Читать книгу Cathedral Window Quilts - Lynne Edwards - Страница 10

Cathedral Window is one technique where I like to use a thread that matches as closely as possible the fabric, even for the initial machine stitching of the folded shapes. If you do have to ease the shapes to fit with the steam iron, there is nothing worse than seeing a line of tiny stitches showing up as if in neon along a seam. Using matching thread will prevent this from happening. A shade darker is better than lighter – the best test is to lay a thread across the fabric to see if it virtually disappears. I use cotton thread wherever possible, although if the shade that I need is only available in a polyester thread, then I will use that.

For the hand-stitched windows I sometimes use the very fine silk thread much favoured by appliqué enthusiasts, provided the colour of the thread suits my fabric. It is the near invisibility of the stitches that I am most concerned about.

I use ‘sharps’ or milliner’s needles for the hand stitching in a size 10. The needle has to be strong enough to get through four layers of fabric, or even more at times, which means that the finer needles bend too easily. Sadly, I have to resort now to a needle threader at all times, which means the small eye is not a problem. Try the table-top needle threader – it’s wonderful!