The Return of Soluble Canvas

This was the free gift with Cross Stitcher a couple of issues ago. I was looking forward to it because I do like a Christmas decoration. If there is one thing you should know about me it's that I am one of those very annoying people who LOVES Christmas. I love the atmosphere and the run up. My Christmas spirit usually kicks in after Guy Fawks night which makes me one of those people you love to hate. Unless of course you happen to be the same. I try not to push it on other people though until it's almost December and occasionally I manage all the way until it is actually December. I tell you this because if you don't want to strangle me maybe it's best to avoid me.

That though has nothing really to do with this post other than to explain why I was looking forward to this issue. I like a Christmas decoration and I like the non-traditional. I know doves are traditional but it wasn't the usual Christmas tree or Santa. I also liked the fact that it was another opportunity to make a decoration with a hoop frame. This meant the glue gun was coming out and I love my glue gun. Even though I don't get to use it often it is my favourite crafting toy.

So, as I said, I was looking forward to it. However I opened up the packet and found that it contained the dreaded soluble canvas. If you remember my post on the squinty owl this canvas did not work well for me. My experiences with it have been less than positive. So I was dismayed to find it in this pack. I remember seeing another crafter on instagram saying that she felt a little insulted that the magazine felt that it was necassary. I understood that feeling and decided since the fabric was some kind of evenweave that I wasn't going to use it. I have used evenweave before and I love using it. It turns out that it wasn't just a case of skipping a hole as you create a stitch. Doing that the stitches were still far too small and it was going to look untidy.

I then resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to use this canvas or replace the fabric with my own. So i pinned the canvas to the fabric and got started. I was pleasantly surprised. The canvas didn't change shape as much as it had with the owl. I didn't feel that I had done anything different. I was still using the antibacterial gel to keep my hands from oiling up. That didn't work last time but it did this time and I wonder if the difference was the fabric itself. Perhaps the heaviness of the felt was what contributed to the warping. Then when I left it to soak it came away completely the first time. Again I think that the contributing factor here was the fabric itself.

I was happy with the end result and I now have a sweet little Christmas decoration which has been up on my wall since then. I did warn you that I was one of those annoying types. Now, I am not saying that I have fallen in love with soluble canvas. Perhaps though, I will feel a little less dread when I come across a project that requires its use.