Stopping the Frays
Along with the curved lines of couching I did a few circles to fill
in some of the negative space and give a bit more contrast to the
piece. I even tried my hand at a spiral. When circles are made with
couching it means that there are two ends to the circle – one
at the beginning and one at the end that need to be secured in
some manner so that the yarn does not fray.
Fray Stop 2 from Unique is the perfect tool for the job. It’s easy to
apply with a built in applicator, dries clear and any residue will
wash away in the wash.
After cutting off all the ends of yarn I applied the Fray Stop – one
drop per area. You can see it as a dark spot on the blue circles in
the photo below.
No More Color Running
Speaking of washing I would probably add a Dylon Dye Capture
sheet to the wash when I wash this piece seeing how I didn’t prewash any of my fabrics and I wouldn’t want any of the orange or
blue colors running into the white background fabric. The sheets
capture any loose dye in the wash preventing color runs. A simple
and easy way to ensure the piece comes out as it went in.
I figured I would add a few buttons to the piece with some DMC
floss seeing how I have them and I love buttons. Not to mention
these Elan buttons look great.
Perfect Corners
Now that the pillow top is all done it’s time to turn it right side out
and put the pillow form in. I’ve got a great little tool here to make
sure all the corners are pushed out and looking perfect. It’s called
the Point Turner from Unique. Use the pointed end to pop out
those corners – better than your fingers as it gets right in there
and does the job perfectly.
Hopefully these 2 more tips you should know for perfect
couching will make your couching experience a breeze and it will
be a technique you use over and over again.
Fray stop applied at yarn ends
Completed complementary pillow top
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