Finished: Best Friend and Four Leaf Clover Banner
Well, it's a day later than planned, but it's finally finished.
I used a Sulky 30wt blendable green variegated cotton thread for these sections.
Here's a close-up of the center block, a white terrier dog with a shamrock on it's collar:
My previous post about this project has all the machine embroidery information and links.
The embroidery phase of this project went really smoothly; choosing the border fabrics and piecing them together progressed well also. I used EcoCraft Eco-friendly (100% PLA) batting for this project because I had a large enough piece left in my stash. I ran into trouble when I tried stitching in the ditch quilting and forgot to use the dual feed foot, and ended up picking out several rows of stitching that were all puckered.
Later I had problems with the binding. I don't know what I was thinking, but it ended up being too narrow the first time I tried to apply it and I decided to trim the edges of the banner to try and make it work. I should have just ripped it out and started over. What a mess -- I decided to trim about 1/8" from each side to straighten it out again and made a quick shopping trip to find a new binding fabric.
Later I had problems with the binding. I don't know what I was thinking, but it ended up being too narrow the first time I tried to apply it and I decided to trim the edges of the banner to try and make it work. I should have just ripped it out and started over. What a mess -- I decided to trim about 1/8" from each side to straighten it out again and made a quick shopping trip to find a new binding fabric.
I finally got a binding on the piece and after taking the first set of photos decided I should have done more quilting. I know, the quilting should be done before binding, but I just had to do it. Look at the before photo (below left), it just doesn't look finished compared to the after photo (below right), does it?
First I attempted channel quilting around the shamrock shape on the top block. I know, it's not quite perfect, but isn't it more interesting? (oops -- that should have said echo quilting, not channel)
(left: after quilting; right: before quilting) Last, some wavy lines to frame the sampler block:
(left: after quilting; right: before quilting) I used a Sulky 30wt blendable green variegated cotton thread for these sections.
Here's a close-up of the center block, a white terrier dog with a shamrock on it's collar:
The decorative stitches were sewn through all layers in 40ct rayon thread; I thought this stitch resembled four-leaf clovers. The green shamrock buttons were added after finishing the binding.
I still think the binding is a little bit wonky in sections, but overall I'm pleased with the finished project. I think the color and fabric selections go together well. And now that it's finished, I can see how I could have added other design features to help the sections flow together better.
I definitely need A LOT more practice quilting.
I still think the binding is a little bit wonky in sections, but overall I'm pleased with the finished project. I think the color and fabric selections go together well. And now that it's finished, I can see how I could have added other design features to help the sections flow together better.
I definitely need A LOT more practice quilting.
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