Individual characters (letters, numbers and punctuation marks) from my alphabets can
be found on my Stock Design Page.  My designs are also available in packs, as described in
this blog.  Those can be found here.  For designs and packs available in multiple sizes,
choose the size you want in the drop down menu box.

     A recent update to my embroidery software added a new open fill pattern called
Multi-wave.  It is made up of parallel lines of running or decorative stitches, but
the parallel lines are wavy rather than straight.  I fell in love with it right away
and had to play with it.  Here is the result, stitched in Superiors Rainbows and
Sulky variegated threads.  Which one do you prefer?

     You can see the overlap of the letters more clearly when I used a solid color
thread than with variegated thread, but both variations look fine to me.  The wavy
pattern reminds me of stripes on our American flag, so the red-white-blue colors
in Superior Rainbows #823 seem particularly suitable.  (See my previous blog for
more about the snap pouches.)

     I arranged names for some friends so they could try the new alphabet and give me
feedback.  Viva placed a sheet of mylar on her fabric and then embroidered her name on
top of it.  She used Madeira Polyneon color 1605.  She told me the mylar tore away
very easily but left a few small pieces in crevices.  She pricked the mylar that was
inside the "a" with a seam ripper, and then was able to pull off the rest with long
tweezers.  The tweezers are also great for getting those tiny bits sometimes left
behind in tight corners.  Doesn't this look beautiful?  Viva also made a sign to
advertise what she calls "eye"Pod cases that she sells at craft fairs.  Thank you for
the ideas, Viva!





     My new Multi-Wave Script alphabet is available in two sizes.  The MWS_60 set has
most capital letters about 34 mm high, and in MWS_75 the capital letters are about 42 mm
high.  See the Guide to Contour Script and Multi-Wave Script Alphabets for more
information.  Click here for sample embroidery designs and here for the complete set.

     Many embroidery software programs allow us to change the size of designs.  I was
curious to see how well this would work on this style of lettering so did a little
experimenting.  The following photo shows the word "Mom" stitched 6 times.  For the top
row I stitched the word at the orignal sizes.



     The "Moms" in the second row have been scaled.  Scaling preserves the stitch count of
the original design while changing the size of the design.  I usually recommend to scale
by no more than 20% up or down.  75 mm decreased to 60 mm is a 20% change, but 60 mm
to 75 mm is actually a 25% change.  The gaps between wave lines and the length of stitches
increase or decrease with the design size change.  In my opinion, the letters look okay
at a distance, but close up, I don't like the look of the very tiny stitches from scaling
down.

     Finally, the "Moms" in the third row have been resized.  The original density of the
design is preserved when we make the design bigger or smaller.  The resized designs are
not at all suitable.  The triple stitch outline was replaced by a running stitch line in
some letters and the wave lines are not as crisp.  For some reason, the jump to the center
of the "o" became a line of running stitches.  If you want to use both sizes of Multi-Wave
Script, I suggest you buy the Complete Set, found here.

     Drawstring pouches are very handy.  They can hold shoes, toiletries, art supplies,
sewing notions, and many other things.  They can also replace wrapping paper for gifts.
The pouches are very quick to make and can be used again and again.  The pouch becomes a
gift to go along with its contents.  Click here to download the instructions for the
pouch shown below.  I include the formulas for figuring out dimensions according to the
gift you are giving.  If you prefer, you can make a pouch bigger than you need, if that
is the size that will be useful later.