I've recently heard several quilters say that you MUST leave the paper on a paper pieced block because the bias edges will cause a lot of stretching. But I not only remove all the paper from the back of my block before I embroider them, but I also wash the blocks to dissolve the canvas before I sew the blocks in rows.
I use very warm water and let the blocks soak until the canvas is gone. The canvas gets slimy before it dissolves. This time I put a color catcher in the wash water as a precaution, but it wasn't necessary as nothing ran, even the reds that weren't prewashed. If you don't rinse all the canvas out, the letters will dry stiff. It takes a little longer to wash the canvas out of a densely cross-stitched title than it does from a more open back-stitched title.
I dry the blocks flat.
I have already made one POD quilt using this technique and had no problems with bias edges stretching.
4 comments:
I enjoy tearing all the paper out of my block, when I finish stitching it. To me, is shows that the block is DONE (even before I embroider the titles on).
Oh neat - I wondered how you got the stitching so perfect Laura!
Beautiful blocks. Everyone has different experiences. You have to find what is best for you.
I just love these blocks! I have one stitching project in progress that is using the dissolveable waste canvas. I've been a bit nervous about how it will turn out. Yours is fabulous!
Post a Comment