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HERALD/REVIEW
SIERRA VISTA — Guests of the Squirrel’s Nest craft store lecture series were treated to a special class by Walter Floriani on Saturday morning.
Floriani, a world-renowned embroidery expert, lectured on a variety of topics from stabilizers to digital design software.
“We were lucky to have him here. It’s his first time in Sierra Vista,” said Shirley Koharik, owner of the Squirrel’s Nest.
 Embroidery guru Walter Floriani teaches Saturday at the Squirrel's Nest in south Sierra Vista. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review) |
Floriani made a stop in Sierra Vista between his tours in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
He is especially well-known for his instructional series on digitizing embroidery design.
“I call this lecture a ‘new-view’,” he said.
The new age in digital embroidery enables the creation of pattern designs on a computer screen, but problems often occur during the stitching process, Floriani said.
“It’s important to explore how to solve these problems. The software is high-tech, but there are not a lot of instructional fundamentals out there,” he added. “It’s simple. There are three basic stitches, and digitizing involves a certain number of combinations.”
Approximately 20 eager audience members turned up to hear Floriani’s expert advice.
“I’m excited! I’m here to learn something new, and how to use and understand my embroidery machine,” said audience member Sue Leon.
Floriani gave a series of demonstrations, including a detailed explanation of using tear-away and grid-pattern stabilizers.
He recommended using a water-based adhesive stabilizer for hoopless items such as socks, towels and cuffs.
“When you remove the embroidery, re-wet the adhesive,” he said.
These are not as good, however, for light-weight and fragile fabrics.
In addition to teaching new skills, Floriani spoke about the history of the mechanical embroidery industry, in which his family holds a large piece of the pie.
Since the early 19th century, the Florianis have been running one of the leading embroidery businesses in the world, which sells products and supplies.
Floriani showed-off some of the companies historical pieces, including Venetian lace and embroidery stitching samples from the 1910s.
He also displayed lace and embroidered patterns used for Vestments in the 1930s and 1940s, which stemmed from the company’s business with the Catholic church.
Audience members received Floriani’s “survival” kit of embroidery tools, samples and an instructional DVD.
“I love to make the embroidery process more fun and to help people achieve some clarity. It’s the most rewarding thing that I do,” Floriani said.
HERALD/REVIEW reporter Fiona de Young can be reached at 515-4682 or by e-mail at fiona.deyoung@svherald.com.
Tony P wrote on Nov 25, 2008 12:24 AM: