When to add embroidery or embellishments?
I'm doing the piecing for a wall hanging. I want to add "straw" and "hay" stalks, hands and feet, on and around the scarecrow but don't know when/how I should do this. I'll be using a 30 or 40 weight variegated thread. Is it done BEFORE making the sandwich? Should I use a stabilizer then? Or do I sandwich, quilt and then add the straw stitching? Do I quilt it before or after the embellishment stitching? I'm thinking I don't want the embellished stitches to show thru to the backing so it seems like I should do it before adding the backing. Is it ok to do it thru the top layer and batting only (the batting would be the stabilizer?) or would that gum up the feed dogs by stitching with the batting on the bottom??? I'm thinking this kind of stitching would be done in free motion with the feed-dogs down? Should I use a hoop under the needle? You bet I'm confused! And really need help! Thanks for any ideas that will help me get this done right!
KT. in MI