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Many
embroiderers have longed to get
adventurous and add a large variety of embroidery
designs to a garment. Not sure where to begin or
fear it won't look good? Just go for it!
Planning design layouts
There are no hard and fast rules for embroidery
design layouts. For example, a pleasing layout for
a shirt or
shirtjacket may include a number of
different areas on a garment including between
the buttonholes, hem edge, yoke area, cuffs, collar, at the
shoulder, down each sleeve or down the
center back. Pick and choose the
areas you want to embellish as desired.
Color selection
In our sample jacket, all
embroidery threads are pastel and neutral colors. None of these
were specified in the embroidery design instruction sheets. Choose
complementary colors that look good against the background fabric.
There are numerous books and other sources available with
information about color schemes. In doing a project such as our
sample, it's important to have shades of similar color running
throughout the garment so that the motifs look like one
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big design
rather than individual small ones. Choose different values of your
favorite colors, such as tints, tones or shades.
Design selection
Choosing designs is often a matter of personal preference. Design
packs are a good place to start. Refer to the cards that often
accompany packs and show the various designs in a miniature scale.
Select several designs that have common elements or themes. It
might be the same flower or the same half-circle or the same
horizontal bar. Then use those to create the overall design. That
way the design will have repeating lines and shapes that will
contribute to a pleasing overall arrangement.
Fabric selection
Mid-weight fabrics that drape well work great for garment
construction. Stay away from fabrics with a lot of contrast or
large background pattern as these elements can compete with
embroidery. If a pattern is desired in the finished piece, select
it for piping or trim-especially if the designs in the fabric pick
up elements or colors in the embroidery. A tone-on-tone print will
work well because of its subtle nature.
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