The Baptism
02 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment
in family, General, machine embroidery, Project, sewing Tags: christening gown, machine embroidery, sewing project
Here is what all the hoopla was about. My granddaughter on her big day wearing the christening gown I made from her mother’s wedding gown.
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Where have all the sewing machines gone?
22 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: quilting, quitig, serger, sewing
We are moving with professional movers for most of our shipment this time. One of our movers commented to me that up until about 10 years ago, he used to move a sewing machine in every shipment. Now he rarely sees any at all. I made up for a couple of shipments with mine, but I thought it was a sad observation. I hope that DIY, Project Runway, and other such shows will inspire a new generation of home sewers. I know that the number of quality fabric stores has declined dramatically in the last 10 years as well. How many of us try to create unique, well-fitting clothing ourselves? We are becoming slaves to and dependent on the Walmart “Made in China” label and “No Sew” projects.
I am probably preaching to the choir here, but it does tell us how important it is that we continue to try to pass these skills on to the next generation. We need to wrestle or entice our youth away from their socially networked computers and show them how to use a different computer – a sewing machine, which can be used for creativity as well as productivity. Let us keep developing our own skills, and reaching out to others as well.
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A Fashion Sewing Blog
17 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in sewing Tags: fashion sewing, sewing project
http://www.fashionsewingblog.com/.
I just found this fashion sewing blog. Colleen G Lea has all kinds of videos, tips, and instruction for basic fashion sewing, all the way from knowing your machine to understanding a pattern, to sew alongs.
It looks like a great resource!
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Christening Gown Slip
14 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in family, machine embroidery, Project, Serger, sewing Tags: christening gown, embroidery, embroidery project, fashion sewing, free serger project, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery, serger, serger project, sewing, sewing project, wedding dress
Thanks to Carole whose comment on my christening gown post encouraged me to make a slip to go with the gown. I made it from batiste, to keep it cooler and lighter under the heavy bridal satin skirt. The gown is ivory, but I embroidered the slip with ivory thread on white batiste.
The designs surrounding the main monogram are from the large design on the gown’s skirt.
The swirls were from a design set, and all the lettering came from Monogram Wizard Plus and BES Lettering.
I was especially excited about the bottom edge, as I used my Precise Positioning feature for the first time and created a beautiful, continuous border. This border embroidery comes from Kathy Harrison of Custom Keepsakes. Her embroideries are wonderful!
My one disappointment was in making the coverstitch pintucks. When I opened the new pintucking foot I had bought (the dealer has gone out of business now), I found that one of the important pieces was missing. I tried to fix it a different way, but the tucks did not form. Oh, well. Instead they are just a shadow embroidery embellishment, so not all is lost, even if they are not what I had originally hoped for.
(Apologies that the slip is not fully ironed in the photos.)
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Smocking the traditional way
10 May 2012 3 Comments
in family, General, machine embroidery, Project, Serger, sewing, smocking Tags: embroidery, smocking
I am thrilled to have finished my second smocking project, only this time done by hand. I smocked a bishop dress for my new granddaughter. Although I know I have some work to do to improve my technique, I found hand smocking to be thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding. I am looking forward to my next project already. I found smocking to be more portable than some of the other handwork I enjoy, so perhaps I will actually get some projects completed before my three week old granddaughter enters college. 
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Smocking in the Hoop – two new tips
02 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in General, machine embroidery, Project, sewing, smocking Tags: machine embroidery, sewing project, smocking
Whether you call it Smocking in the Hoop or Embroidering on Pleated Cloth, the look is beautiful and it’s a great way to add a smocked look to garments, home decor, or other sewing projects. This week I learned a new tip for setting up your pleated fabric for embroidery.
The first step in any smocking project is to block the pleated fabric to the right size. Make sure you leave a seam allowance worth of unpleated fabric along the edges, and block the rest of the pleats to the size required in the project. A pocket comb can help align squirrely pleats. If there are pleats that just refuse to lie properly, use a Fabric Folding Pen in the well of the mischievous pleats to encourage them to cooperate.
Once the fabric is blocked, use Tiger Tape or Basting Tape along the short edges, parallel to the pleats, to hold the pleats in place next to the flat fabric seam allowance sections. This is to keep the pleats from moving outward and flattening out, plus it clearly marks the two ends of the blocked piece.
I apologize that I do not have a photograph of this, and I will try to get one at some point.
Give Smocking in the Hoop a try. It’s not the same, of course, as actual smocking, but it has a great look all its own.
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Thread choice for sewing on lace
29 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in machine embroidery, Project, Serger, sewing, smocking Tags: lace, sewing tip, thread
A thread choice tip I learned this week:
When sewing lace, either sewing laces together or sewing lace to other fabrics and trims, choose a thread color that matches the lace instead of the fabric for the stitches to be less visible. So ecru lace on white fabric would be best sewn with ecru thread.
