As much as I grumble about specialty thread, I love using them and trying to figure out fun ways to make each type even more special. My second favorite specialty thread is glow in the dark embroidery floss (Etoile is my favorite). It's a fun way to add an unexpected element of surprise to a piece. I made my aunt an embroidered card with an alien on it using the glow in the dark thread. She was pleasantly surprised to see it glow the first time.
There are several companies that make the thread, but I've only used DMC's version. It's part of the Light Effects collection, which also includes the metallic threads I used earlier this month. It looks like plain white thread until it's in the dark. It's also incredibly hard to find right now, both in stores and online. I had to borrow this skein of thread from Anita. I guess everyone is embracing their inner crafter right now, and decided to buy all the glow in the dark thread.
Since the glow in the dark effect only works in the dark, I decided to combine the thread with two types of fabric paint to make a piece that would also be fun to look at without the glow in the dark effect. I selected the constellation Sagittarius, since it's visible in August and is a cool looking constellation.
My original plan was to paint both the color and the glitter paint first, then transfer my design and stitch. This is what I did for the Glitter Unicorn earlier this week, and it worked well. I decided to test it out, and I'm glad I did. The regular fabric paint is dark, even with a thin coat, so transferring the design after painting wouldn't work. I wanted a dark background for this piece, so I decided to transfer the design, paint the base layer, and then stitch the constellation once the paint dried. After that, I went back and filled in as close as I could to the thread and added the glitter layer.
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| Test fabric |
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| Pre-stitching |
I like the finished piece. There's a little bit of the teal fabric color peaking out, but it's not distracting or anything. Adding the glitter layer gives it the extra punch I wanted for the non-glow in the dark experience. You can't see the paint in the dark, but the glow works alone as designed. It turned out exactly as I wanted it to. I'm looking forward to seeing how the glow is when it gets dark in my living room later today. I have plans to use the glow in the dark thread a few more times this month - stay tuned!
Details:
Stitches: back stitch, French knots
Thread palette: DMC E940 (3 and 6 strands)
Other materials: Fabric Creations Soft Fabric paint (Black, White, African Violet), Fantasy Glitter (Mermaid's Tail)
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