T-shirt "très chic"
Introduction
I finally found the soluble canvas! It was packaged in a plastic bag containing a sheet of 8.5'' x 8.7'' in 25ct and did cost me a little less than 9 euros (about 8 British pounds or $13). It looks like plastic with a smooth side and a rough side. Because it is a bit expensive, it is better to use it for small patterns. I will show you how to make a "designer T-shirt so chic".
Advices:
You might struggle when it comes to tack the soluble canvas on the T-shirt fabric. Nowadays the fabrics for T-shirts are rarely cut straight. So be careful not to cross stitch askew the pattern!
When you will begin your embroidery, the T-shirt fabric might "hang loose". Once the model will have more stitches, it will be easier to make regular crosses or back stitches. So pay attention to the back of your piece and check your stitches. Also, maintain your needle really perpendicular to the canvas so you stitch straight through the soluble canvas and the fabric.
If you use color variation floss (which is the case for the the project) cut the thread always at the same color. That way you control the variation from start to stop. I also cut the white part of the blue thread when I used it for back stitching the contours, otherwise the contours would be invisible on the white T-shirt.
To end up with unpleasant matters, you should think that if your thread is colorfast, your T-shirt might not be! Imaging the first time you wash your red T-shirt cross stitched in white! The pattern would become sort of "wild pink". In my case I used a blue colorfast thread that will not change color if some red dye is released. I need to test also a combination of dark green on a green-apple T-shirt...I shall publish the picture when it is done.
The step by step AT LAST!
Supplies:
- Soluble canvas
- Variegated colorfast thread
-A white T-shirt
- Cut a 4'' square in the soluble canvas.
- Place the square with the help of a ruler positionned under the sleeves.
- Slide a magazine in the T-shirt. You will avoid stitching the back of the T.shirt.
- Tack the canvas on the fabric.
- Tack with a cross in the center of the canvas.
- Hold tight the assembly in a tambour.
- At this point, you are ready to cross stitch the model.
- When stitched, get a bowl with water.
- Dip the T-shirt in hot water (read instructions).
-Et voilà!
Do it with your kids around because it is really magical.
Epilogue
This is the second T-shirt with the jellyfish. You will notice that I used waste canvas instead of soluble canvas.
1 It is cheaper and as easy to use than the soluble canvas because the pattern has not many cross stitches and the back stitches let the threads slide easily. For a pattern with many crosses the soluble is surely more effective.
2 I had to try because I told you so in the basic. I confess that I had a lot of fun !
3 The kids wanted absolutly to pull the threads. Please! Mummy please!!!
- Better late than never: here is the picture of the third T-shirt.