Tag Archives: hemstitch

Alastair’s Hurry-up Easter Suit

A Easter suit

I know this outfit is crooked on the hanger. There was a stiff breeze blowing and I could not keep the shirt hanging properly.

 

We always talk about how busy we are, but I have never let other things make me cut it so close with Easter outfits for the grandchildren.  Just like when my children were small, I was up until after midnight Saturday before Easter.

 

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But I finished all four outfits.

Alastair’s Easter suit was a very satisfying project.  Like few hurry-up projects, it finished up quite nicely, leaving me  generally pleased.   I learned that sometimes surrendering my picky-ness for a rush project is okay.  It is more important to have an  OK outfit done for Easter than an up- to-my-picky-standards outfit done a week later.  This was made in about a day and a half, and those were busy days aside from sewing.

 

goods A suit Continue reading

Pin Stitch~~ Part II

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In the previous post, Pin Stitch…What’s it all about? basic information was given about fabric, needle, thread, foot and fabric preparation. There was more, because pin stitch is one of my favorite techniques. And my writing style can be summarized as why-say-in-a-sentence-what-could-be-said-in-a-paragraph? But I bet you already knew that.

This is part II with how-to details and applications for this classic stitch. I hope it is more useful than boring.

NITTY GRITTY HOW TO–After reading all this background and materials preparation info, you are probably wondering  HOW DO YOU DO IT???? Finally, we get down to it.

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Lace edging is pin stitched to the sleeve of a shadow smocked dress, as detailed a few posts ago.

Pin stitch is almost always connecting one thing to another, like lace to fabric on the sleeve to this shadow smocked dress or the angel blanket above. Continue reading

New Brother Quattro! New SmockingTechnique!

my new baby!

my new baby!

 

NEW MACHINE!!!  If you have heard happy shouts and contented purrs coming from central Florida, it’s just me.  I am beside myself with delight over my new Brother Quattro!  After my disappointment over the misplaced design on a collar for my granddaughter, I knew that wouldn’t have happened if I had been sewing on the Brother Quattro.  So now, this big Brother lives in my sewing room!  Hurrah!

When I stitched that design on my Brother Duetta, I had hooped heavy water soluble stabilizer, applied spray adhesive and placed the “V” shaped collar in place.  In fact, I had centered the design properly, with the needle penetrating the absolute center of the design.  But the linen collar was not absolutely straight,  north and south, east and west.  This caused the “V” design to lean to the east.

 

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The Brother Duetta stitched it perfectly, but my operator error caused the misplacement.

This slight misalignment would not have been so noticeable had the collar been round or square or if it had been stitched on a yoke.  But with the echoed “V” so near, it was very obvious.

The Quattro has a built in camera.  With this incredible feature, the  camera locates the cross hairs of the “snowman” sticker that is placed at the very center of my design area.  The camera perceives even slight placement inaccuracies and makes the correction by rotating the design however many degrees are necessary.  Is that not wonderful and amazing?

We are in the “getting to know you” mode right now and the more I read, the more awestruck I am.  Edge sewing, print and stitch, huge embroideries…… The list goes on and on.  I can’t wait for Quattro and me to become BFF’s!

NEW TECHNIQUE!!! My granddaughter’s Easter dress seemed to be an appropriate first project to help us get acquainted.  Pictures of “shadow smocking,”  posted on Pinterest caught my eye.  Note: If you don’t know about Pinterest, check it out here. Continue reading

Coming Home Outfit~Daygown

 

Alastair, 2 1/2 months, on antique carriage cover.  He had nearly outgrown this daygown, but this was the first time that the harried new parents got around to taking a picture for me.  It DID fit when he came home, but at 9 lb.s 6 oz. it didn't fit very long!

Alastair, 2 1/2 months, on antique carriage cover. He had nearly outgrown this daygown, but this was the first time that the harried new parents got around to taking a picture for me. It DID fit when he came home, but at 9 lb.s 6 oz. it didn’t fit very long!

One of the first things I made for Alastair’s layette was his coming home outfit. The daygown was made from Maggie’s Classics Daygown #113 pattern. The matching blanket was featured in a previous post and the sweet little cap will be shown soon.

Obviously, this picture was taken lonnnnnng after he came home from the hospital. He was 2 ½ months old and the gown is ridiculously short. When he was newborn, the length was adequate if not generous.  But were I to make another, I would make it much longer. You can see that it still fits him except for the length. But if it had been cut longer, he could have worn it much longer. Continue reading