The soon to be released 8 weight 2 ply cotton thread from Aurifil was a dream to experiment with. Before becoming an Aurifil Artisan I'd really only used 40 wt and 50 wt threads and have since played with 28 wt, 12 wt, 80 wt and monofilament too but 8 wt is all new to me.
I rummaged through my fabric scraps to find something special to make my scissor cover from. The subtle color of thread 2420 Light Blush, 2930 Golden Toast and 2840 Loden Green are three of the 20 that will be for sale debuting at QuiltCon next month in partner with Suzy Quilts and her evolve collection.
My original plan was to cut two pieces of velvet using a hand drafted paper template for the front and back. I forgot to reverse the orientation and ended up with two fronts instead. Digging deep into my stash I came up with a tan faux leather, for the lining I chose a loose weave and included bamboo/silk batting.
I also chose to hand stitch with an organic free form approach, changing thread color, style and direction as I went along by letting myself be influenced by the design of the velvet. For the construction of the front and back by machine I used 2315 Shell 40 wt and after turning the parts right side out, I used 80 wt by hand to close the opening.
For the snap of the first cover I had to use the stitch on style because if was an afterthought and I'd already turned and closed up my seams. An advantage of doing another version was that I could use the prong style snap and I like the way the pearl shows off in the back.
The 8 wt thread was surprisingly easy to work with even through multiple layers. Although I did try using a doubled strand of Loden Green, I preferred the look of a single strand for this project. The weight is so nicely visible that it works well in a more minimalistic design. I'm definitely a big fan and look forward to using the other colors in the future.
I enjoyed reading about your project, Karen. And in retrospect, making a pair of scissor keepers let you try a variety of options, which was nice. I agree the 8wt will be nice to have in our thread stashes.
ReplyDelete