Texture Magic!

           Recently, at Martha's Sewing Market, I taught a class on how to use a new product called "Texture Magic". It is made by Superior Threads and is truly a remarkable new notion that makes fabric three dimensional! Yes, you read that right. So, what is it? Well, it is made of 100% polyester (chemically treated with some form of "magic"!); not an acetate fiber as I thought. It is machine washable and dry able. What does it do? When you sew it to a fabric and steam it, it will shrink 30% in all directions ~ permanently!  Once it "shrinks", it does not continue to do so. And, one last fact, it does not require the use of any other stabilizers. As you can see from the pillow above, the result if quite pretty.

                     So, lets look at some examples of how cool this stuff is and what kind of things you can do with it. Here are a few other examples: first a beautiful quilt above where the Texture Magic has been utilized on certain blocks. See, here is a close up:

                                   

 Here is a picture of a gorgeous table runner.

     

A close up view shows how it changes any fabric to be three dimensional! 

       

                      Using texture magic on a beautiful black moire satin results in a spectacular little evening bag. A wonderful customer of mine presented me with this little bag before the sewing expo to inspire others. I love it! 

Thank you, Diane!

   

                    And, another dear customer, Rachel,  made this awesome jacket out of an embroidered & sequined fine wale corduroy. She wanted to make the garment to really pop with personality. The pattern that she chose had these wonderful inserted panels that just begged for embellishment. So, . . . using a gorgeous silk with texture magic applied, achieved this result. Isn't it incredibly beautiful! 

By the way, she is 82 and sews every single day! She is a very happy lady!

                               So, what king of fabrics can you use? Just about anything! Above you have seen cottons (the pillow, the quilt & the table runner), acetate moire (the little evening bag) and silk (the jacket). I frequently use it for children's fashions. Like our little girl's dress kit, "Blush" (which is now sold out) and two NEW kits, "Dixie Chick" and "Miss Priss" (both are little girl's skirt kits with embellished tee's that are available on our website).

       

  

Okay, you say, so how do you use the stuff?

•             Cut out a piece of fabric & TM the same size. Bear in mind that it will “shrink up” 30% in all directions. (A chart is included with each package)
•             Spray an adhesive such as 505 to baste the fabric to the TM OR pin baste the two together.  

•             Stitch the two together: use a free form stitching, stitch in a grid pattern, plain straight lines (maybe squiggle lines) or use some of your decorative stitches.

  

•             Set your iron at its hottest setting & push to steam.
•             With the TM facing up, steam it all over. DO NOT TOUCH THE IRON TO THE TEXTURE MAGIC as it will stiffen (melt).

•             If you are making a texture section of fabric, then proceed with your project. If you are using this for an applique, now trace the applique pieces to the back (on the TM side).
•             Stitch along this traced line.
•             Cut just outside the traced & stitched line. This will prevent your “texure” from releasng along the shape’s perimeter.

•             Pin your applique pieces to your project (or use fabric glue). Stitch to secure: an open zig zag, a satin stitch . . . maybe some trim like rick rack!

•             If you are using wonder under to attach other compoments to your applique, then use a teflon pressing sheet so that you will not “crush” the area with TM.  

So, go forth and have fun with a little Texture Magic! 

Oh, and by the way, you can order it from Sew It Up.com in our Crafts department!

Next blog, more ideas of what you can do with Texture Magic!