Category Archives: baby accessories

Woodland Treasures Nursery

Posted on July 30, 2010 | 2 comments

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Sewing for a grandchild’s nursery is pure joy.  When Sue Box’s embroidery design collection, Woodland Treasures, was released, I ordered it almost immediately.  I knew these designs would be just what my daughter-in-law would want for her baby.

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When Shelly, with her overwhelming interest in nature and her environmental science degree, was months away from delivering our first grandchild, I was on a New Grannie High.  I began major projects with new enthusiasm.

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Shelly had also volunteered as a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for years before her pregnancy.  She spent countless hours preparing  Mother Nature’s orphans for independent life in Florida’s woodlands.

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Shelly agreed that these fantasy woodland creatures were perfect nursery companions  for her baby.

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Posted in baby accessories, home dec, machine embroidery, serger

Gingham Dog Quilt Part III

Posted on July 16, 2010 | 2 comments

Note two sizes of yo-yo’s.

YO-YO’S:  This was really fun.    Suzanne Sawko has always been charmed by yo-yo’s and made a vest of Liberty yo-yo’s for an article in Creative Needle magazine.  But she did it the fast and easy way.  She created a machine embroidery design that does the most tedious part of yo-yo construction, turning under the raw edge, most of it bias.  I’ve always kept that technique in mind…..

After completing the floss weaving through the entredeux and pinstitch on this quilt, it needed something.  There was a bit of congestion at the entredeux intersections and it just lacked……dimension.  That was my objection to the design.  It lacked dimension.  So I decided to make yo-yo’s with Suzanne’s machine embroidery file.  The technique is so simple, so obvious, so neat. And it could be done without an embroidery machine.

Liberty and regular, original weight Solvy (or other water soluble stabilizer) was hooped together, with the Liberty right side facing up, covered with Solvy.  Then 6 circles were straight stitched, at least 1/2″ apart, the smaller size in the 5 x 7 hoop (130mm x 180mm) and the larger size in the  160mm x 260mm hoop.   After the stitching was complete, the Liberty and Solvy were removed from the hoop and cut out, 1/4″ away from the stitching line.  A slit was made in the Solvy and the circle turned, like a pillow top.  Using a point turner, the outline was smoothed and  then the circle was pressed. The result is a perfectly turned circle.  Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, heirloom sewing, home dec, machine embroidery, quilts, techniques

Gingham Dog Quilt Part I

Posted on July 12, 2010 | 4 comments

This is one of my all-time favorite projects.  My dear friend, Suzanne Sawko, and I collaborated on the design, she digitized the straight line text and I sewed it.

It was a major project and telling you about it will take more than one post.  I doubt many of you would have the patience or endurance to plow through all the details at one sitting.  However, those of you who seek new techniques might find some tidbit of interest in the non-conventional creation of this quilt.  So this is part one.

The quilt celebrates the amazing capabilities of today’s computerized home embroidery machines. Uncommon sewing and quilting techniques make the project interesting and relatively easy. With the whimsy of a classic children’s poem, the beauty of fine heirloom fabrics and the charm of embroidered gingham dogs and calico cats, this quilt has delighted each of my grandchildren.  It hangs now in our upstairs nursery, next to the crib.

crib with quilt rack

What makes this quilt interesting?  Well, the basic construction, for one.  I will never forget my original disdain for quilting, especially after hearing a non-quilter comment that to her it made little sense to cut perfectly good fabric up into little pieces and then sew it back together again.  At that time, I naively concurred.

But there is none of that cutting up and resewing here.  This quilt is very non-traditional in every respect but the design.

QUILT TOP CONSTRUCTION:  The foundation is a 50″ square of Swiss flannel,  a luscious but shifty fabric which creates its own challenges.  Pulled threads created a centered grid of 7″ squares.  After the threads were pulled, the entire piece was starched and pressed.

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Posted in baby accessories, heirloom sewing, home dec, machine embroidery, Nana's nursery, techniques

Robert’s Yellow Towel

Posted on July 8, 2010 | 3 comments

Well, I finally finished Robert’s long since requested yellow towel and I must say I am pleased with the result.  I have only a scan of the hood and will post a better picture tomorrow.  But I’ve got some bug–or the bug has me–and I didn’t get an outdoor shot of the project today as planned.

First, I have to thank Elisabeth for her recommendation of fabric.com.  I found what they called yellow “French terry,”  but there are no loops which indicate terry to me.  But it is nice, thick, and stretchy–good for wrapping around a little guy.

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I cut the 60″ fabric into a 45″ square and then cut a 20″ square for the hood.  Fusible knit stabilizer was ironed on to the back of the piece in the embriodery area.  The square was folded in half diagonally and the embroidery centered.  After the embroidery, the square was cut down to measure 20″ on the diagonal. Then the folded edge was bound. Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, machine embroidery

Biscuit Lace Bonnet

Posted on June 30, 2010 | 2 comments

This brownish pink “biscuit” colored lace has always appealed to me.  I know nothing about the history of biscuit lace, but I want to believe that it was popular in the Victorian era, a time of lavish display, a time when “too much is seldom enough.”  NOTE:  This was labelled as the decorating style of a woman whose home was featured in one of my favorite  books,  Make Room for Quilts by Nancy J. Martin.

