A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SOLUBLE FILM

£2.75 (INCL. 1m x 78cm OF FILM)

Making Fabric

You will need:

• Soluble film - heavy weight
• 6 inch embroidery hoop
• Screwdriver (to do up your hoop)
• A permanent marker pen
• A selection of embroidery threads
• A small tray for dissolving soluble film

Machine settings:

Free motion embroidery

Stitch length 1

Stitch setting straight stitch

Drop feed dogs

Making the Fabric:

Begin by cutting enough soluble film to cover your hoop and overlap by 2cm.  Stretch over your hoop and tighten with a screwdriver.

Draw a 10cm square inside your hoop and use this as a guide.

Thread up your machine with your chosen thread

Machine a grid over your 10cm square by stitching across and up

Using the same thread start machining freely using a backwards and forwards motion with your hands, keep the thread moving over your square until you have the desired pattern.  Change your colour and continue as before, continue to change colours as required until you have covered the square.

Remove the film from the hoop cut off any loose threads. Cut of the excess film.

Place in a tray of warm water and leave to dissolve.  Change water and repeat until all the film is removed.

Leave to dry.

Iron if required.

Further exercises:

Use circles to make a grid making sure they all overlap.

Experiment with your colours.  As long as you have a grid you can begin to combine different hand movements each producing its own distinctive mark.

You can also experiment by putting a layer of organza between two pieces of film, this forms a grid so you do not have to stitch your own.