Fibre Art: Thread Sketch with Fabric Paint

Thread Sketching in Action No 92 – ‘Abandoned’

One way I like to help people ‘find their feet’ with thread sketching and thread painting, is to regularly make small projects that I can complete quickly and share with you. I admit that, sometimes, my ‘regular’ schedule is a little erratic, but this week I’ve put together a small fibre art picture (and video) combining thread sketching, a simple fused appliqué technique (to create a foundation), and fabric paint. 

If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know I’m always encouraging my readers and students to step out of their comfort zone.

Yet sometimes, I don’t take my own advice! 

Deciding to fix that situation, I ‘abandoned’ my idea of making another Journey Through Landscape project (most of which are thread painted rather than thread sketched), and do something that I haven’t done in a while.

I started out with the idea of doing an urban thread sketch – a style of fibre art I’ve explored on and off in the past.

But although it was hard to resist being drawn back to ‘landscape’ I did manage to stop myself doing another thread painting! 

You have no idea how much my old stamping ground attracted me! 

Just last week I talked about the benefits of embracing change in your textile art, and this little project brought to reality why so many people find this difficult! To quote last week’s article:

… once we find something we like to do, it’s easy to become resistant to change.

Fibre Art combining Thread Sketching, Appliqué, and Fabric painting

Using a combination of thread sketching, fused appliqué, and fabric paint – all techniques that can be used alone or together – I created a small fibre art picture, along with a video for the Thread Sketching in Action series.

Thread Sketching in Action No 92 – ‘Abandoned’

The Thread Sketching in Action video series, dating back quite some years now, is a series of demonstrations showing different styles of thread sketching and other textile art. 

The videos are not designed to be tutorials, as such. Rather, their intention is to inspire viewers to take on something they may not have tried before and give you ideas about ways to approach your textile art.

How did this fibre art picture take shape?

Step One – Preparation and Stitching

Beginning with a photo of two abandoned boats on a beach, I pared the picture right back to basics, simplifying it to little more than structural outlines. 

Using the simplified design, which was transferred to fabric with an ordinary pencil, the next step was to create a background using a fundamental, fused appliqué technique and paper-backed fusible web.

As this piece develops, I think you’ll be able to see how even more appliqué could be used to embellish the picture; instead of fabric painting, for example. 

As my intention was to thread sketch this picture, some stabiliser was required. It wasn’t my intention to include any dense thread painting (and I did not), so I could have managed with a lighter-weight stabiliser than the firm variety I chose.

However, I like working on a really solid backing, and some old habits are hard to break! 

Then, using regular, free motion straight stitch, I carefully stitched the design with machine embroidery thread. 

One of the disadvantages of using an ordinary pencil to draw the design is that regular pencil marks are not easily erased, so you need to make sure you stitch carefully! I don’t mind using a pencil for this type of design, as it’s not over-complicated, and stitching over the lightly-drawn lines is not especially difficult.

Step Two – Fabric Painting

There are many ways to ‘paint’ a picture on fabric, including ‘painting with thread’. 

However, in this case, I used fabric paints that I applied directly to the fabric surface. 

Painting on fabric is a topic I plan to write about in more detail soon, so I’ll go into it more then. 

Suffice to say, a number of different ‘paints’ could be used on a design such as this:

• Derwent Inktense Pencils
• Fabrico Fabric Markers
• Pebeo Setacolor Fabric Paints
• Jacquard Lumiere Fabric Paints
• And many more …

Can you guess which of these (if any) I used today?

How much is enough?

With any piece of art, be it painting, art quilting, thread painting, thread sketching, appliqué, etc., how do you know when you’ve done enough?

Throughout the making of this little picture, there were several times when I thought:

Should I stop now? 

Have I done enough?

Will taking it further spoil it?

And indeed, there were several points where I could have stopped, and still have a successful piece of art. 

However, with a view to being explorative, I decided to continue – and risk ruining my work – all in the interests of finding out which I liked best!

The biggest surprise I got was when, after completing the picture, I was at the ironing board, lightly pressing the fabric to make it neat. 

The surprise? 

Turning it over! 

I don’t know whether I’m inherently drawn to ‘shabby’, but the back of this piece really appeals to me. The loose thread ends left by my machine’s automatic thread cutter seem to add an element of decay and neglect that I think suits the topic.

I’ve experienced this before, when I made Three Faces of One. 

Lessons learned from this project

Doing something different encourages artistic growth.

It’s good to step away from what you normally do. 

Simplifying a design works!

It’s too easy to over-complicate things. 

Mistakes can (usually) be rectified.

Not everything went to plan in this piece, and it’s certainly not an example of my finest work. I made mistakes, but I was able to find a way to overcome them.

This is an important skill to learn for any thread sketcher or thread painter!

Using a different construction method is exciting.

While I have worked this way in the past, it’s not something I’ve done for a while. It’s refreshing to change your approach. Your little brain cells start jingling and ideas begin to pop! 

Making a commitment is worth the effort.

From the outset, I wanted to make a change from my usual approach. It was actually quite difficult. But ultimately, I’m glad I made the effort. 

What can you learn from taking a new approach to your next project?