Hope Journal

I participated in a journal swap for Christians on Swap-Bot a few months ago. Well, my first one never made it to the intended swapper, so I had to remake it. The end result was inspired by the Project Spectrum theme for the quarter: Earth.

Sadly, my digital camera was not working at the time, so I had to borrow a very mediocre camera. This week I stumbled across the photos, so here it is...

The cover was made using white Grandee paper, colored on all exposed surfaces with pearlescent chalks (i kan dee Shimmers from Pebbles Inc.). For the binding, I scored flaps to fold in the front and back covers, like the flaps on a hardcover's dust jacket. However, mine are adhered shut, since their only purpose was to strengthen the edges. For the spine, I cut slits at the center and one inch in from the top and bottom edges. I sewed in each signature separately using a traditional pamphlet stitch. (I think the end result had five four-folio signatures.)

The thread is Color Variations floss from DMC. I gathered all the strands together, tied them off, and braided them for a couple of inches. I tied that off, added the beads, and tied it off again.

The flowers are from Making Memories, stacked and attached with a brad. It worked out nicely: the back of the brad is hidden by the flaps!

Embroidery floss primer, part 3: rayon

Rayon floss is great stuff. It's shiny and silky, and really wonderful to touch and play with. But it's not perfect. I've spent a lot of time working with it, so I'll share my experiences.

First, rayon floss makes absolutely beautiful tassels! (See the green tassel in the photo.) The strands separate out nicely but still maintain just a bit of crinkle, giving it some body. The color range is nice, though the availability in stores may be a bit limited (try online). If you use DMC floss, the colors are matched to the standard cotton floss (drop the "3" at the beginning of the number), though only one hundred of the colors are available in rayon (out of nearly five hundred).

Be very careful how you store rayon floss! Never use bobbin winders: it develops horrible kinks quickly, which are nearly impossible to remove. Instead, try something like DMC's Stitchbows. (I don't recommend the Storage Case! Mine doesn't stay closed, and the Stitchbows don't stay in their slots. The Stitchbows themselves, though, are great.) You can just leave the floss in skeins, but I end up with a huge mess that way.

As I said, the strands separate nicely on rayon floss–perhaps too nicely! They tend to separate while you're stitching (or trying to thread the needle), which can be frustrating. It may help to wax the ends with beeswax...

...But beeswax doesn't work well, overall. While cotton and linen wax great, rayon floss becomes rather ugly and kind of sticky. You can wax just the ends, but don't apply it heavily. Instead, use just enough to keep the ends together, then trim the waxed ends off when you're done.

It's also rather textured, giving it a tendency to snag. Since it can't really be waxed, it's limited in application. Basic pamphlet stitch works great; stab binding can yield some truly beautiful results. But skip long stitch, buttonhole, and most multi-signature forms.

Xandria

Embroidery floss primer, part 2: cotton

When you hear "embroidery floss," this stuff is probably what comes to mind. Cotton embroidery floss is "the original," the six-strand stuff you probably used in elementary school or Boy/Girl Scouts. So, of course, I have the most to say about the cotton floss.

First, the pros. Its most obvious attraction: it's widely available...to say the least! Whether it's Wal-Mart or Michael's Arts and Crafts, you can always find cotton embroidery floss. There are even generic brands! And it has the widest color range of all the flosses, too. It's six strands (duh), which makes it incredibly versatile. And, of course,it's absolutely the cheapest thing you could hope for, so you can experiment to your heart's content! Oh, and it's colorfast and washable, so the colors won't bleed if it gets damp (like from errant glue).

Now for the downside: basic embroidery floss does have a slight sheen, but it's awfully dull for most modern tastes. We're so used to that shimmer and shine—especially us women! Sure, a matte finish (like the linen floss) can be nice, but (in my opinion) the cotton floss is just too shiny for the natural look. I still use it, of course, but I find myself passing it by more and more often.

Plus, the cotton floss makes terrible tassels: all the strands clump together, for a very ungraceful look. When it comes to tassels, I always pass up the cotton and go for the rayon or metallic.

When do I choose cotton floss? I have found that it works quite well for stitching pamphlets and for oriental stab binding. I have also used it for long stitch and buttonhole. It can be a very economical option for these–and quite beautiful, too, if used correctly. (For long stitch and buttonhole, it's usually much better than rayon, and worlds better than metallic!)

Speaking of rayon, I'll tackle it next. I just have to find a bit of free time...

Xandria