Free machine embroidery is a technique used to stitch designs into the fabric, you use a free machining foot and you also drop the teeth on your machine to allow you to move your fabric freely in any direction.
I started of by changing the foot on my machine from a normal foot to a free machining foot. I then dropped the teeth on my machine, I did this because when the teeth are up they help to feed the fabric through and when the feet are down you can move your fabric freely in any direction.
This is a photo of a free machine embroidery foot this is specifically for free machining.
This photo shows below the dial that you turn to drop the teeth on the Bernina 1008 sewing machine.
I then cut some calico and then put my fabric into the embroidery hoop ensuring that the fabric is tight.
I started by doing creating some loops on the fabric for a tester and on the loops you could see the white bobbin threads, so I double checked the the bobbin was threaded properly and then I checked the tension on the thread and they were all fine. I then decided to try tightening the bobbin case to see if this worked, this seemed to be the solution.
I then took my tester out of the embroidery hoop. I then put another piece of fabric in the embroidery hoop, for this I wanted to create a mushroom design, so I photo copied my hand rendered repeat pattern so I could embroider the mushrooms in the middle.
I then lined up the photocopy with the embroidery foot. I used this drawing as a guide for my embroidery.
I then combined 2 techniques into my mushroom design, a continuous line design and embroidering a shaded area.
Once I had finished embroidering into my fabric I ripped away the paper and then I removed some of the paper still stuck in the threads.
I then took the fabric out of the embroidery hoops, I then drew around the embroidery hoop and I then cut out the circle ready to display in my sketchbook.
As my project is based on nature I decided to cut a small piece of fabric and embroider into it the word Nature.
I decided to leave the threads on this particular free machining piece, as when I previously did free machining, I found several textile artists who when doing free machine embroidery always leave the threads on as part of the design and piece.
I think that free motion embroidery is a very effective technique. However, it takes a long time to create detailed and intricate designs as you have to be very slow and careful.
Unpicking Fashion 