I have a dear friend who makes some of the most beautiful quilts, and we compare our latest projects quite often. Last night, I gave her a call and we were yakking. She lives in Canada and often asks me to purchase and mail things that aren't readily available to her.
This week, she asked me to send her "Glad Press and Seal" plastic wrap. It's a food wrap that is supposed to take the place of a lid on most containers. I wondered what the heck such a thing would be used for when making quilts.
One can take this wrap, cover a paper pattern, then trace the pattern using a Sharpie. Then just press the piece of plastic on your fabric, and voila', your embroidery/quilting pattern is right there! No pencil marks, no carbon, no trying to draw lines that don't show on the finished product.
I'm sharing this idea because there are quite a few of us that do bead embroidery. My friend simply leaves the plastic in place on the fabric while she quilts/embroiders, then pulls off the excess food wrap afterward. The needle piercings from the embroidery make a perforated surface that's supposed to be easy to tear. She tells me that she takes a tweezer and puts it inbetween the stitches and pulls of any remaining wrap that's stuck underneath. Alternatively, she leaves the wrap in place, and it leaves an "I think it's a little glittery, but I can't quite place why" shine.
Soozala, would you mind adding this to the Bead Notes? I can't be the only one who has had a fun time trying to transfer a paper pattern onto fabric.
Your intrepid reporter,
Kathy N-V