A reader recently asked us how to accomplish Dale Rollerson's festive fiber centerpiece in Quilting Arts Gifts without an embellisher.

While an embellisher, or needle-felting machine, is a lot of fun to use and makes some techniques easier, in many cases you can achieve similar results without one. 

Here are some options to achieve similar results with a regular sewing machine and materials like Oliver Twists One-offs, Lamb's Tail fibers, Angelina or Crystalina, Experimental Packs, Strata Packs, silk roving, and so on. Think how pretty a nest-like centerpiece using spring colors would be!

• To make long, fibrous strands for the branch base, take a couple one-offs and wisps of the silk roving or throwsters waste, put them together lengthwise, and run them through your sewing machine using a zigzag stitch. It helps to set the stitch length to zero and lower your feed dogs. Use similar or contrasting colors of thread, according to your taste. You can overlap these cords side by side to make wider strips.

• Another option for the "thready" portion of the garland would be to layer pieces of the one-offs and silk over a water-soluble stabilizer, free-motion stitch (or stitch in a grid, if you don't have free-motion capability) over the fibers to keep them down, and then wash away the stabilizer. Then cut the remaining lacy fibers into strips of the width you desire.

In each case, you can zigzag stitch the pieces end to end to make a garland of the length you desire. Or, just arrange them over each other temporarily, as Dale did.

To make the flowers:

• Make a flower shape or petals by ironing the Angelina fibers between sheets of parchment paper and cutting out the petals or shapes.
• You can make the petals more varied by mixing snippets of the silk and the one-offs in with the Angelina before ironing. You have to experiment with this, but you can achieve very similar effects to the flowers in the article. 
• You can also take abaca tissue, cut it out into flower shapes or petals, and stitch the Angelina pieces on top of it.
• Fuse the shapes described above, or another fabric, onto a base of craft felt or stabilizer like Timtex. Free-motion stitch, zigzag stitch, hand-embroider, or glue the one-offs and other fibers and trims of your choice on top as a design. Embellish with beads, sequins, silk cocoons, etc.

For directions on how to make Dale's centerpiece and other festive projects to make and give, refer to our special Quilting Arts Gifts 2008 issue, now on sale.

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