Artful feet

Artful feet

I have two new feet and I am very happy with the way they are stepping out.

These new feet fit snuggly on my Bernina B720 and she is really loving her new feet.

They make wonderful textures and give great depth to my art works. They were perfect to use in a series of small textile art works about the sea that I have just finished stitching.

Let me share with you the ideas and techniques I have used them for in my new creation.

Tailor tacking foot

Tailor tacking foot no 7

With this foot you will notice there is a bar in the middle that needs to be cleared by the zigzag stitch. Your zig zag stitch width should be no wider than 5 (0r the highest your machine goes) and no smaller than 3. Stitch tension .05 or less I use 0 and stitch length is dependent on the look you want. The zig zag stitch produces a loop. The loop stitches form over the raised centre bar, these loops will fall off the bar as the fabric moves.

The images below show how I created the texture and look of a grassed area. To do this I have stitched many rows of tailor tacking stitch close to each other. I am using 2 threads simultaneously through the top of the machine and threaded through a single needle to mix the colours through the grass effect.

Stitching rows of tailor tacking.

I stitch row after row close together once I have completed the patch of lush grass I cut through the loops and iron with cloth covering the stitches (protection against heat). When ironed flat the cut loops have a wonderful grass like apperance.

All the looped rows are finished and ready to be cut through the middle.

The loops are cut and pressed.

The tailor tacking foot produces a stitch effect that is very versatile and I love to use it to build up textured areas in my art works. It makes lovely sea weed both cut or uncut.

Early stages of the rock pool,seaweed using tailor tacking foot

I am pleased to welcome Foot no 43 free motion couching foot into my studio to play

Free motion chording foot no 43

I am still at the experimental and discovery stage of what I can do with this foot 43. I know it will have many applications in my art works to add depth and texture.

With this foot the cords are fed directly to the needle through a hole in the base, and can be sewn in any direction you desire with the feed dog lowered. I have used this foot to add depth, colour and texture to my sea series of art works and have been surprised at the result’s and its ease of use. I can visualise that I will be using this foot for many other art techniques in the future.

Using free motion chording foot for vegetation on the cliff face.

I used yarns, silk fibres and hand stitching thread. Some threads are not the required diameter but created wonderful effects.

Using two threads of hand embroidery thread through the foot. This was sewn in a circular motion and then snipped to create tree foliage.

Snipping the stitches to create a textured result.

I used this foot to create seaweed and foliage moving the fabric in different motions under the needle to form the texture and shape I desired which included circular and straight movements. Some of these stitches were cut and layered and some have more stitching on top.

A series of images to show the progression of the artworks and how the stitch from these two feet add texture and depth to my art work.

These are possibilities for you to take and make your own in whatever you create

The rock pool.