dc989

Could this be Pellon interfacing which you use in garment construction? It comes in several weights and is fusible or sew in. I can see how that would help with redwork because sometimes it is hard to make sure your threads don't shadow through. I'm going to try a little piece with the fusible because I can see how this could really work.

I just love hand embroidery, esp redwork. I inherited several sets of embroidered pillowcases from my mom. I didn't realize until later that her mother had made them. They were beautifully embroidered with handmade lace on the edges. I was shocked when I learned that my grandma had made them. My memories of her are of a large very unfeminine woman with a cigarette. I guess she did gorgeous handwork of all kinds. Since some of the pillowcases were worn out, but the edges were good I took them apart and made aprons using one for the bib and one as a border on the skirt. They are darling. Sorry for the trip down a rabbit trail. Lots of good memories here.

judord

Kelly, if you are machine embroidering, then you must always have a stabilizer underneath the fabric you are embroidering on. Pellon is just one of many different stabilizers to use. Wonder Under is for fusing fabrics and not the same at all. All fabric stores carry it and you can order it on line also. It just keeps the design from getting messed up on the fabric. Good luck. I love redwork.
Judy

MargeD

Although I haven't started my red work quilt yet - it's still on my bucket list, when I embroider faces for dolls I always put a layer of very light sew in interfacing, as this tends to hide the stray threads, plus give it a little more stability. I don't think I could recommend fusible interfacing or HeatnBond for red work,it would make the piece harder to stitch. That's just my personal opinion.

dottiequilts

Yes the SF101 says that is is for garment construction. The first big redwork quilt that I did was the Winter Wonderland (back in 2007) and I basted muslin on the back as she recommended. I then did her Over the River, The Night Before Christmas, Calendula Patterdrip and the other halloween quilt from crabapple hill and found that I liked the SF101 better. The pieces for this are very large and basting muslin on the back absolutely smoothly was a bit problematic when doing wonderland and calendula, so I tried this fusible interfacing and liked how smooth everything looked. It does not make it harder to stitch and actually gives the fabric a little body. If you are having difficulty stitching, then you should try the needles I mentioned in an earlier post. A needle tapered all the way from end to end makes getting tiny stitches a lot easier. In my personal opinion when you are heavily embroidering a big piece of fabric that will later be quilted, it needs to be stabilized either by hand basting muslin on the back or using the SF 101.

Nammie to 7

The fusible I use for hand embroidery is pellon SF101 - Shape Flex. It is an all purpose woven fusible interfacing. It doesn't add a lot of bulk and is easy to hand stich through. I've used in when I want to put Onasburg in my quilts. That is such a flimsy fabric and the pellon adds just enough to stabilize it. Only one shop in my area carries this interfacing = it may be hard to find.

lots2do

Lovely quilt! Dottiequilts, I'll have to look for those needles. I love the Sulky 12weight thread, too. Very convenient to use as well.

KathyPhillips

what do you mean by this?

Gladygirl

Looked at the needlenthreads site and found lots of patterns I like---cut my square of fabric, ironed on interfacing and started embroidering last night--discovered I don't like the interfacing I used and the white on white fabric is hard to stitch thru the designs !!!! So I will finish it someday and use it for a small wall hanging. Going to the fabric store tomorrow and will have a better idea what to buy this time around. Pays to do a trial run for something you want to do, I guess.

marykankney

I have had a lot of problems with thread breaking when using Sulky 12 wt thread. Any tips ?

lots2do

I use thread heaven with my sulky and don't use too long of a piece to prevent fraying. A teacher told us to use a piece as long as your wrist to your elbow (approximately).