3D Foliage using Misty Fuse

I have had some requests to describe how I make my 3D Foliage using Misty Fuse. The leaves on the left show a wide range of techniques however they all have one thing in common. They all involve the assemblage of materials in layers to make your own cloth. And better yet, most of it is made from scrap materials which in my mind is truly a way of upcycling and "going green." I love this idea! The first thing I do is to gather scrap fabrics and thread snippets from other projects that I have previously sewn. I begin by layering the scraps of fabric with Misty Fuse and thread snippets. I also like to include even smaller pieces of cut up scrap material, yarn, fibers and even a little Angelina fiber for sparkle. The materials are fused together between two sheets of parchment paper or Goddess sheets.  

The fibers all adhere to the bottom layer of fabric and become one. The difference between using parchment paper and Goddess sheets is that the parchment paper leaves a matt like background whereas the Goddess sheets impart a shiny appearance. Both are wonderful! The choice of which pressing sheet to use is a personal preference. I personally like to integrate the two together and create both matt and shiny backgrounds as I feel this creates interest. Once the cloth is layered and fused, I lay it down on a piece of timtex or peltex and fuse both together again, with Misty Fuse. The next step is to flip it over and fuse a backing for the underside of the leaf. At this point, you have a piece of peltex that is sandwiched between your assembled cloth and a backing and are now ready to take it to the sewing machine to begin stitching. I free motion stitch the leaves however you can prestencil leaves before stitching. Once the leaf shape is stitched, the veins are set in. Individual leaves are cut out and I use either ink or paint to touch up the edges. This method can be applied to whole cloth and used for a variety of different projects such as wearable art and other projects. Here the ideas are endless.

A Few of My Favorite Things From Attached Inc and Havel's Sewing: Mistyfuse, Transdoodle, Goddess Sheets and Scissors

This piece is still a work in progress but I thought I might post a mini tutorial about how I used Transdoodle, Mistyfuse and Goddess Sheets to arrive at this point. These are some of my most favorite products and I thought I would share them with you. They make my life so much easier! I first began with a sketch of unusual cogs and enlarged the main pattern to the desired size. Then came the fun part of choosing fabrics. Here, I chose to pull out all the wild and playful fabrics that had managed to make their way into my stash. I proceeded to iron Mistyfuse, a lightweight fusible to the back of my fabrics using a large Goddess Sheet. Mistyfuse is my absolute favorite fusible as it does not gum up the needles when sewing and does not interfere with the hand of the fabric. The Goddess Sheet is my ultimate choice for pressing sheets. If I get fusible on the pressing sheet, it wipes right off with a kitchen scrubber. Easy to clean, gotta love that!

Once the Mistyfuse was fused to the back of my fabrics, I transferred my design to the right side of the fabric by placing a sheet of Transdoodle, chalk paper on top of the fabric. I then placed my pattern on top of the Transdoodle and with a mechanical pencil (containing no lead), I traced over the design to transfer the chalk image onto my fabric. Basically, just applying pressure allows the image to be transferred. So easy and no need for a light table or fooling around with trying to reverse the image! Once the design was transferred to the fabric, I used my favorite Havel Scissors to cut the design out. This particular pair of scissors happens to be micro serrated and cuts so beautifully. Such a joy to work with! I am hoping that I will have some time over the holidays to finish this project. As usual, deadlines are looming and I would love to eek out one more project before the New Year arrives. Thanks for stopping by. Please check out some of the artists from Off the Wall Friday at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/search/label/Off%20the%20Wall%20Fri . Hope you enjoyed this post and I wish you all, Happy Holidays!