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    Thread Painted Portraits
    Thread Painted Portraits
    Thread Painted Portraits
    Ebook188 pages1 hour

    Thread Painted Portraits

    By Lea McComas, Janice Brewster and Ken Sanville

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    About this ebook

    Award-winning artist Lea McComas shares her secrets for stitching beautiful and realistic portrait quilts. Learn her fun-to-master techniques today!

    • Begin with your favorite photo and take off on an artistic journey.
    • Choose a method for creating a portrait background—from simple to more complex.
    • Gain a deeper understanding of portrait composition.
    • Hone your thread-painting skills.
    In Thread-Painted Portraits, you’ll find: • Step-by-step instructions for choosing a photo, building a background, stitching faces and finishing your piece.
    • Expert advice on selecting the perfect fabrics and thread.
    • A gallery of inspiring artwork.
    • Instructions for artistic binding techniques that go beyond ordinary.
    • Encouragement to unleash your inner artist.

    Inspired by images from daily life, fiber artist Lea McComas uses stitch artistry in pieces that have been exhibited across the country and in Europe. From her studio in Colorado, Lea challenges herself to create artwork with the breath and soul of life, using just fabric and thread.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublishereBookPartnership
    Release dateMay 4, 2015
    ISBN9780990780212
    Thread Painted Portraits

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      Book preview

      Thread Painted Portraits - Lea McComas

      Author

      INTRODUCTION

      What is a thread-painted portrait? I’ve seen the term thread painting applied to a number of different artistic fiber representations from a simple outline of a form, to moderate stitching that adds texture and implies shape, to dense stitching that covers the surface and defines shape, texture and provides intricate detail. The latter is more my style and the technique I address in this book.

      I share my home studio with my husband, a classically trained artist. His style is contemporary realism, and the inspiration for my technique. With the simple medium of fabric and thread, I seek to create a similar aesthetic. In this book, I show step-by-step procedures for thread painting the various features of the face in great detail, but always keep in mind that this intense level of detail may not be appropriate for your composition. Just as in painting a portrait, the level of detail varies with the scale and scope of the portrait. I work from the belief that one can always have too much knowledge, disregard what is not useful, and find success.

      Why do I make thread-painted portraits? I’ve been quilting since I was a teen and have explored numerous techniques as a traditional quilter and as a fiber artist. I love to explore and develop new skills. It wasn’t until my husband began a course of classical training as an artist at a local atelier that I became intrigued with representational works of art. I started with landscape and still life compositions.

      Then, one day, I met with another fiber artist and expressed my desire to make portrait quilts. The response was an emphatic, You don’t want to do that. Faces are too difficult. In that moment, I knew where my artist path would lead. I accepted as my personal challenge that I would create portrait quilts using only fabric and thread. I get a thrill out of seeing an image emerge from the fabric surface and I find huge satisfaction in applying just the right stitches to make my images realistic and lively.

      I think it is a natural desire to want to capture and share images of those special people in our lives or the faces that exemplify some aspect of the human condition. For those of us with an addiction to fabric, what could be better than combining the two? Today, we have tools and technology that put this process in reach for any sewist who is willing to give it a try.

      This book offers instruction and tips for both simple and complex images. There is something for the beginner and the advanced thread painter. As with anything, the best results come after much practice. I hope you will explore my techniques and, above all, have fun learning.

      Best Friends

      8 by 9 inches

      EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

      Thread-painted portraits are created on a background of fabric pieces fused to a base fabric or on an inspiration photo printed onto fabric. The type of background you choose will affect some of the supplies you’ll need.

      SEWING MACHINE

      A thread-painted portrait quilt can be made on almost any sewing machine, but as with most things in life, quality matters. For this process, high-end features are not required, but a solid machine in good working order is. The machine should allow you to disengage, or drop, the feed dogs. If you are uncertain if your machine has this feature, or are not sure how to access it, check your operating manual, or talk with a local sewing machine dealer or repair person.

      To free-motion stitch on your machine, first disengage the feed dogs so you can sew in any direction.

      You will need a free-motion foot, also known as a darning foot. If you are not familiar with this foot, take the time to read about it in your manual and do some practice free-motion stitching. Make some practice quilt sandwiches from leftover batting and fabric scraps and begin free-motion stitching by playing around, creating free-form lines and shapes. Pay attention to your posture. Keep your shoulders down and relaxed. When free-form lines and shapes become comfortable, try to draw objects or specific shapes with your stitching lines. Finally, try writing your name. If your stitched signature looks like your written signature, then you have achieved a good amount of control and are ready to move on.

      A free-motion, or darning, foot allows you to see your stitching. The spring gives the foot a hopping action.

      Challenge yourself to learn to free-motion stitch your signature.

      Practice stitching on quilt sandwiches from scrap fabric and batting.

      Don’t worry about your stitch-length setting. With the feed dogs disengaged, it will be up to you to move the quilt. The stitch length will be determined by the combination of the speed at which the needle moves up and down, and the speed at which you move the quilt. Again, practice free-motion stitching on your small quilt sandwiches until you are comfortable with the process and find the speed combination that works best for you.

      If you’re working on a longarm machine, I strongly recommend that you not employ a stitch regulator for this process. You will stop and change directions often while stitching, which will cause the motor to rev up and slow down. There will also be a slight delay in the machine’s response to your actions, putting extra stress on your machine. I learned this hard truth from experience when I threw off the timing on my longarm just as I was scrambling to meet a deadline. My machine went to the hospital and I missed the deadline. I also find that the changing sound of

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