7. Insert a loop of twine through the hole, and then tie the pendant to your pot.
Making Beads
Polymer clay beads are another easy way to embellish a pot. What I like about making my own beads is that I can make them any color or shape. I can add texture or pearl powder and have my own unique beads! Sew the beads right onto the pot or string them onto some yarn.
1. Make a 1" cube of polymer clay in a color that matches your fabric.
2. Roll the cube into a uniform 6"-long snake.
3. Using a ruler, cut the snake into six 1"-long segments.
4. Roll each 1"-long segment into a 3"-long snake.
5. Form each 3"-long snake into a bead, being careful to not smooth out the detail. The bead should look like a tied knot.
6. To make a hole for sewing the bead to your project, run a straight pin or needle horizontally through the bead about one quarter from the bottom of the bead. Make sure the hole is larger than your sewing needle.
7. Brush each bead with Pearl Ex powdered pigments by Jacquard (see “Resources” on page 62).
8. Bake the bead according to the manufacturer’s instructions and allow it cool completely.
Polymer clay pendant: The “Easy Three-Piece Pot” (page 30) is adorned with a polymer clay pendant. I used thin black twine to tie it onto the pot, but you could put two holes in the pendant and sew it on like a button.
Polymer clay bead: The beads on “Pitcher” (page 38) are really easy to make.
Fabric Embellishments
Most of us who sew or quilt have a lot of fabric scraps on hand. Adorning a pot with fabric is a great way to use scraps. Use your imagination! Maybe wrap some leftover cording with leftover fabric strips from a project. Hand sew or glue the cording to the pot in a wavy pattern, or coil it to make a flower. Or cut a motif from a piece of fabric, machine quilt it, and hand sew it to a pot.
Create fun embellishments using machine-quilted fabrics.
Leaves
Often your fabric will give you an idea for an embellishment. The batik I used for the pot above has a leaf motif. I used several of these leaves to make an embellishment.
1. Cut out several leaf shapes, adding a ¼" seam allowance around each.
2. Cut out pieces of the same fabric to use as backing for each leaf.
3. Layer a leaf and backing, right sides together, and stitch around the edge of the leaf using a ¼" seam allowance.
4. Slit the backing fabric and turn the leaf right side out.
5. Insert a little fiberfill or a piece of leaf shaped batting into the slit. Then hand stitch the slit closed.
6. Use a gold ink pad, acrylic paint, or a paint pen or stick to highlight some of the details of the leaf.
7. Hand or machine quilt some details onto the leaf.
8. Hand stitch the leaves to the pot in a manner that’s pleasing to you. Add polymer clay beads, referring to “Making Beads” on page 48.
Swirls
The fabric I used for “Pitcher” (page 38) is an earthy green with a metallic gold overprint in a swirl pattern. What would be a more appropriate embellishment than some swirls? Wrap leftover pieces of cording with fabric strips that match your project. Sew a 1½"-diameter coil, just like starter coils (page 17). Finish the coil using “Finishing the Edge, Method Two” page 20. Add a polymer clay bead at the center of each swirl, referring to “Making Beads” on page 48, as needed. This is an easy but very flattering embellishment!
Printable Fabric Sheets
You may already be familiar with printable-fabric products that allow you to print images directly onto 100% cotton sheets using your inkjet printer. Printable-fabric sheets are available at most quilt shops, or you can search for them online. You can print photos or any other digital images onto the fabric sheets and cut them out. Then add your own embellishments like beads, yarns, or rubberstamped images and attach your creation to your pot.
For the embellishment on “Easy Direct-Lift Pot” (page 22), I made my own printable-fabric sheet by ironing a piece of cotton muslin to a piece of freezer paper and trimming it to measure 8½" x 11" using my rotary cutter. I downloaded a Kokopelli image from the Internet and printed it onto the freezer-paper-backed muslin. Next, I heat set the image with my iron and removed the freezer paper. This is an economical way to print an image on fabric, but make sure your printer will accept the freezer-paper-backed fabric. You don’t want to ruin your printer!
After cutting around the image, I frayed the edges a bit to add texture. I hand stitched the image to the pot using a decorative stitch and embroidery floss. Then I added several purchased beads.
This easy embellishment gives the pot a Southwestern flair!
Tyvek
Tyvek is a product that has been around for awhile, but it has found its way into the craft world in only the last few years. Tyvek is a web of high-density polyethylene fibers bonded together with heat and pressure, and then rolled into sheets. Tyvek is traditionally used as an insulating material in home construction. It’s also used to make mailing envelopes, CD covers, medical fabric, and industrial packaging.
