Friday, November 14, 2008

Sandy Higgins Gives Me Standup Tips

Yesterday I got an email from Sandy Higgins full of tips for finishing stand ups. Yes, THAT Sandy Higgings--who wrote one of the most popular and enduring finishing books! I was thrilled to speak to a giant in the finishing field!! And Sandy says I can share her wisdom about finishing standups with you! Here's what she said:

"Dear Jane, Your Wizard is great. May I offer a few suggestions to help with your finishing? I use loose polyester fiber fill by Fairfield Processing Co for stuffing, packing it in as tight as you can. The more stuffing you pack in will help eliminate the dents on the sides of the figure. To make the base more stable cut an oval shape from heavy mat board to fit the size of the base area. Cover the board with the backing fabric (I use fabric glue stick on the board to adhere the fabric to the board) and then hand sew it to the bottom edge of the figure. For a weight I made a pouch from muslin and fill it with buck shot that can be purchased at Wal-Mart. I often mix the buck shot with poly pellets by Fairfiled. I think you can get the poly pellets at Jo-Ann's or Michaels.
Cheers, Sandy Higgins
Sandy's Finishing Touches "

This is all great information. I think I'm going to use a glue stick for my next finishing project and I'll remember the tip for cardboard to stabilize the base of standups. The next time Jo Ann's or Michael's (a sewing store and crafts emporium respectively) has a sale, I'll look for the poly pellets. Thank you, Sandy!

Anyone who hasn't seen Sandy's book or who can't buy it at their local shop can see the book or order it from Sandy Higgins' website.


I grabbed a photo of the cover from A-Z Needlepoint who sell the book, naturally. I think it might also be available from Amazon.com.


Thanks, Sandy! I appreciate your taking the time to help me out here.


Jane/Chilly Hollow
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

2 comments:

Beth in IL said...

Just to let you know, my JoAnn's just sent me a coupon for 40% off good through Nov 26. I'm not sure how I got on their list, but I won't be going that way. Do you want mine? Says it is good at any store....

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Beth, that's wonderful of you to offer! If you want to email me at my chillyhollow at hotmaildotcom address I'll give you the real one. I think it probably can get here before next weekend, which is the only time I'll be able to get to Jo Ann's as there isn't one near work.

But if you can't make it to the post office in time, don't worry about it. It will be a long time before I do another standup --nothing to be finished that way is on the horizon-- and I can't buy many supplies I can use in my NP at my local Jo Ann's. They don't stock much.