shapes (Right Side Up, Wrong Side with Post-Melted Fusible Web Down)
Fabric You’re Sticking the Shapes To (Right Side Up)
Ironing Board
I think you can also apply fusible web to fabric BEFORE cutting out your shapes. That would probably be a lot less messy since your fabric piece should be bigger than your fusible web piece.
That’s the gist of it, today. Next up, placemats and another foray into interfacing.
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