i played around with my embroidery patterns and the layers and decided on a line drawn paisley. the stitches will be close enough together to hold all the threads from the hankie in place, but open enough to let the colors come through. i chose pink point d’esprit for the top layer to brighten up the hankie which was a little to pale for what i wanted. it also mutes the greens and makes them more subtle.
my first attempt was done in white thread to add another dimension to the fabric. it was nice but not quite what i wanted. a good thing since i accidentally grabbed a cutaway stabilizer instead of the tearaway i had planned on. the fabric was much too stiff, and the stabilizer showed through far to much. upon reflection i realized the tearaway would end up with similar problems since the stitching was so close together.
for my second attempt i used a heataway stabilizer instead and my palest pink embroidery thread.. success! i loved the colors. the green was still there but very subtle and the pink had lots of dimension and definition. only one problem… i failed to read all the fine print that said this stabilizer should not be used on silk since the heat needed to remove it could scorch the silk :doh!
undaunted i used a press cloth and with great care was able to get rid of most of it, without scorching the chiffon bottom layer or melting the point d’esprit 🙂 (happy dance). the fabric is still a little stiff but that should work out well for the bodice. i’ll just use a lighter weight lining than i had planned.)
here is the finished fabric
in real life the quilting forms a definite pattern rather than the random stitches you can see here. i’ll have to figure out how to photograph it properly.
tomorrow i’m going to try to make some more fabric using a water soluble stabilizer, since i need to skirt ruffle that will be made out of it to drape better. i didn’t try it before because the silk can stiffen when it gets wet, so i’ll just have to cross my fingers. if it does stiffen i can probably soften it by crunching and wiggling it.