Thread Rack Covers

I like to keep my thread on a rack on the wall.  It's really nice to see all of it at once and be able to pick just the right color or colors.  I used to keep my regular sewing thread in a box.  When I put it on a rack, it was amazing how many duplicates I had and also how many missing colors.

There's issues with keeping thread on a rack.  Continuous exposure to sunlight doesn't do it any good.  Dust accumulation isn't great for it either.  I used to deal with the problem just by keeping my sewing room dark when I wasn't actively using it.  Now, I've decided to make covers for the thread racks to protect the thread.

I used a heavy weight cotton fabric to keep the covers fairly light proof.  Using a heavy weight fabric means that fairly dense and elaborate embroidery designs can be used.  These designs are fun, so why not make the covers decorative as well as useful?

I started with a rectangle of fabric.  It's 11" wider than the thread rack and 36" long.

The design I chose was a Mandarin Duck, one of the prettiest of the ornamental ducks.  You can find this design here.  I used the largest version of this design.

After the design is sewn, I made corners for the top of the cover.  The side is folded over to meet the top, then a 5.5" seam is sewn perpendicular to the edges.

After sewing the seam, the excess is trimmed.

No corners are sewn in the bottom of the cover, it just hangs loose.

The final step is to hem the entire outer edge of the cover.

I have lots of thread, so I need more than one rack.  I also made one to cover a double rack (two racks hung together).  As you can see, I stuck with the duck theme.

Come back next week for more Fun with a Sewing Machine.

A New Fish Joins The School

I've been experimenting with creating stuffed fish for children's toys.  I decided it was time to add another fish to the collection.

This fish is a Regal Angelfish, another colorful Indo-pacific species.

The process begins with a photograph, again one of my own.

Using Floriani Total Control embroidery design software, I'm able to define lines and regions from the photograph and then figure out how to embroider them.  Since the fish is more orange than any other color, I'm starting with plain orange fabric.

Once the embroidery design is complete, I end up with a file like this:




Now all that remains is to sew it out.  Easier said than done.

 Things went wrong on this attempt.  The hoop hit a wall and the sewing machine lost track of exactly where it was at.    The registration of the various pieces is now wrong, since the yellow ring is supposed to go around the black circle of the eye.  There's no fixing this, it's a do-over, after moving the machine farther from the wall!

This attempt looks better, but a closer look reveals new issues.

When the design was scaled up from the size of the photograph to the size desired for sewing, the white stripes and black edges acquired some distance between them.

If you didn't know this fish, you might not think this was a problem, but I'm a stickler for my fish.  This problem had to be fixed with quite a bit of work back in the design software.

Finally, all the pieces came together and I produced a good fish and it's mirror reverse, for the opposite side.

I just sew these together, stuff them, and there's a good toy for a baby.  It's 100% washable, with nothing to fall off and get swallowed.  Lots of kids get Teddy Bears, but how many end up with a very realistic stuffed fish?  Only a few.

Come back next week for a new home decorating project.

This blog has been on hiatus while I dealt with moving to a new house.  it will continue weekly in the future.