Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Koi and a Turkey Preview!

Here is the Profile Shot of this wonderful Koi:
Isn't the height and depth Fantastic?

AS promised, The directions follow:
Step 1:  Assemble Your Supplies.
 The supplies used are: 
1.) Orange sewing thread.(I use either, Molnlycke or Gutermann)
2.) Two shades of 4mm Orange Silk Ribbon.
(I used River Silks #101 & #12)
3.)  A small strip of Orange Felt...any shade will do.
4.) DMC Memory Thread...Orange
5.) Sparkle in Orange from Sundance Designs
6.) A size 24 Tapestry Needle, and a Sharp sewing needle.

Step 2: Cut pieces.
 Cut  3 " lengths of both Memory Thread and Sparkle 

Step 3, 4 & 5: Start the assembly process
Step 3: With the Memory thread, shape your outline for the Koi.
If using the painted canvas..., lay the thread on the painted image,
bending and molding to conform to the outermost shape of the Koi body.
Step 4: Pinch and twist one end of the sparkle thread and tie it firmly with
the sewing thread...leave a good 2 thread tails of 3 inches each.
Step 5: Roll and shape the felt to size of Koi body, then stuff the felt shape 
down the open end of the tube.

Step 6: Attach to canvas 
(In the photo below, I worked in the margin in order to take this shot...
and clearly show how the step looks) 
Lay the pinched end of the tube on painted image, pulling the thread tails 
through and tie down to canvas.  Now, lay the Memory thread shape over 
the top and start to tack down in place.  As you are tacking, catch in the 
sides and edges of the Sparkle stuffed tube.  
(Don't be afraid to really 
smash and mold this into the fish body shape you desire.) 
Cross the lengths of Memory thread over each other at base of fish body, 
smashing the tube flat against the canvas, tacking all in place.  
Curl the excess lengths of Memory thread around a laying tool 
into an elongated spiral.

To Finish:  Ribbon Stitch and Trim
Add Japanese Ribbon Stitches to create dorsal fins at top 
& pectoral fins at bottom. 
The Ribbon stitches for tail should fit around and 
behind the end of the tube.  Trim the Spirals to length of painted 
tail.  Trim the tube to same length.  
Add a black seed bead for fish eye.
To create the Koi 'whiskers', use sharp embroidery scissors. 
 Trim out all of the foil & metallic fibers of tube at 'mouth'.
Trim the remaining hard fibers of tube to desired length.

And that is our Koi!

And now for a few sneak peeks at our Handsome Tom Turkey:



On that Note,
I bid you adieu.
Happy Stitching, one and all! 


14 comments:

  1. What can I say? I humbly curtsey in your presence.

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  2. Robin's right. I just gave you this week's Genius Award.

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  3. Oh my! My total lack of creativity is in total awe of your massive level of creativity. Stunned. I am stunned. In a really good way!

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  4. Amazing! That is so cool, thanks for sharing.
    Oh, and the colors and stitches on the turkey are lovely too!

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  5. Wonderful Kelly, great step by step!

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  6. Thanks Everyone! Kim- you know how hard it is to write these
    step-by-steps...make it readable, understandable, concise and
    yet not leave anything out! ARGH! It took me hours! The pics
    are the no brainer part of the process!

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  7. So inspiring! Love all the tips and photos! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Never in a million years could I have gathered those "bits n pieces" & come up with a fish. Or anything else, for that matter. You are a genius. Thanks for sharing your how-tos.

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  9. Kelly,
    YOU ma'am, are AMAZING! That's spectacular!

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  10. Thank you, Kelly, for choosing River Silks! What beautiful effects with the ribbon!

    Jill K Dutcher
    Marketing/Web Development
    River Silks Ltd
    www.riversilks.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. February, 2018

    Dear Ms. Clark,

    I just started your Elegant Tom Turkey. I am looking for a picture of the finished turkey showing all the specialty stitches. The Stitch Guide just show bits and pieces, and some of the photos are from the Pilgrims and Indians pieces.

    Thank you,

    Robin

    ReplyDelete