MooshieStitch Monday: My Stitchable Mesh Project

Last month, Floresita shared a great review and her beautiful stitching on the new DMC Stitchable Mesh. Since DMC also sent me some, I thought I would share with you what I stitched!

First of all, I chose to stitch on the silver side of the mesh. 

A few of Floresita's suggestions when stitching on the mesh really helped, such as:

1. Use a permanent marker to trace your pattern/design onto the mesh. Anything else will rub off!

2. Secure the edges of the mesh fabric - it will unravel. I used black electrical tape on the edges. It doesn't look very pretty but it worked.

Here is the finished product with the tape removed.

To finish the back of the hoop, I used this awesome method with a light colored felt. I trimmed the mesh down so there was just a little bit left around the edge of the hoop to stitch the felt onto.

It is not my best attempt at finishing the back side, I need to work on my blanket stitch. I have never been good at the blanket stitch!! :)

Here is the front view after the felt was attached.

My biggest takeaway on stitching with the mesh - it made me very aware of the back side of the hoop!!

Since it is so sheer, I knew I had to be careful to not carry my thread from one flower to the next. (I hate to admit it, but my embroidery back sides are usually pretty messy!) But I think I did a pretty good job.

It is surprisingly easy to stitch with and softer to the touch than what I was expecting. I used pearl cotton and DMC cotton floss without any issues. I love it's unique look and like that there is a new option of something to stitch on other than regular fabric. 

Thanks again to DMC for sending the stitchable mesh!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Review: DMC Stitchable Mesh and Pattern giveaway

Hello all! Today I am reviewing the new DMC Stitchable Mesh - and for all of you who follow me on Instagram, this post comes as no surprise, as you already saw "sneak peeks" of my thoughts and progress while working with it. Thank you, first of all, to DMC for sending me the stitchable mesh to work with - it was a treat!

The stitchable mesh is thin enough to put in a regular embroidery hoop - I fit all of mine in an 8 inch hoop. The mesh is very sheer (as you see above), and has two sides - one with a silver-white finish, and one with a gold finish. I chose the gold finish for my project - and it has a very nice sheen.

The edges of the mesh, once cut, unravel very quickly. One of the most important parts of your project, when working with this fabric, will be to secure the edges. If I had it to do again, I would do a quick running stitch around the edges. The raw edges feel like tulle, and are scratchy on the hands, so you may also want to line them with bias tape, if possible.

I initially tried tracing my design using a fine-tipped black marker - don't repeat my mistake. :) Instead, try a permanent ink marker, or you will literally have a bit of a mess on your hands. :)

Also, be aware as you stitch that the luster is quite fragile - if you pick out your stitches, you'll be able to see where exactly you did that. Squint at the photo above and you'll see where I picked out my stitches. There's a ghostly line, where the gold luster was removed from unpicking.

Another thing to consider as you stitch is that once you remove your fabric from the hoop, it will be stretched and bent - as above. So I'd suggest leaving your project in the hoop, or avoiding a hoop, if you don't want this issue.

As I mentioned before, the mesh is very transparent, and will reveal whatever is behind it. I think this is a plus, though - as it gives you an extra dimension to play with in your stitching!

By layering a taupe fabric underneath, I achieved a really lovely 3-D effect, which made it look like the stitches were floating on top of the fabric:

Cool, huh? Now, onto my experiences with stitching on the mesh...

I really enjoyed stitching on this fabric! I won't lie, I was intimidated when I saw it, but once I pulled the needle through, I found that it stitched the same as your average Aida cloth. For some reason, I actually found it easier to stitch French knots on this surface. But I used all of the same stitches I normally use - split, chain, knots, woven wheel, and couching, and I never had any issue - see above for a sampling.

Here's another closeup of that nice mesh surface.

Here is my finished project - a lovely wedding hoop:

Overall, I found this new stitchable mesh very enjoyable. If you keep in mind the caveats I listed above, and plan your project carefully, I'm sure you can achieve some really lovely and unique results with this fabric. Thank you again to DMC for sending this to me, to try!

