diamonds.pdf

Diamonds

By Pam Goodwin

Indian shops sell all sorts of interesting bits

and pieces including silk and small decorative

objects. I have found a wonderful shop in

Coventry, it is like an Aladdin’s Cave.

I have used large cards for my designs but

you could just as easily use smaller ones and

scale everything down to match.

Materials Required:

Small pieces of pure silk in vibrant colours.

Calico, Vilene or something similar.

Machine embroidery threads in bright and

metallic colours.

Sewing machine and a set square.

Lead pencil, White pencil or

autofade marker.

Beads, tassels and imitation shisha

(stitched mirrors).

Card mounts: DEC1U in a selection of colours.

To Make The Cards:

Cut out two 9cm squares of silk in the colour of

your choice and one piece of calico the same size.

Mark an accurate 6-7cm square centrally onto the

front of one of the silk squares, use a set square or

a ready made template to make sure it is perfectly

square. This will be the outer edge of the diamond

once it is finished.

Have a look at the type of stitches your sewing

machine will do and work out a design to fit within

the 6-7cm square. Remember most machines can

have the width and length of stitching adjusted

which will add to the variety of the finished

Above: The design on this diamond is three rows of zig-zag

stitching with a beaded shisha at the centre. I have made

the tassel from coloured threads.

Left: The outer border is three rows of straight stitching

close together. The main design is gold scallop stitch round

a zig-zag square with a metal charm in the centre.

designs. I have mainly used a close zig-zag or

a blanket stitch, see the text by each picture for

more details.

Use a sharp white pencil on darker fabrics

and a lead pencil on lighter ones. Remember that

as you are working on the right side the stitches

will have to cover the pencil marks, so mark

carefully or use an autofade pen.

The width of silk showing around the design

can be varied according to taste. For a narrow

border leave about 3mm between the edge of

the pattern and the marked square for a wider

border leave up to 7mm.

Set the tension correctly on the machine so

that the lower thread does not show on the top

surface of the fabric.

Take the marked square of silk and the square

of calico and place them together into the

machine with the silk right side up and on top.

Stitch the outermost part of the design first and

work towards the centre stitching through both

layers.

When stitching corners in zig-zag make sure

the needle begins and ends it’s swing at the outer

Above: I have stitched the central motif in this design, it

is bordered by two rows of narrow zig-zag stitches. The

outer border is two wider rows of zig-zag with a row of

straight stitches in between them.

edge of the corner so

you get a solid line

along the corner as

shown by the darker

lines in the diagram.

If you are using a

hard decorative object

which needs stitching

or gluing onto the

fabric such as the star

or shisha it should be

added later rather

than now.

Mark a 6-7cm

square centrally on

the back of the second

piece of silk and make

a large diagonal slit in

it as shown. Place the

Left: The outer border is blanket stitch then a row of

straight stitch, this is followed by three rows of zig-zag

bordering a shisha.

two silk squares together with right sides facing and

stitch round on the marked line.

Tu rn the design right side out by pulling the front

piece through the slit in the back piece, push a rounded

tapestry needle or a fairly blunt pencil into the corners

to help push them out. Glue or stitch any hard decora-

tive objects onto the front panel now.

Stitch a loop onto the top of the diamond from the

back taking care not to stitch through the front layer as

well, I use different kinds of beads, braids or threads

for this purpose which adds variety.

Stitch a large tassel to the lower point of the dia-

mond from the back as before. If you can’t get hold of

large tassels why not make your own from thread. This

way you can get a real-

ly good match by using

the same threads as you

stitch the design with. I

often like to use metal

in the diamond and a

matching colour metal-

lic thread in the tassel.

Simply make a bun-

dle of threads and tie in

the centre with a piece

of cord. Leave the ends

of the cord long enough

to fasten onto the dia-

mond. Fold both sides

of the bundle down

and tie with a piece of

the same thread

to hold them

and form the

top of the tassel.

Glue the

finished dia-

mond onto the

card at the cen-

tre only so it

will be easy to

remove as they

make lovely

keepsakes.

Above: Four rows of zig-zag in different widths

around a central motif which has been cut from

an old drink can and stitched on.

Below: The outer border is blanket stitched. Then

three rows of zig-zag make up the inner border

with a pretty shisha in the centre.

Right:

Rows of blanket

stitch make the

border with stars

at the corners.

An old drink can

has been used to

make the centre

piece.

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