Needle Painting Animals Materials list.
Students will need to provide a printed image of the animal photo that they wish to use as reference for their needle painting project. The subject should be a single animal in, such as a bird, insect, mammal, reptile/amphibian. For larger animals, a cross section of the animal may be preferable to working the entire animal The image should not exceed 6x6 inches, a smaller image is recommended for students who do not wish to do work on their projects outside of class. 3x3 would be the minimum size recommended.
Students should also bring several sheets of tracing paper and basic white printer paper for transferring their finalized design to their fabric. A Micron pen is also recommended for students to transfer their work to the fabric. For transferring, sepia tone inks are good for light colored fabric, black for mid tone fabrics. For dark fabrics, a metallic jelly pen is recommended for transferring work. This can be either gold or silver. Again in a 05 or a 07. Pencils may be used for working out their finalized design, but are not for use on fabric as pencil smears and stains it.
12-20 different Colored Stranded Cotton Floss. DMC is the most widely available cotton thread maker in the us. Additional threads in different fibers may be used such as silk or wool, metallics are not recommended, nor are embroidery threads for machine embroidery recommended. The number of threads will be based on the botanical subject that the student chooses to work from. Thread choices should be based on the colors found in the student’s chosen image.
Small scissors for cutting threads.
Embroidery hoop: a 10 inch is suggested but an 8 inch hoop may also be used. Seat frame hoops may also be used to help with working ergonomically if that is needed for a student. Embroidery hoops are readily available at most craft stores.
A variety of embroidery needles, size 9-7 embroidery are recommended. Fine sewing needles for garments are not recommended. Most brands will label their needles as embroidery. 10 needles would be a good number to start with, but students may work with more or fewer.
Plain weave cotton fabric in a solid color. Or Habotai Silk, or Dupioni silk in a solid color. If using silk fabric, a piece of Cotton Muslin of the same dimensions will be needed for a backing The recommended size for the needle painting project is 14x14 inches. This will be carried at any fabric store. Synthetics are not recommended for this course. Or fabrics with a pile like velvet or corduroy.
Needle minder is helpful (a small magnet that holds your needles on the surface of the fabric. This minimizes losing them. Not required though.
Maydel is the recommended local embroidery shop. Maydel will carry all of these items for students in a single place for ease of shipping. The only exception will be the fabric. Maydel only carries a limited number of colors. Fabric stores may be utilized if another color is desired.
Basic materials will vary for each student's needs, however the least expensive equipment that can be purchased and minimum threads, and inexpensive fabrics will run a student around $40 to start as an estimate. Can be more, or a bit less, again depending on the students material/equipment preferences.
Website: maydel.com