Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Bit of Sewing.

Not long ago I mentioned being in the mood to sew.   I have a fancy dancy sewing machine, plenty of patterns from when my girls were little (I sewed all their dresses) and a stash of fabric that needs using up.

So one rainy day I spent some time in my sewing room.    I wanted to make something fast and easy so I chose 2 patterns I knew would fit the bill. 

First was a pattern I had altered from a button down the front to an easy jumper that buttons at the shoulders and I added the ruffle at the bottom. 

DSC_0014

I used my easy ruffling trick of zig zagging over some crochet thread then pulling it up to ruffle the fabric, for me this is easier than the two rows of basting stitches. 

DSC_0023

The dress was done in a couple hours so I started on another.

I have a ton of white denim, I got it years ago for some project or other, I think I made some tote bags but found I just did not enjoy that much.   I thought it would be cute made up into this jumper pattern.

DSC_0011

To add interest I just appliqued the large funky flowers on.  The pattern came with the appliques.  The pattern is by New Look and it is number 6578.  A super fast and easy pattern, the most time consuming part is the embellishments, the rest whips up in no time. 

While going thru my fabrics and sewing supplies (I was trying to organize my sewing space) I stumbled upon my silk ribbon embroidery stash.  I started doing silk ribbon embroidery in the early 90’s, it was very easy to learn and the results are worth the small amount of effort you put into it.

I had some linen in my fabric stash and thought the little jumper dress would be lovely made from it with the silk ribbon embroidery along the neck line for the frou frou. 

I mapped out my design with my water soluble pen…

DSC_0003

Then I embroidered away.  It took me a couple hours to do this design…

DSC_0015

Here is the back..

DSC_0011

To make sure the ends do not come loose when washing I seal it with fusible interfacing.

DSC_0012

The interfacing will be hidden by the front facing. 

And voila…a lovely little jumper dress that was quick and easy but with a special touch!

The silk ribbon embroidery holds up better than you would think in the wash. 

DSC_0181-001

Here are all three together..

dresses

Now I am in the mood to sew something for myself.. I loved working with this linen, actually it is a linen blend, 55% linen and 45% rayon, it is easy to work with and is less wrinkly when worn than 100% linen. 

JoAnn’s has it on sale right now in stores at 30% off so I picked up some more.    Now to work on a dress for me.

bqt-btnsignaturePamelabqt-btn



Transformation ThursdayCountry Momma CooksFunky Junk's Sat Nite Special

11 comments:

  1. All three are absolutely adorable, but I especially love the little linen jumper dress! You are very talented!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used to sew A LOT when my girls were small. My favorite show was Sewing With Nancy on PBS. I learned much from it and bought some of her books, but the best teacher is experience, fixing your own mistakes etc. It is easy to become proficient at something you enjoy!

      Delete
  2. If you want to venture into business with your sewing skills, it will be very advantageous if you take classes. You should learn more about the terminologies used in sewing, equipment to be used, techniques, as well as the marketing and flow of business. You don’t want go into this business without learning the ropes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my gosh Pam these are so adorable!! I love your embroidery and those flowers are the cutest! You are very talented indeed!
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The embroidery is so simple and you get fabulous results. It is why I fell in love with it to begin with. Plus anything with flowers is my favorite. I am now working on a linen dress for myself with the embroidery as the embellishments. I hope it turns out but I will have fun trying no matter what the result.

      Delete
  4. Just beautiful! I love hand sewing and have always wanted to try ribbon embroidery! Found you on Someday Crafts! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of the craft stores carried the silk ribbon back in the 90's but now you have to find it on the internet. (thank goodness for the internet!) But it is available! It is so easy and worth all the effort. Give it a whirl, you won't be sorry!

      Delete
  5. Those are the sweetest little dresses...I'd love for you to share this @CountryMommaCooks Link & Greet party going on now-Sunday midnight…have a blessed weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  6. your embroidery is beautiful. You are clearly a very accomplished seamstress - gorgeous results on these three dresses :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks so much for linking up to CountryMommaCooks Link & Greet Party!
    Hope to see you next Saturday……Have a blessed week:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow,This baby dress look so awesome and wonderful.I really like this dress.This type of dress look so wonderful and amazing.Embroidery work look on this dress is so fabulous.

    Prismatics

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...