Christmas is coming - Floriani Metallic Thread Review

GUEST POST BY KARIN
(by the way....Karin is a friend who does not get paid anything at all to write these posts...and began using Floriani after I became a dealer....she was curious how it compared to the supplies she had been using for years.)

Christmas is coming!  Christmas is coming!!  Well, OK, it comes every year at the same time, ( 86 days away as of today), but in just under two weeks, the zoo we volunteer at is holding their silent auction to raise funds, and I promised I’d have something for them to auction.  Sooooo…I thought maybe a couple of Christmas-themed towels and a fabric basket would bring a couple bucks.  I thought it would also present a good opportunity to try out some Floriani Metallic Threads and let you know show you how well they work!

I chose a couple of cream-colored terry cloth towels I had on hand (I deliberately shied away from white, because I didn’t know if I was going to do a Santa or snowman or what, and white thread just doesn’t show up well on white terry cloth.  Next, I looked at all my Christmas-y designs for one that had solid fill lines & shapes, rather than running stitches alone, as running stitches tend to get lost in terry cloth.  So, I easily eliminated all my swirly winds and snowflakes & the delicate filigree ornaments in favor of the chunkier Santas and reindeer.  But I really wanted to incorporate a bit of sparkle from Floriani’s Metallic Thread, so I finally chose this little guy from Embroidery Library. 

But I wanted my towels to coordinate with the fabric basket I’d already made, so I chose to use these colors for my sewout:

Can’t really see that Floriani shine, can you?  Let’s try another view:

Ahhh, yes, there’s that shine!  And that’s exactly what I wanted to feature on my towels.  Oh yes, towels, as in TWO towels….how, exactly do you hoop towels so that the designs are in the same place on both towels??   I use a couple of rulers and that works well for me.

I just lay my towels side by side, put a ruler across them both, as evenly as I can, with the top edge where I want the center of my design, then make a small dot in the horizontal center of each towel using a water-soluble pen.  (If the design stitches over it, great – if not, it’s easily removed by dabbing it with a wet paper towel.)

So now I’ve got my centers marked, I just hoop ‘em up!  Of course, I used Floriani Heat N Gone as a topper so my designs don’t get lost in the terry cloth (see the difference in toppers here!).

Once I got into the design, I realized that maybe less is more.  I’m sure you’re wondering “what the heck does she mean?” OK, you’ve read this far, so I’ll tell ya!   I used brown for Rudolph and Floriani Metallic Red for his nose, and Metallic Gold for the first two flourishes.  Now it was time to sew the last of the flourishes, and I’d planned on using Metallic Green, but I was afraid so much Metallic would be just a bit too much, even for the blingy-lovin’ ladies of Texas….sooooo, what to do, what to do?  Well, Kelly had just the answer!  (and who of us was surprised by that?  yeah, me neither.)

Floriani’s Winter Collection had exactly the right shade of green – it was identical to the metallic green I’d originally pulled:

Bet you can’t tell which is which, can you?  (The one on the left is the normal polyester spool, while the one on the right is the metallic spool.) 

And you know what else is really cool about Floriani Thread Collections?  Aside from the thread quality, that is….each collection includes FREE Floriani designs on a CD you can use and reuse as many times as you need.  These are the FREE designs included with this Winter’s Collection:

So, how did  Floriani’s Metallic Thread perform?  Well, usually I have to sloooooow down the machine’s stitching speed, and I often switch out to a needle with a larger eye….but not this time!!!  I used my regular 75/11 embroidery needle and 850 stitches per minute, and not once did I have a thread knot or break.  And just look at that coverage, will ya?

That is some serious shine!  Santa will have no trouble following THIS Rudolph on the foggiest of foggy Christmas Eves!  And did the designs stitch in the same place on both towels?  See for yourself!



They did, they really did (the camera’s at a slight angle to minimize the flash, so the one on the right appears just a tad higher, but it’s really not!).

Am I pleased with Floriani’s Metallic Thread?  I am, I really am!  Will I use it again?  You betcha!! 

Now, who’ll give me a dollar, do I hear a dollar?  HaHaHa!  HoHoHo!!  They’d better get a whole lot more than a dollar for THIS basket!!

