You've embroidered on paper, balsa wood, and fiberglass screening. There's no limit to what you and your machine can do with creative ideas and a bit of courage. See how you can embroider on metal to add a "reflective" quality to your embroidery.
New Delhi's classic form of "mirror" or "shisha" embroidery is the inspiration behind this new technique.
Add shine and sparkle to any room with fashionable pullbacks that hold charm, intrigue, and curtains alike.
Supplies & Materials:
Supplies needed:
** 1/2 yard fabric per pullback (we used a sturdy but lightweight duck cloth)
** Small plastic craft rings
** Cutaway stabilizer
For the "shisha" or mirrored part of the design, you can use one of the following:
** Craft aluminum (lightweight embossing aluminum)
**Craft punch for preparing aluminum shapes
** Metallic fabric (such as lame)
** PVC plastic sheet (thickness .010")
** Metallic-sheen ribbon, at least an 1 1/2" wide
The designs used in this tutorial include:
Gather Materials:
The fabric for the pullback should be 22" x 6 1/2", but the height might be too close to your hoop measurement, if you have a 6 x 10 hoop. To make sure that the fabric doesn't slip in the hoop, add excess to the height measurement, which will be trimmed away later.
The pullback consists of one design repeated. First, we'll show you a method for aligning the designs so they are in a straight line.
Place a strip of masking tape all the way across the center of the fabric, and draw a line.
Measure and mark the horizontal center point. Measure out 1/2" from the center point and mark on the left and right sides. That accounts for the space left between the two designs when sewn.
Now we'll mark the center point for the design that will be sewn on the right side of pullback. Divide the design's width by two, and mark that measurement from the mark you made on the right side of the fabric center point.
Repeat this for the design that will be sewn on the left side. Mark the center point of the design from the mark you made left of the center point for the fabric.
Spray the cutaway stabilizer with a bit of spray adhesive, and then smooth the fabric on top.
Hoop both the fabric and stabilizer together firmly, aligning the markings on the tape with the markings on the hoop.
Remove the masking tape before you begin to embroider the design.
Using a 1" circle craft punch, punch out eight mirror pieces of either plastic or metal sheeting. The image to the left shows the craft punch with aluminum embossing metal, available at most craft supply stores.
If you are working with fabric or ribbon, use the dieline to cut the material to the shape for the applique. In the file that you downloaded, you'll find the dieline (the file that ends in "_DL") file. Print it, or embroider it onto a piece of paper, to make a template. Use that template to cut the fabric or ribbon to the shape for the applique.
Start Embroidering:
Load the embroidery file. This is the file that begins with "Y" followed by 4 numbers. Embroider the design. The dielines for the mirror pieces will sew first.
After the dielines have sewn, spray the mirror pieces with adhesive and place them inside the dielines.
Use tweezers to handle the aluminum, so you won't get adhesive on your fingers.
Continue embroidering the design. The tack downs and satin stitch borders will sew next, binding the applique pieces to the fabric.
When you have finished embroidering the first design, unhoop the fabric. Now, rehoop the fabric to embroider the second design. Those markings that you made on the tape earlier will come in very handy.
Repeat the design, embroidering as before. First the dieline will sew, then add the applique metal, plastic, or fabric pieces.
When the second design is finished, remove the fabric from the hoop. Trim the stabilizer away from the backside of the embroidery.
Trim the fabric 1/2" from the embroidery all the way around.
Press all sides to create a 1/4" seam allowance.
Sew all the pressed edges to seal the seam allowance.
By hand, sew a small ring in the middle of each side.
Wrap the pullback around your curtains to determine where you want it to be. Then, tack a small nail in that area, and hook the rings over the nail.
You can bring the beautiful style of "shisha" or "mirror" embroidery to your home with this fun project!
