DIY Network

Handmade Glamour Fabric This fabric is an artwork on its own. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-110

Learn the art of this fabulous fabric!

Textile artist Julie McCullough creates wonderful dolls and soft sculptures out of fabric—but she also creates fabric that's a work of art in its own right. She joined with B. Original host Michele Beschen to demonstrate how she makes the glamorous, multilayered fabric she uses to dress her signature muse dolls.

Head to the scrap bag for this project: The more different elements you add to this fabric, the more impressive it'll be. Scroll down for their easy how-to.

advertisement

You'll see from the technique why no two pieces of this glamour fabric are alike—some Julie McCullough's best pieces are the result of what she calls "happy accidents" with her materials. Go ahead and give your creativity free reign here: It's a perfect opportunity to B. Original!

It's never the same twice—but it's always cool!

Materials:

velvet fabric
tulle netting
spun and/or unspun wool
yarn
cloth ribbon, rickrack
metallic yarn
metallic ribbon
interesting fabric scraps
angelina fibers or tinsel
sewing pins
sewing machine
embroidery foot (optional)

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

• Lay out your velvet, right side up, on your work surface.

• Place wisps of wool randomly on the fabric. You can use spun or unspun wool, dyed or undyed.

• Drizzle different colors and textures of yarn over the piece to suit your fancy. There isn't a right or wrong way to do this; it works like children's string painting (figure A).

• Add ribbon and rickrack the same way as you did the yarn. You also can snip interesting fabric swatches or ribbon bits randomly over the piece (figure B).

• Angelina fiber or Christmas tree tinsel also can add a sparkle and interesting texture.

• Once you're happy with the different materials you've applied, lay a piece of tulle netting over the top. You can use a color close to your velvet color or a contrasting color, depending on the effect you want. Pin the netting down to the velvet. Some of your added materials will shift when you move the piece, but that's part of the randomness of the design.

• Sew through all of the layers with a sewing machine (figure C). Julie McCullough uses an embroidery foot when she does this; if you don't have one, she recommends you simply leave the presser foot up on your machine and shift the piece by hand. Use a small, straight stitch and sew straight, diagonally, in circles—whatever it takes to get good coverage. Your goal is to stitch over as much of the piece as possible so your added material stays in place. As with the tulle, you can choose a thread that matches one of your existing colors or add a completely new color to the mix.

Now you can dress a muse in style...

Or create a fun accessory!

GUESTS :

Julie McCullough
Website: www. magicthreads.com
E-mail: julie@magicthreads.com