CORDED QUILTING

This Technique is generally known as ITALIAN CORDED QUILTING, as a very soft thick cream wool is used for filling the channels made, the wool is, I believe, Italian. It is fairly expensive, so I would suggest you don't use it for a Postcard, unless of course you wish to. I use all sort of things, but not that as you will see.

Fabrics for the Postcard -
Background Cotton fabrics and muslin, --also known as cheesecloth
NO WADDING NEEDED FOR THIS METHOD,



the muslin [cheesecloth] goes behind the top fabric, two rows of stitching are done,
you can use a twin needle if you are happy with those, I just used the edge
of the foot to judge the distance, to show you it is not necessary to have
anything extra to what you already have for your machine...

see - here I am pointing that fact out...



just merrily stitch some pairs of lines, as many as you wish,
in whatever design you wish,
these were very random...
I also used different threads in the machine, because;
I felt like it...

Here are the things I am going to use to stuff the channels,
as you can see I have lots of different wools, scraps of voile even...

ribbons, plain wools, fancy wools...

you need a wool needle or a bodkin it used to be called, it has to
be able to be threaded and passed through the narrow channels you have just sewn...

you thread from the BACK, through the muslin, just poke the needle
in the muslin to create a hole, and thread away,
BUT
NOT SO THIS HAPPENS...

just go the length of the needle then poke through the muslin again,
bring the needle back up, leave a little loop - only a little one, then go back in
the muslin and continue on your merry way,
until you get to the end of the line...
I think that is a song by the Wilberry's

see, like this...

length of the needle then up...

will look like this when you have done a row,
OK this is exaggerated just so you get the idea...

give your fabric a little 'yank' [sorry USA folk]
some of the dots will settle into the fabric, this should happen;
Continue threading the needle with various threads,
or all same one, it is your decision to make,
your card will look something like this on the front...

and something like this on the back;
what a mess, I hear you saying,
do not worry, give that little yank, a lot disappears...

here is a different card I have been threading some voile through
the channels, see the difference, YOU MUST use very bright
colours for the threads to show on the front by the way...

here is the back of the 'voiled' card...
I know there is no such word, I just created it...

Yet another showing some cords running through,
real cord this time and I used it triple in the needle to get
the channel filled up...



here is the back of that card,
it looks as though I used fabric on the back of this one,
you can, its just the muslin is a lot easier to poke holes in...

I had made a large piece of fabric for this method, I am now
placing two postcard blanks onto it to see if I can get two from it...

flip over to the front, just to check...

Yep, I managed to get two cards from that one piece of fabric I corded,
Card 1 -
oh look, it is a bit short on the sides, not to worry see later what I do for that...

Card 2 -

They now need backing with the address fabric then the edges need
finishing off, then they can be posted to whoever.

I do hope this has helped you with the method for this Technique, it is not every bodies
favourite I know, but for a Postcard or two it can be just enough fun.
Enjoy
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