With as little as 20″ of lace 5″ wide, you can make a similar newborn size bonnet using the technique of ruching.   Given that a newborn measures approximately 12″ from ear lobe to ear lobe,  any length beyond that can be ruched (gathered) for some fullness and transformed to a bonnet.

For the horseshoe crown, another 5″ of lace is needed.  It is customarily lined, enclosing the gathers of the body of the bonnet between the lining and the back.  But if there is a shortage of lace, the lining could be made of cotton netting.

Two pieces if lace have been used to create this luscious bonnet.  The bonnet body is a very intricate 5″ wide lace galoon,   27″ long.  A second lace, a 2″ edging, was machine stitched to the wrong side of the galoon, leaving 1″ of  the edging exposed. After the two straight pieces of lace were joined together, three rows of gathering threads were stitched, a scant 1/2″ apart, beginning at the stitching that joined the two laces together.  The gathering threads were then drawn up to 12″ and tied off. Continue reading →

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Posted in antique textiles, baby accessories, clothing, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, techniques

Embroidered Lace Bonnet

Posted on June 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

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This gorgeous piece of antique lace edging had languished in my stash/resource center for some time.   Only 21″ long,  its possible uses  were somewhat limited.  I had considered a yoke overlay, but rejected that idea.

 

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The mint organdy is the one in the middle. It is really a stronger color than it seems to be on this computer. It is available for $8 py….vintage Swiss organdy, 36″ wide.

 

After  finally deciding on a newborn horseshoe bonnet (so named for the shape of the back crown), I realized that there was not enough lace for the crown lining, a necessary component to cover the gathered back edge of the bonnet.

Meanwhile, like a fine wine, the vintage mint green Swiss organdy (available  at the Janice Ferguson Sews “store”) had been aging in the sewing room armoire, in the same era as the lace.  I took it as a sign.    Lining the bonnet with a colored fabric would show off the lovely pattern of the lace while also making up for my short yardage. Continue reading →

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Posted in antique textiles, baby accessories, clothing, hand embroidery, infant clothing, techniques

Vintage Spoke Collar

Posted on May 29, 2010 | 2 comments

I’ve always thought spoke collars were about as lovely as anything could be. The first time I laid eyes on one was in the  Smocking Arts Guild of America’s”newsletter.”  First published shortly after their organization in the late 70’s,  it was the only heirloom/smocking publication to be had.

In about 1983,  there was an ad for a smocking shop. It included the shop name, address, phone number and a picture of a spoke collar that Julia Golson had made. There was no information about a class or pattern, simply a photo of beautiful piece of needlework to draw the reader’s attention.

It took my breath away. I had never seen anything so exquisite,  and mind you, this was a grainy, non-digital black and white photo. Of course, I am easily impressed, and was especially so in the early days of my love affair with heirloom sewing.

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Posted in antique textiles, baby accessories, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, techniques

Scrubbing Bubbles

Posted on May 17, 2010 | 5 comments

 

Alastair needed another hooded bath towel.   So I pulled this luscious knit blank from my stash and sent  it out to him the next day. The design is from the darling Leon and Lilly collection by OED. There is a matching knit wash cloth, but I forgot to take a photo before sending it out.

Cute as this bathing bear is, adding Alastair‘s initials to the tub made it sweeter.  It just tickled my daughter who loves monograms and personalization.

It is so handy to have a supply of blanks on hand. By having this towel waiting in my sewing room, I was saved me the time it would take to make or shop for a towel. Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, machine embroidery

Antique Lace Bonnet

Posted on April 23, 2010 | 1 comment

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Antique laces have so much detail and intricacy.  Today, few laces are made with the cordonnet outline  threads, the elaborate patterns and the variety ofbackground textures that you find in so many antiques.

If you are fortunate enough to have custody of some of these pieces, deciding how best to use them is often a dilemma. After purchasing several yards of a gorgeous, French, ecru galoon, I chose to use some for a baby bonnet. My goal was to make an heirloom piece that would not see heavy use, though the lace is very sound. One of my vintage McCall’s layette patterns was used, chosen for its simplicity.

Only 3 1/2″ wide, the lace was too narrow to meet the required width from front edge to the horseshoe back. So the shortage was made up with 1 1/2″ French ribbon inserted between the body of the bonnet and the front ruffle. Continue reading →

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Posted in antique textiles, baby accessories, heirloom sewing, techniques

AEsop’s Fable Quillow

Posted on April 15, 2010 | 2 comments

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Quillows have been featured in previous posts, but most were of polar fleece. I find quillow projects to be universally useful and always fun to make.

Recently, while plundering through my Liberty of London scraps, I was reminded of this little quillow.   It is currently  among the missing and presumed to be residing in the depths of one of my grandchildren’s dressers.  An all-points-bulletin has been issued and I hope soon to have news of its whereabouts.

 

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Some time ago, it was featured in an article I wrote for Creative Needle magazine.  All of the photos and parts of that article are included in this post.

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A uniquely contemporary version of the Great American Quilt, a quillow is a small quilt which folds up into its own pocket to create a pillow. One of simple design, such as a whole cloth with no piecing, can be made in as little as three hours.

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Posted in antique textiles, baby accessories, Binche Lace, home dec, quilts

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