Swiss flannel daygown, bonnet and blanket for baby’s homecoming
NOTE: The free design can only be used on Brother machines with the My Custom Stitch feature. You must download the design and then import it to your machine via memory stick or floppy drive. It cannot be opened on a computer or accessed any way other than through a Brother model which offers this feature.
It has been busy, busy, busy around here. I’ve embroidered and framed more scripture verses for church, sewn a denim gored skirt for 9 yo Laurel from a fabulous pattern, embroidered my son’s hiking back pack, altered his “thunderware” (YIKES!) and done a variety of other “utility” sewing projects.
This photo has been edited/darkened to better show detail.
While trying to get some blogging done, I came across the forgotten post below in my draft folder. Since two of my earlier posts on Brother’s My Custom Stitch feature, Heart Swag Baby Shawl and T-Bonnet , there have been several inquiries asking about the zig zag feather stitch I created. So once again, I am offering it to readers. It can be saved to a memory stick or floppy disk or whatever device you use to transfer information to your sewing machine. It is not a .pes hooped embroidery design. This is done on the sewing side of the machine.
close up of zig zag feather stitch, worked with 30 wt. cotton thread
This soft pink set was made for granddaughter Vivian Rose’s homecoming in January. But she was a smaller newborn than our other three grandchildren so the size I chose was too big for her. Now, 8 months later, the gown has been worn and outgrown.
This shows the feather stitch with greater contrast to better show detail.
Read on about this useful stitch and post your request for it in a comment.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love soft, luxurious Swiss flannel for a winter baby. Especially here in Florida where winters are usually moderate, a baby dressed in this fabric can be out on the town without being bundled in a parka.
The creamy pink blanket will be a nice wrap or nursing cover-up. It matches the bonnet and smocked daygown featured in earlier posts.
The floral embroidery designs are from the Fil Tire’ and Fancywork Combinations collection by Suzanne Sawko and me. As usual, I have added hand stitched French knots.
The “C” monogram (or technically a royal cypher–see previous post) design is from Nivia’s Monogram 2 set. I love every one of the collections she has done, most of which incorporate fil tire’.
color has been edited for better visibility of details
The first Nivia monogram collection has larger letters, but the second, which I used, has much smaller letters.
WOW! I am shocked! I just went to Martha Pullen’s site for a link so you could view the collection. They are not there! Martha no longer carries these spectacular designs. However, there are at least two other Nivia collections advertised at AllBrands. There may be other sources.
So many of my favorite designs are no longer readily available—the French Chefs from Amazing Designs, shadow work by Suzanne Hinshaw , and now Nivia’s sets. What a shame. I’m glad these treasures were added to my embroidery collection early on and hope any of you who look for them can find a set.
But back to the blanket. Worked a few inches from the pinstitched lace edging is a zig zag feather stitch frame. I am really proud to have designed this stitch in My Custom Stitch feature on many Brother machines. In my opinion, this attribute is seriously underutilized.
There is a great, in-depth book on the subject which I found to be very helpful. Brother’s My Custom Stitch by Barbara Skimin was a valuable reference as I got the knack of this. For some time, the book was almost impossible to find, but now I see it is available here.
The description reads, “Barbara Skimin has written an easy and fun guide that can be used with any Brother machine with the My Custom Stitch feature. This book will teach you everything you need to know about My Custom Stitch. It includes in-depth instructions for creating your own custom stitches, complete instructions for four projects and detailed information on Brother’s Pacesetter models. If you can imagine it, you can create it!”
On Swiss flannel, the zig zag featherstitch looks best, in my opinion, worked in 30 wt. cotton thread. The look really pleases me. I like Mettler’s 30/2 Machine Embroidery thread (yellow/gold lettering on spool) or their 50/3 Silk Finish cotton thread (purple lettering). I use them interchangeably.
If anyone would like this design, just leave your request as a comment. It is simply downloaded from the attachment and then sent to your machine via one of the transfer methods.
For even more on this stitch and to see it a on batiste T-Bonnet, see this earlier post. If any of you have designed stitches here, I’d love to see them. There are many excellent MCS stitches you can download here on the Brother web site.
Gosh, I really got carried away about My Custom Stitch. Please just check it out if you have that feature.
Back to my sewing room………
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