Fly away, Flutter Bye!

Embroidery Library has these wonderful and lifelike designs for free standing butterflies.  There's even a few dragonflies.  I decided I needed to try these for a project I'm working on.  (You'll see it here, but probably not very soon.)

The butterfly begins with a water soluble stabilizer.  I use Ultra Solvy.  It's available at Joann's and comes in 2 widths. This hoop is a bit big for the project, which creates some problems, but it's the only one I have that will work.

 

Because the embroidery will be seen from both sides, the top and bottom threads have to match.  This means lots of bobbins and extra effort to keep them all straight.

The base color is used to stitch out a foundation that will stand on it's own once the stabilizer is washed away.

 

The foundation covers most of the butterfly, bit not some of the bits around the edges.

I had issues with the tails on the swallowtail.  My first attempt was a complete failure because the stabilizer tore and the tail ended up heading through the stitch plate.  Here, I'm strengthening the stabilizer.  This worked, but next time, I think I should try a clear tape.

 

The butterfly is now all stitched out.

Most of the stabilizer was easy to remove.  Just a little bit remains around the antennae and between the wings.   Wash thoroughly under hot running water and it goes away completely. 

This butterfly also has some friends.

Stay tuned and see what I've got cooked up for them.

Come back next week and see what I used all that bias tape for!