Home for the Holidays BOM - What you need for Wool Applique'

Wool Applique' 101
For the wool applique' portion of this project you will need the following:



Wool thread or embroidery floss to match your wool - I used Auriful 12 weight -  100% Lana wool thread for both the embroidery and the applique'.  We have this at the shop in large spools - 300 or so yards per spool for around $10 per spool, or one of the fun things that we sell at the shop is 10 yards spools of wool thread in a variety of colors for $2 each.  This is a good way to collect the colors of thread that you may need without spending a lot of money. 
If you are using embroidery floss, use #310 black for the words, and colors of floss to match your wool.  I used brown 898, green 934, a dark neutral 640 since I didn't have wool thread in those colors. 




Freezer Paper - My favorite is Quilter's Freezer Paper Sheets

Black Pigma Pen - I like to use a permanent pen to trace the patterns onto freezer paper, and to trace the words onto the background fabric.  I'm using a black pen because we are using black thread.  A mechanical pencil will work also, but it makes a mess of your hands and the lead can smear onto your fabrics


Applique' Glue - any kind of glue or glue stick will work, just choose your favorite



a 7 inch Embroidery Hoop - I prefer a spring-loaded hoop

 









Size 7 Wool/Embroidery Needles - I like the length of the size 7 Foxglove Cottage needle for the applique'

Needle Threader - this is a must

Scissors - a great pair of sewing scissors like Gingher or Dovo Scissors



My next post in this series will focus on the embroidery stitches, methods for tracing and cutting out your wool appliue' pieces, and how to place and stitch your wool onto your background fabric.


to be continued........
Joni    :)

Home for the Holidays BOM - part #1

Step #1 - Felting Wool: 

Working with hand-dyed wool is wonderful.  
Because of the dying process, it has already been "felted".  It's ready to use whether you buy it in squares, fat quarters or by the yard - and yes all the wool in your Home for the Holidays kits are either hand-dyed or have already been felted for you - so no worries

If you are using wool in any project, first make sure it is 100% wool.  If you have purchased wool by the yard, or you are using a recycled wool skirt or jacket from the local goodwill, it will more than likely need to be "felted" or washed.
Larger amounts of wool can simply be washed in your washing machine in HOT water ( I will usually set my washing machine to a hot soak cycle first, to allow the wool to absorb the hot water)  then rinse in COLD water, and repeat.  Spin it well and toss in the dryer.  Wool has a tendency to have an odor when it is washed, so I generally add a little detergent to the wash water to help with the smell.

Smaller pieces of wool (like squares or fat quarters)  You can hand wash in the kitchen sink.  Fill one side of the sink with HOT water  (again with a little detergent)  and the other side with COLD water.  Soak and agitate the wool with your hands until it has absorbed the hot water - and this might take a while -  the key is the agitation.  Then soak the wool in the cold water.  Then repeat with clean Hot and Cold water.  This shocks the fibers, shrinks them and the hand agitation "felts" the fibers.
Remove as much water as you can and toss in the dryer, or simply lay flat to dry on a clean towel overnight.

Once you felt a few pieces of wool yourself, you will be able to tell right away which wool fabrics need to be felted or not, just by looking at the weave and by feeling the wool.  It should be a tight weave and be soft like it has been washed.


If you are not sure if you are buying wool that has been felted or not, just ask your local quilt shop.  They will gladly tell you if your wool is hand-dyed or not and whether or not you need to  "felt" your wool before working with it.