My Process of Creating
Every maker is going to have a different creative process - we've all found the technique that we are most comfortable with and can use without thinking.
I feel like my embroidery process is pretty simple but I know I also definitely include a few steps that other embroidery artists don't do. So I thought I'd walk you through it.
Getting the start of a design down
First off is to make the design. I like to use Procreate on my iPad to do this as it's just as intuitive to use as paper but I don't get frustrated erasing mistakes. I also can use the split screen function to have my google search results next to where I'm drawing so I can quickly reference animal positions as I can't draw from memory. My drawings always start as outlines, then I add in the extra lines to make them geometric later. I can take as little as one hour to create a design or as much as 3 days, it really depends on what animal I'm trying to make and how complicated I decide to make it.
After that, I print off my pattern and then using my lightbox and a heat erasable pen I trace it onto the fabric. This is just like drawing it all out again so I have to pay careful attention to little lines. Sometimes I like to have my iPad next to me with the design up on the screen so I can reference it, especially if it's a bit more complicated a design! I like having a printout of all my patterns that I've created just in case something were to ever happen with my tech (and it has in the past) and I lose all my work!
Then comes the fun part - stitching!
Everyone's favourite bit!
This is my favourite bit of the process (isn't it everyone's?) but it's also the longest. I tend to zone out a little when I stitch and all my cares kind of melt away which is lovely. I have been known to accidentally miss meals when I've been doing larger pieces as they can take an entire day (roughly 6-8 hours) just to stitch! Once it's all stitched and backed then I take photos and voila - all done!
All done!
For other products I use very much a similar method of sketching and then getting to work. For things like my new badges I made some samples before I committed to creating the designs - just so I could be sure that my idea was going to work. There's nothing worse than getting halfway through a project to realise that it won't look the way you intended it.
Here you can see the top 2 badges which were my first samples, then the triceratops with a red background to test colour, before I finally created my actual products including the butterfly and kingfisher!
I hope that gives you a bit more insight into the work and preparation that each product takes!
I feel like my embroidery process is pretty simple but I know I also definitely include a few steps that other embroidery artists don't do. So I thought I'd walk you through it.
Getting the start of a design down
First off is to make the design. I like to use Procreate on my iPad to do this as it's just as intuitive to use as paper but I don't get frustrated erasing mistakes. I also can use the split screen function to have my google search results next to where I'm drawing so I can quickly reference animal positions as I can't draw from memory. My drawings always start as outlines, then I add in the extra lines to make them geometric later. I can take as little as one hour to create a design or as much as 3 days, it really depends on what animal I'm trying to make and how complicated I decide to make it.
After that, I print off my pattern and then using my lightbox and a heat erasable pen I trace it onto the fabric. This is just like drawing it all out again so I have to pay careful attention to little lines. Sometimes I like to have my iPad next to me with the design up on the screen so I can reference it, especially if it's a bit more complicated a design! I like having a printout of all my patterns that I've created just in case something were to ever happen with my tech (and it has in the past) and I lose all my work!
Then comes the fun part - stitching!
Everyone's favourite bit!
This is my favourite bit of the process (isn't it everyone's?) but it's also the longest. I tend to zone out a little when I stitch and all my cares kind of melt away which is lovely. I have been known to accidentally miss meals when I've been doing larger pieces as they can take an entire day (roughly 6-8 hours) just to stitch! Once it's all stitched and backed then I take photos and voila - all done!
All done!
For other products I use very much a similar method of sketching and then getting to work. For things like my new badges I made some samples before I committed to creating the designs - just so I could be sure that my idea was going to work. There's nothing worse than getting halfway through a project to realise that it won't look the way you intended it.
Here you can see the top 2 badges which were my first samples, then the triceratops with a red background to test colour, before I finally created my actual products including the butterfly and kingfisher!
I hope that gives you a bit more insight into the work and preparation that each product takes!