Working on Pages
This is the bulk of the creative work. You may still be placing Fabric motifs during this part of the project or even adding colour through stencils.
- This is where you finish placing your motifs
- Add embellishments -- buttons (remember you are going to be fusing pages together - if it's possible to sew buttons on after fusing leave them to the end), bits of lace, beads, other bits of fabric
- Add pockets or tags
- Add text, quotes, poems -- personalize the journal so that it means something to you or the person you're giving it to
- Give it a light coat of wax (optional) before hand stitching
- Add decorative hand stitch to the pages
Look to the Reference Links page for videos on decorative hand stitches.
These videos demonstrate how to add text to pages.
Adding White Text to Black Fabric
Working with Pages -- An Update on Progress
This quick video will show you how my circle journal is coming along. I've got my cutouts done, my colour (such as it is) added, my fabric motifs adhered to my pages and my quotes written down. I may add a bit more here and there but for the most part, I'm ready to begin stitching.
Mistakes can happen. Sometimes you want/need to cover them up.
Working with Pages: Adding Wax (an optional step)
This video shows how to apply a coat of wax to your page and the importance of creating a test page of the media you plan to use (if you plan to apply wax to the surface of your pages)
A quick video explaining my rationale for my thread colour choices and showing my less is more approach to adding hand stitch to journal pages. I demonstrate on the cover decoration sheet I plan on using for my journal.
In my first journal, I didn't use pockets or tags but they are very popular in journals. In the journal I'm working on now, I decided to branch out and explore making a fabric pocket. I've used them in paper journals many times so I decided to take the plunge and make a fabric pocket with a fabric tag to put in it. Once again, measurement and planning are essential.
Making a Fabric Origami Envelope
Another kind of enclosure is an envelope. I've used origami envelopes in journals for small items and sometimes, if I don't secure them with a drop of glue, I use them as a way of folding a letter or surprise journal entry. I thought it would be interest to see if one could be made from a square of fabric.
Completing Pages
When you've completed all the work you want to do on the pages, you will apply Wonder Under (or your choice of fusible web) to the back of one side of your double spread and fuse front and back together. If you have thick embellishments (like buttons) put the thick side face down onto a towel and try to fuse that way. Make sure the edges are fused -- they will receive the most wear and tear. They can be reinforced with machine or hand stitch.
Once your pages are fused you want to reinforce the edges against wear. The fusing usually holds but corners can take a lot of abuse in turning pages. Stitching along the raw edge provides extra security. If you have done a seamed edge, this step isn't necessary.
Keep in mind that the pages may fuse unevenly depending upon the amount and type of embellishments you've used. That is to be expected. I used fusing as a way of putting my front and back pages together and supplying some stiffness to my pages. Because the additions to my pages were fairly flat I was able to use a regular iron. If you have a lot of bulky embellishments, you may need to use a small iron like the Clover to get in and around your embellishments.
If your pages have acquired a lot of bulk and body it may not be possible or necessary to fuse the front and back together -- it may be sufficient to simply sew around the edges. That will be an individual decision made when you are ready to complete your pages. The bottom line is -- the front and back must stay together, be able to fold in half, and can be sewn into a cover.
This video shows the application of Wonder Under to the reverse side of the fabric and the fusing of the front and back to form the double page spread.
After your pages have been fused, you can finish adding your pocket by fusing it in place. You may find that additional stitching as stress points might be required. That will be an individual decision.
Extras
With my accordion book, I decided to experiment further with tissue paper. I did an experiment printing text on tissue paper and using Wonder Under to fuse it to fabric. I also investigated using the clear acrylic wax as a means of preventing the inkjet ink from smearing when moisture was applied. ex. damp fingers
Adding the last of the butterfly motifs to the fabric accordion book.
One of the last steps in working with the pages of the accordion book is to add some stiffening to the fabric so that the book will be able to stand when open for display. The next video shows that stage in the accordion book progress.
With my Shabby Chic fabric journal I experimented with some commercial photo fabric and used that to add some text to my journal. That was successful so I tried using my inkjet printer to print text on the lightweight, unbleached cotton muslin that I had on hand. I learned some useful things about the process. Below is a video about my experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment