Drawn thread technique on the sewing machine

Drawn thread work or pulled thread work is a technique which is created by pulling out the threads from the warp and weft of a fabric.  Best fabrics suited for this type of work is linen or cotton. It is mostly used to accent the edge of an item but can be used elsewhere also. The concept creates a faux entredeux type look especially when Aida cloth type fabric is used. The threadwork can be as simple or complicated as one prefers.

I’ve had many requests from the Heirlooms in Machine Embroidery group asking for some sort of instructions regarding an heirloom technique. As I have so much going on that I really cannot commit to anything else at the moment, I decided to share the technique which is coveted by many heirloom sewers. Combined with machine embroidery the technique is sure to create lovely heirloom pieces.

In the first lesson, I will use a simple method to create drawn thread look using your sewing machine. No special needles are required for this but tension is an extremely important factor. A button hole stitch is ideal for this type of work, but a zigzag stitch can also be used. I’ve shown the method to create a simple handkerchief out of batiste fabric. Do make sure that the fabric is pre-washed for shrinkage. Another important item is water soluble stabilizer. I prefer to use water soluble vilene which is so much better than the plastic type water soluble stabilizers.

Cut out a square piece of fabric. Measure and mark  an inch away from two sides. This will be your guide to the outer edge of the pulled threads. Now, mark an inch and a quarter away from the two sides. Threads will be pulled out from within the quarter inch area. Pull a few threads gently by gathering as you go. You will find that after a few threads are pulled away, the others pull quite easily. Do this on the other side as well. You will notice that an open box type area will appear on the corner. There are ways to prevent that but I will talk about that in the next lesson. First I only want to get everyone warmed up with the technique.

You will now set up your sewing machine. As I’m using a fine batiste, I used a #11 needle. This will make smaller holes when penetrating the fabric. For the sake of the photographs I have used a larger stitch type which you can use but a smaller stitch length is preferred. A wing needle can also be used for this but until you have mastered the technique, I would highly recommend using just a regular sewing needle. If you are using a light weight fabric like I am, then  you will need to do a tension set up and test sew out. The only tension that will be adjusted is the top tension and basically all you will do is loosen it a bit so the stitches don’t pucker when sewing. I’m sure friends  who are digitizers are probably smiling while reading this, as the formula for sewing and embroidery is not too different.

Place a piece of water soluble vilene underneath the pulled threads area. We will use the blanket stitch, zigzag stitch or any other specialty stitch like the overcasting stitch.  The overcasting stitch is like an elongated zigzag stitch with one side narrower than the other. The idea is to use any of the mentioned stitches in such a way that the pulled threads are separated by the stitch. You can do this on only one side or both sides. I have used the buttonhole stitch in my sample on the side. Also I’ve kept my stitch lenght quite long, it should be quite short so the beauty of the drawn work can be seen rather than the stitches.

My sample shows the stitches on both sides being equal, however, one can stagger the stitches on the other side so they don’t look so even. That gives quite a beautiful look as can be seen from the handkerchief that I created using two different widths of the pulled thread. The beauty of this method is that one can also do the hems at the same time that one is stitching upon the pulled threads, hence the name hem stitching. That technique will be discussed in the next lesson. For now, try out the technique on one side of a fabric to see how you like it. Play with various stitches on your sewing machine to see the variety of looks you can come up with. It is rather fun and a great heirloom technique which you can now recreate on your sewing machine.