An interesting property of Tyvek is that it melts at a relatively low heat, approximately 275° F. When it melts, it forms unusual patterns, bubbles, and shapes—perfect for making embellishments.
Tyvek can be painted on, or you can use your inkjet printer to make it any color imaginable. Try printing a picture or text right onto it. Let your creative ideas flow! Surprise yourself!
Making embellishments with Tyvek takes some practice, but once you’ve figured out which heat setting on your iron works best and how long to iron the piece, you’ll have fun making unique pieces for your pots. You can cut the finished piece of Tyvek into pieces after applying heat. Or try cutting out the Tyvek shapes first and then ironing them.
Tyvek mailing envelopes are available at most office-supply stores. I like to buy as large an envelope as I can find.
Printed Tyvek with white edges trimmed away
Tyvek, melted and highlighted with a gold paint stick
Making a Flat Piece
What You’ll Need
Tyvek mailing envelope
Acrylic paint OR Inkjet printer
Scissors
Iron
Parchment paper or Teflon pressing sheets
Pearl Ex powdered pigments by Jacquard (see “Resources” on page 62)
Gold paint stick or marker
Flat Piece Instructions
1. Carefully take the Tyvek mailing envelope apart to flatten it out.
2. Cut a 5" x 7" piece of Tyvek.
3. Paint both sides with acrylic paint in the colors of your choice. Or use a graphics, imaging, or word-processing program and your inkjet printer to print a 5" x 7" color-filled rectangle on each side of the Tyvek. (Refer to the owner’s manual for your software program to create the color-filled rectangle.) Tyvek is nonporous, so the colors won’t look the same as they would on printed paper. Let the sheet dry completely.
4. Trim away any white from the edges of the printed Tyvek sheet.
5. Place the Tyvek sheet between two pieces of parchment paper (or Teflon pressing sheets). Do not place the iron directly on the Tyvek; it will ruin your iron.
6. Set your iron on a low setting and iron the parchment paper/Tyvek sandwich, constantly moving the iron. The Tyvek will start to bubble. Be careful, the Tyvek will totally melt if too much heat is applied.
7. Use the piece as is, or cut it into a shape. Highlight the edges of the piece with a gold marker or paint stick. Add Pearl Ex powder to further highlight certain areas. You can also highlight an area using glitter or inks. Sew the piece to your pot in a manner that’s pleasing to you. Add beads or yarn as additional embellishments.
HELPFUL HINT
If you’re photo savvy, take a picture of your fabric and print it onto the Tyvek. You’ll have a custom embellishment that really matches your pot.
Making Three-Dimensional Flowers
The flo
wers on the purple pot below are made using Tyvek. Three-dimensional flowers are an easy way to embellish a piece. You can make flowers in any color using acrylic paint or your inkjet printer. Often flowers in nature have many shades to them. Try blending several colors of acrylic paint, or if you’re using your inkjet printer, fill the rectangle with a gradient color. Or print one color on the first side and a different color on the other side. This will make your flowers more lifelike!
Tyvek flowers adorn an easy two-piece pot.
You’ll need the same supplies and tools for making flowers as you did for making a placket. Follow these instructions to make a flower.
1. Repeat steps 1–4 in “Flat Piece Instructions” on page 52. Try printing a different color or shade on each side of the Tyvek. Cut the sheet into 12 squares, about 2¾" x 2¾".
2. Set your iron to the cotton setting. Lay a Tyvek square from step 1 on parchment paper (or a Teflon pressing sheet) and hold the iron about ½" above the Tyvek square.
3. Hold the iron in place until the Tyvek starts to curl up around the edges to make a flower. Repeat with each Tyvek square, letting some curl up more than others. This process takes a little patience.
4. Sew each flower to your pot using a French knot or a bead. I also added some French knots to the purple pot (page 53) to represent small buds. To make leaves on the pot, I used a green color on my Tyvek sheet and this same method.
Idea Gallery
I HOPE THAT you’ve enjoyed making the projects in this book. Now you can start forming your own ideas. You should have the skills to start combining different shapes using both the Direct-Lift and the Gradual-Lift methods. With the skills you’ve learned, you’ll be able to make any of the easy shapes shown in this section. Just alter the height and shape of the top and bottom elements, and then join them using the connecting stitch. Add a neck or a lid as desired. Just remember that the diameters of the top and bottom elements must be the same. Matching diameters is really the key to Sewing Pottery by Machine.
I hope my sample pieces will inspire you. Let your imagination go to work—the possibilities really are endless!