Free Custom Pattern Giveaway!

Now, I always like to do a giveaway when I do a review, but this time I thought I'd do something a little different, since I don't have any extra mesh to give away... How about a free pattern? I'll create a free customized pattern with the names you supply!

To enter this custom pattern giveaway, leave a comment on this post, and tell me who you'd like to stitch this pattern for, and why. Please leave a comment on this post by Friday, Dec. 9, at 9 PM US CST, when I'll draw 2 winners!

Free "Vote" pattern - the winning design!

Well, it was a close race, but the readers have spoken and the winning design was this one - Design #3! I really had fun stitching this up, starting bright and early this morning.

As you can see, I am already done, so I can attest to what a quick stitch this pattern is!

Download on Flickr
Download on Google Drive

Here are all the colors I used - all DMC embroidery floss this time:

I hope you let your interpretation be as free as you like, and most of all, if you are in the US, I really hope you vote! This election season has been anything but pleasant, but our right to vote is something we haven't always had - it was a long, hard fight to get it, and I hope you continue that fight by voting.

Thanks to everyone who voted in our "election", and for all the feedback we've gotten on how you've found us. I hope you enjoy this free pattern!

Free Halloween Sampler Pattern by Amy

Halloween Sampler by Amy Byrne a.k.a. Random Acts of Amy

Hello, Stitchers! Our regular Friday Instagram Finds author, Amy from Random Acts of Amy, is offering a free Halloween Sampler pattern over on her blog. This is her very first pattern and it is wonderfully detailed - with a full guide to colors, stitches, and number of strands to use. She'd love to see you stitch it up! Follow the link above to get the pattern.

Floss Review & free pattern: DMC Coloris Floss

Hello all! Today, I have the lucky task of writing a floss review for DMC Coloris floss. Seriously, I was over the moon when the nice people at DMC Commonthread sent me this:

Yes, that's all 24 colors of new DMC Coloris floss. I think I took a million photos of them, then slowly moved on to crafting with them.

The floss is 6 strand embroidery floss, which is variegated in 4 shades of DMC colors. These colors are not always complementary, as in the traditional DMC variegated floss or Color Variations floss you may have used before - instead they are bright, contrasting colors that are very lively and fun.

In addition to numbers, each color has a name, which is an especially nice touch. Here is the full color card, from the DMC site:

Below, I cross stitched one line of each floss color to give you an idea of how many stitches you can do before the color changes. Next to each line is the remaining 4 strands of each color :

I chose 12 of my favorite Coloris shades and embroidered a small 5 x 9 in. hoop with a design I made up as I went along. I used 2-4 strands of floss, using as many stitches as I felt like experimenting with.

I stitched each flower with a different color, so I could see how each color changes...

For the lettering, I traced a free font I found online and used 2 strands of floss to do a tiny split stitch.

I used a finer needle than I normally use, and that helped to keep my stitches tiny:

Here is the final design - it's a bit wonky, but lots of fun to stitch. Some colors show up better than others on the pink quilting fabric I chose, but it was mainly a learning exercise for me.

Edit: I was asked which colors I used in my hoop, so I'll list them for you, from left to right.

Lettering: 4501, 4508, 4517, 4509, 4502, 4506

Flowers: 4514, 4500, 4517, 4501, 4510, 4509, 4502, 4506, 4507, 4523, 4508, 4503

Here's a free pattern I made, if you'd like to stitch along with me!

I tried to mark all the stitches I used, but feel free to do your own thing! If you print the design on 8 1/2 x 11 paper it "should" fit into a 5x9 in. hoop, but I'd test it out first to be sure.

I would definitely recommend giving DMC Coloris floss a try - it gives a lovely pop of color to even a basic project like mine. That's my two cents, and thanks again to DMC for sending this floss to me to try out!

What do YOU think of DMC Coloris floss? Have you seen it in your local stores? What kind of project would you stitch with it?