Padded Satin Stitch

As I was stitching along on the christening gown today, I had an aha moment I thought I would share with you.

I am using floche on silky voile for the gown. In stitching these "flourishes" on the gown, I was reminded of something I had forgotten. Floche is a soft twist fiber. It covers nicely for padded satin stitch as well as shadow work. I will admit that it is not always my first thread of choice, but it seemed to be working well for me. It's  also no secret that I am under the gun with this project. Sometimes when we are under the pressure of a deadline we tend to try to take shortcuts or not go back and fix stitching we aren't happy with. That was my dilemma today.

See the curly q on the top left? That was the last one I stitched in this group. See how smooth the top and edges are? Well that is the look I was going for. If it had turned out as lumpy and frumpy as the first two I probably would have left it.  But since it didn't I was in a quandary. Do I take out the good one to make it match the two "carpy" ones? Of course not! So I either left them looking decidedly different, or I had to take out the first two to make them match the look I was going for. So some reverse stitching was in order. (Always be careful when removing stitching. Go slow so you don't snip the fabric instead of the embroidery thread. Ask me how I know.

As I said, floche is a soft twist fiber. You can get it to unfurl or flatten out by either threading one end in the needle over the other or you can untwist it as you stitch with it. Since I can never remember which end is which, I just uncurl as I go. In the picture above I have done this. Just simply twisted in the direction needed to get the individual fibers to separate and be more ribbon like.

In this picture I have done the exact opposite. I have twisted it to make it more rope like. When trying to satin stitch, the tighter twisted thread will result in the more jagged edges seen in the first photo.

Here are my curly q's restitched. The edges are smoother. They still aren't perfect to me, but this picture is taken through the magnifier. After it is washed, the fibers will fluff up even further. Finally when it is draped down the front of a moving baby, or hung on a wall, those edges won't look as jagged. I am not as happy with the stems, but twice is my limit for removing something.

DISCLAIMER: A friend and I have had several conversations of late about the popular opinion that there is only one "right" way to do things. There is NO ONE RIGHT WAY to do anything! I don't care what book states what method, or what method one pattern designer uses over another. I am sharing with you, what worked for me. I am not a self professed authority on anything. Nor is anyone else. Sure some stitchers have more experience than others, but everyone has their own approach. A more experienced stitcher is just that, more experienced. Remember your mother always telling you practice makes perfect? They have just been practicing longer. Don't let yourself be sucked into thinking there is only one correct way or for that matter into thinking that your way is wrong. If we are striving to enhance our skills then we are all learning from each other. I happen to like tiny, tiny bias binding for instance; you might like a larger bias binding. Its not right or wrong. It is all a matter of preference. Not authority. So don't let anyone rain on your parade.

Awww-sweet bunny tails

I have been MIA this week due to being under the weather and spending a lot of time at hospitals and doctor's offices. Hopefully that will be over soon. On to the subject at hand; sweet bunny tails.

Remember I love linen. And pair it with adorable fluffy bunny tails and you have almost heaven. This is the finished matinee jacket and bonnet set I gave you a sneak peek of in this post. It is a class called "Baby's First Outing" and it was taught by Wendy Schoen at this year's SAGA convention.

Shadow work bunny bottoms with turkey work tails. Embellished with embroidery of back stitch, lazy daisies and French knots. Stitched with DMC floche. Quite simple really. The jacket hem is pin stitched.

Somehow instead of being finished first it was edged out by the baby gown. But I love this set. I love this bonnet. One of my favorite things is the silk satin ribbon that is ruched under the brim. Very nice touch. It is kind of fiddly to do but the effect is so sweet. Can't you just see a sweet baby face peeking out from under this bonnet brim?

This set is sized newborn to 6 months, so that is a baby in arms or often over mom's shoulder. So as a treat the back yoke is embroidered too.

The same embroidery is on the bonnet.

Someone asked me how to do the scallops. I don't know if there is an official way to do them but this is what I have learned over the years,

1. Slow down, there isn't a race, the slower you go the more accurate you can be.
2. Use a straight stitch foot. I have never been one to use a straight stitch foot much until recently, but I can tell from this project it does give you more control.
   
3. Use a very small stitch length. I used a 1.5 stitch length.
4. I traced the seam line on the pieces instead of trying to eyeball the raw edge with the markings on the bed of the machine. I was able to follow my traced lines.
   
5. Clip, clip, clip! You can't be afraid to clip up to the that stitching line, coming within 1- 2 fabric THREADS of the stitching. It is one of those physics things again. If you don't release the pull on the fabric it won't turn to the right side without having puckers and tucks at the seam line.
6. As you stitch each scallop turn your fabric as you are stitching, try not to stop and pivot. Try to stitch each scallop, turning and stitching without stopping. You will get a smoother stitching line. There are a couple of scallops that aren't as rounded as I would like and I think that is what happened.
7. Just as important as clipping is press, press, press! I don't know why so many people, especially young or new sew-ers don't realize or value the importance of an iron. I still am not happy with the pressing on my bonnet. I want slick smoothness without a crinkle to be seen. I have learned over the years that most mistakes and missteps can be cured with an iron and I learned very early on, if you press as you go, the better the final product will be. Then when you are finished, press, press, press some more! And starch! I love me some starch.
   

So enjoy this sweet jacket and bonnet. I have to go clean up my mess then decide what to move onto next. There is an advantage to being stuck at home, you get a lot of stitching done. I do know one thing, I need to pull out some boy UFO's. I tell you I am going to have a softball team of boy grandchildren when they start coming if I don't sew a few blue things. My kids are pretty on board with my dressing future grandchildren. I think they may squawck if I try to dress baby boys in pink linen though. No matter how much I love pink linen. I'll get that famous nodding up and down of the head as they stuff it in a drawer never to be seen again. And that would not make mother happy.