HELPFUL HINT
If I see a piece of pottery or an item such as a lamp base or a glass container that I want to replicate, I mentally break the object down into sections. Then I determine if I can make each section using the Direct-Lift method or the Gradual-Lift method.
If you get tired of wrapping the cording all the time, try making your pot using just the cording. When your pot is finished, hand dye it. I painted the lid and neck of this pot with RIT liquid dye and then added a few streaks down the sides for a genuine pottery look.
You can wrap the cording for your pot with muslin. After the pot is finished, tea stain it. The tea stain gives it a great subtle, natural color. After you’ve stained your piece, put one drop of liquid dye into the tea stain. Paint on some streaks or other designs to add visual interest.
Try hand dying the fabric for your pot. For this project, I dyed plain white cotton eyelet with RIT liquid dye. I bunched the fabric up before putting it into the dye bath to achieve variations in the color. The eyelet gives the surface of the pot extra texture!
A blue-and-white fabric is perfect for replicating the look of a spongeware glazed jug. Pop in a cork to make it look really authentic!
You can stitch a pattern onto the surface of your pieces. For this pot, I drew a five-pointed star within a 2"-diameter circle onto a piece of paper and cut the circle out. After my base coil was about 2½" in diameter, I pinned the circle in the center of the coil. At each point of the star I placed a straight pin in the base coil. As I stitched and came to a pin, I wrapped a ¾" x 1¼" strip of a contrasting-color fabric around the wrapped cording. After the first round, every time I came to a contrasting strip, I’d wrap another one on, butting the new strip up to the previous strip to produce the spiral effect.
I used a very simple technique to embellish the opening of this pot. Take a scrap of cording that measures the same as the circumference of the opening. Using a piece of NexCare Durable Cloth Tape, connect the ends of the cording, forming the cording into a circle. Cover the cording with a strip of matching fabric and secure the end with fabric glue or a few hand stitches. Next, whip stitch the circle to the pot using contrasting thread. This simple technique can be used on any pot with an opening at the top.
This is a great pitcher that’s quite easy to make. Start with a 2½"-diameter starter coil. Using the Direct-Lift method, stitch until the side of your piece measures 5". Make a flat base coil large enough to fit into the large end of the bottom element. This will become the bottom of the pitcher. Hand stitch the bottom in place, and then add a spout and a handle. Easy!
Glossary
Base coil Flat coil that forms the bottom of a pot
Bottom element Lower half of a pot
Connecting stitch Hand stitch that is used to join the top element to the bottom element. A connecting stitch looks like a machine zigzag stitch.
Direct-Lift method Coiling technique in which you bring your work directly up to touch the side of your sewing machine, producing a flat-sided element
Element Top half, bottom half, neck, or spout on a pot
Gradual-Lift method Coiling technique in which you gradually lift your work up to touch the side of your machine as you’re sewing, producing a rounded element
Starter coil Small reusable coil used to make the hole in the top element
Top element Upper half of a pot
Resources
Fabrics
Island Batik, Inc.
www.islandbatik.com
Mary Jo’s Cloth Store, Inc.
www.maryjos.com
Overall Quilter
www.overallquilter.com
Robert Kaufman Fabrics
www.robertkaufman.com
PearlEx Powdered Pigments
Jacquard Products
www.jacquardproducts.com
Cloth and Cording Dye
RIT Liquid Dye
www.ritstudio.com
About the Author
BARBARA BEGAN SEWING at an early age. From childhood through young adulthood, sewing was her focus. She made garments and clothing for herself and her husband, including her own wedding dress. After her two daughters were born, she sewed clothes for them too.
When the kids started school, she began trying other crafts, including tole painting, counted cross-stitch, quilting, and computer graphics. Using her imagination and being creative was the outlet she needed.
When the family was transferred from Ohio to North Carolina, Barbara found a new way to be creative. She soon discovered that North Carolina has a rich pottery history. There are many enclaves of potters, galleries, museums, and craft schools devoted to pottery.
Barbara was immediately drawn to pottery; using clay from the earth and forming it into something with her hands was an exciting thought. She took classes to learn the wheel and hand-building techniques from several nationally recognized potters from the Charlotte area.
In the last few years, Barbara and her husband, Ted, have devoted themselves to being caregivers to his elderly mother. Writing Sewing Pottery by Machine has been a saving grace for her, allowing Barbara to express her creativity while still helping the family.
Barbara belongs to several art guilds in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area and has shown her work in local art shows and in several shops. Sewing Pottery by Machine is her first book. Barbara continues to experiment with creative crafts and other new and exciting ideas that come along.
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