Written by Karin

Heat and Gone Topping by Floriani -Review and Blueberrys too!

Guest Post by Karin Callander for I Have A Notion

I was so excited when Kelly asked me to look at toppings for her – my first thought was HOT FUDGE!  Closely followed by CARAMEL!  Then BLUEBERRY DRIZZLE!  Then I realized she was talking about stabilizer toppings.  Not quite hot fudge, but still a topic close to my heart

The right stabilizer topping is every bit as important as the bottom stabilizer, and I’m about to show you why.  For years, I’ve used the name brand, water-soluble topping on the top side of my embroidery projects wherever there was a nap to my fabric, or the fabric was textured in any way.  This includes denim, terry cloth, and velour, even some of those home decorator fabrics you can get on sale and make terrific market totes!  And waffle-weave towels.  The topper stabilizer keeps the stitches from sinking into the pile or texture of the fabric, and it allows your embroidery design to pop. 

But, did you ever stop to think about that water-soluble topper?  What happens when it gets washed away, as it undoubtedly will?  Eventually, that topper is gonna disappear, and all your stitches will sink into that texture, as if you had never used the topper in the first place.  So, if that’s what you want, well go for it; you might as well not even waste your time and money on a topper in the first place.  But, I’m pretty sure that’s NOT your intended result.

Heat N Gone by Floriani eliminates that sinking feeling!!  And you know Kelly’s going to bring it to us at the best price possible!!  Heat N Gone.  Let me say that again – Heat N Gone.  Wonder why they call it that?  You’ll know once you use it!

Put a layer of Heat N Gone over your fabric (you can hoop it all together or just pin it in place, whichever is easiest for you), stitch your design, tear away the excess, then gently run your iron over it.  POOF!  Watch it disappear.  I’ve asked the people that know things, “where does it go?”  Well, they don’t know either – they just know it doesn’t gum up your iron, there’s no little pill-balls to remove, and it doesn’t leave a gunky residue on the project you just spent hours on.

Think you will get the same result from water-soluble?  Think again, my friend.

Here’s a sample I stitched out for you. 

The first design, (left) I didn’t use any topping at all.  Notice all the little nubbies poking through?  Yeah, not very pretty, is it?  The topper is used to prevent those nubbies.

The second design (bottom right), I stitched with a water soluble topping, and the third (top right), I stitched using Heat N Gone.  Then I started washing the towel.  I washed and washed and washed it.  I’m pretty sure it’s been washed about 15 times by now.

Now, I’ve got a high-efficiency washer, which means hot is HOT, and spin is something like 3800 (yes, HUNDRED) revolutions per minute.  And look at the difference in how that design is holding up. 

Here’s the one with no topping.  We still have nubbies, just lots more of ‘em:

Here’s the name-brand wash-away; notice the terry cloth is making its way through the design:

And, finally, we have Floriani’s Heat N Gone:

OK, now I have to admit – the stitches aren’t as tight as they originally were, on all 3 designs, and there’s a bit of separation, even on the Floriani design, but that’s not the fault of the topping.  That’s because I used a tear-away stabilizer on the bottom, and for the amount of abuse I’ve heaped on this towel, a cut-away would have been a better choice for a more permanent base.  But, checkout out those leaves – there’s not a nubbie in sight!

Get a roll and decide for yourself, if you don’t believe me (or my pictures!).  I think I’ll go find me some hot fudge!   If you’re one of those unfortunate folks who get migraines from chocolate, you have my sincere sympathies.  And here’s a blueberry drizzle recipe just for you, courtesy of www.cooks.com!  (and, yes, I abosolutely DO put this on all my cheesecakes!!)

BLUEBERRY SAUCE:

2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. water
1 c. blueberries
1 tbsp. lemon juice

In small saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, water, and lemon juice. Cook and stir until thickened. Add blueberries; cook until bubbly. Chill. Spread on top of cheesecake and refrigerate (if you can wait).  Personally, I slice my (still warm) cheesecake, plate it, then pour the sauce over the slice and enjoy it right away.

Written by Karin Callander for IHAN