from the editor

Our Paper & Embroidery issue is unlike any other we publish in the Creative Machine Embroidery line-up. Loaded with techniques and ideas, the projects stitch up fast (no seams to finish!) and offer another creative outlet for embroidery. If you’ve never entertained the idea of embroidering on paper, give it a try. You’ll love the great results! Begin with simple outline designs and move on to fill types, appliqué and others as you become more experienced. Save all of your samples and turn them into finished projects like cards, frames and décor items.

In our fourth annual special edition of Paper & Embroidery, on sale May 22, you’ll find a bevy of paper projects for all skill levels and interests. Our experts share techniques like weaving, using paper punches, making appliqué, and combining purchased trims with paper and embroidery. Scrappers will love our myriad ideas for memory page layouts. You’ll also find unique paper-plus-embroidery projects from candleholders (with a free leaf download) and whimsical goody holders (with more free downloads!) to plant stakes, frames and cards. And that’s just the beginning…



Join us online at cmemag.com for an array of bonus projects, including two embroidered card projects just posted in the growing “Only Online” section of the CME Library. And just for you loyal e-Update readers, we offer the simple-yet-smashing “Paper Twinkle” projects below. Enjoy!

After you soak up the issue, I hope you’ll drop me a line at info@cmemag.com to tell me what you think—or send jpeg images of your own paper projects. Your feedback is invaluable (plus, I always love to hear from you!).

Until next time,
Annette Gentry Bailey
Creative Machine Embroidery Editor

don't miss out

Misplaced a back issue of CME? In addition to CME’s original embroidery designs, you also can purchase copies of past subscriber issues, and current and past newsstand-only issues of Quilting & Embroidery, Paper & Embroidery and Holiday Embroidery on our secure shopping site at www.SewnShop.com. For phone and other ordering options, click here.

better embroidery:
jump stitches

No embroidery is complete until the appropriate jump stitches are trimmed away. Use these tips for the best results:
• The design will be more durable if only the needle thread is clipped between design areas. Unless the bobbin thread jumps are very long and likely to snag during use, simply leave them in place.
• When the bobbin thread jumps also require trimming, clip them after tidying the embroidery right side. Otherwise the tension exerted while trimming the needle threads can pull the bobbin thread and tie-off knots to the right side of the work.
• Likewise, be very careful not to trim the wrong side too close to the fabric. The tiny knots formed during embroidery are essential to keep the stitches from unraveling during use and care.

and the winner is...

To show our appreciation to CME e-Update subscribers like you, each month we randomly select a winner of a special embroidery-related prize. This month it’s the book “Machine Embroidery on Paper,” by CME’s own Annette Bailey. The book contains techniques and projects to embroider on paper, plus a disk of more than 30 designs. If you're already a subscriber, you'll be entered in the drawing automatically.

Congratulations to J. Smith of Cookeville, TN, winner of last month’s My-T-Fine cordless electric scissors prize. Be sure to tell your embroidery-loving friends to subscribe to CME's e-Update so they'll have a chance to win each month, too!

wanted: time-saving tips

Reader Taylor A. shares this helpful advice: To take the tedium out of ironing, embroider at the same time! While a color stitches out, iron a garment. Clip threads, change thread colors and move on to the next item to be ironed while the embroidery stitches out.

How do you save time or organize yourself for productivity? Share your best tips at info@cmemag.com and we'll publish a selection of them in upcoming e-Update newsletters.

paper twinkle

Give any glass canister or hurricane lamp a decorative glow with twinkle lights and pretty embroidered paper.

Click here for larger view of projects.

supplies

• Art paper
• Cut-away and clear water-soluble stabilizer
• Clear glass canister, jar or hurricane lamp of your choice (lid is optional)
• Embroidery, holographic and bobbin thread
• Temporary spray adhesive
• Removable marker
• Clear-drying glue
• 1⁄ 2 yard of 1"-wide grosgrain ribbon
• 1⁄ 2 yard of 1⁄ 4"-wide flat decorative trim
• Florist’s pebbles
• White packing peanuts
• Battery-operated white twinkle lights
• Embroidery designs of your choice
• Optional: Variety of ribbons and charm

embroidery
Note: For tips and how-to information on embroidering on paper, see the “General Directions” in CME’s Paper & Embroidery 2007.

• Use software, if available, to combine several designs in one hooping to save time.
• Print or stitch a template of the design.
• Measure the length and diameter (add 1⁄ 2" for overlap) of the canister to be covered and cut a piece of art paper this size. Note: If using tissue-weight paper, also add an extra 1" to the length.
• Use a removable marker to mark the design placement on the paper.
• Hoop cut-away stabilizer, spray with temporary adhesive (spray in a box to protect the machine from overspray) and adhere the art paper, aligning the marked guidelines. Note: If using tissue-weight paper such as on our hurricane lamp sample, use clear water-soluble stabilizer to avoid show-through.
• Embroider the designs. Un-hoop the paper and cut away the excess stabilizer.
• Repeat with a single design to embellish the lid, if desired.
  

canister construction

• Wrap the art paper around the glass canister and glue into place using clear-drying glue. Overlap the seam at the back.
• Glue the flat trim in place at the paper upper edge.
• Place the embroidered paper with the single design on the lid (if applicable) and fold the sides down. Glue into place.
• Cover the lid sides with the grosgrain ribbon, overlapping at the back and cutting away the excess.
• Place a charm, word pebble, button or metal greeting in the center of the lid embroidery and adhere following the manufacturer’s directions.
• Add additional ribbons and a charm to the front of the lid if desired.
• Place the twinkle lights inside the canister, leaving the battery pack outside the canister. (It will be placed in the canister last for easy access to the on/off switch.)

hurricane lamp construction

• Wrap the embroidered art paper around the glass, centering the design and glue into place using clear-drying glue. Overlap the seam at the back.
• Fold over the extra 1⁄ 2" of paper at the upper and lower edges. Glue into place.

finishing

• Fill the canister or hurricane lamp with florist’s pebbles and packing peanuts, making sure the lights stay to the front of the canister. Leave room at the top to place the battery pack. Note: The pebbles reflect the light and the peanuts help hold the pebbles off the bottom of the canister.
  
• Turn on and secure the lid in place (if applicable). Turn off the twinkle lights when done enjoying the light.

credits

designer: Annette Bailey
embroidery designs: Star, flower and scroll are original CME designs. To purchase, go to www.SewnShop.com and click on “Embroidery Designs.” Search for “star” for the design used on the canister or “chain flower, chain scroll” for the designs used on the hurricane lamp. Follow the links to have the designs e-mailed to you in the format of your choice.
thread: Holoshimmer thread from Sulky of America.
battery-operated twinkle lights: available at Michaels Crafts.

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