How to Make a Stitch & Slash Piece

April 1, 2014 WeAllSew

A post from Carol Ann Waugh, fiber artist:

One of the most wonderful things about being a BERNINA Ambassador is the chance to teach at a local BERNINA store.

My local store is Rocky Mountain Sewing and Vacuum in Arvada, CO and last Saturday, I taught my Stitch & Slash® method to lots of eager participants. Each student came out of the class with a unique piece of textured fabric and each of them said they were going to make more since the process is fun and freeing.

Stitch and Slash by Carol Ann Waugh

Here’s how to make a Stitch & Slash piece on your own:

Layer four fat quarters of fabric together, right side up. I like to use batiks since the color is the same on both sides.

Draw a design on the back, being sure to leave 2-1/2″ or 3″ between each drawn line.

Using any thread, stitch over your lines twice.

Turn the piece over and cut away the top layer of fabric on both sides of the stitched lines. I usually leave about 1/4″ of fabric on each side. You can use a small, sharp pair of scissors but I like to use a seam ripper instead. It’s easier on my hands and frays the fabric better.

Continue cutting away each layer the same way until you get to the bottom layer.

If you want, you can couch yarn over all the stitching. I like to use Sari yarn. Or, with all the wonderful decorative stitches on your sewing machine, you can use those to cover your initial stitches and give your project a whole other look.

After the top is complete, layer it with batting (I like to use fusible fleece) and a black cotton backing.

Machine stitch underneath all the cut edges to add even more dimension. You can also free-motion stitch all around the piece to give it more interest.

Stitch and Slash by Carol Ann Waugh