Category Archives: clothing

Baptismal Towels

 

Do you have more than one project in progress?  I have stacks– some must be done NOW, some are handwork for when I watch tv with my husband, some are mindless chores like hemming for when I’m on the phone, some I put aside for one reason or another.

Still, in the midst of a looming deadline and other pressing matters, I took the time to embroider 6 hemstitched linen guest towels for upcoming baptisms at our church.  I had customized the design sometime ago for a newly ordained pastor. So it was just a matter of hooping up my stash of linen guest towels and embroider them.  It was so satisfying to stitch something simple and meaningful in the midst of all the sewing busy-ness.

You might recall my story that our church was struck by lightning and burned to the ground several years ago. Continue reading

Easter ’18 Week

Vivian Rose at Oma’s house, decked out in her mother’s Rebecca’s Bow Dress.

 

I hope you all had a joyous Easter.  The Ferguson family had a fabulous week of Easter celebrations!  We saw both of our children with all four of our grandchildren, but not at the same time.   A good bit of sewing was done before and after their arrival.

Saturday we joined our son-in-law’s family for Easter dinner.   5 yo Vivian Rose was resplendent in her mother’s 35 yo Rebecca’s Bow Dress,  with her curls confined to elaborate, elegant French braids.

The original slip has been lost through the years so this white Imperial batiste slip was made.   Because it really can be worn as a dress, a bow was embroidered on the yoke.  To avoid it shadowing through the dress, it was stitched in a very pale pink and white.

 

The same yoke pattern was used with 1/2″ removed from the top half of the armscye.

 

Ever obliging 9 yo Alastair wore his bow tie made from the Little Boy Bowtie:the Quick and Easy Version pattern which I have used so often.

 

 

The color matched the green leaves in his sister’s fancyband.

 

The bows alternated with 3 vertical strips of lace.

 

I love this picture taken as Vivian was ready to put on her heirloom dress.  Alastair was proud that he was already dressed and ready for the egg hunt.

 

The bunny was tied at the top with a bow, but Vivian HAD to open it.

 

See the felt candy-filled bunny in Vivi’s hand?  That was such a fun little project.  I made 20 of these for the children at church, as well as for these two.  Vivian had a bunny filled basket and loved handing them out.  I so regret that I did not get a photo that or of all the pink, blue, yellow and white bunnies together.  They were a big hit with all the children. Continue reading

Happy St. Pat’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day outfit for Vivian Rose

 

I couldn’t let St.Patrick’s Day go by without a fun little outfit for 5 yo granddaughter Vivian Rose.  This isn’t the traditional “wearin’ o’ the green,” but it combines her favorite color, purple, with her favorite fabric print “rainbow.”  So I thought it would do.

It was given to her at Alastair’s birthday party.

 

Earlier, she had lamented to her mother that Alastair had a party in a few days and her birthday wouldn’t be for sooooo long (January).  Rebecca replied, “But you will have fun at Alastair’s party.”  Vivi boo-hooed, “but I won’t get to open the presents and they won’t be for me!”    I thought this little outfit might help assuage her grief.

She doesn’t look very sad now.

I hope you all have a great St.Patricks’s Day.  We’re enjoying a quiet day at home. My hard working husband was hard at work early on, then rushed in for a quick shower.  Now he is parked in front of the tv, simultaneously watching baseball and March Madness.  He deserves to relax. So..

And I am off to the sewing room. YEAH!  I’ll be listening to some Irish classics like this.

https://www.facebook.com/PeterHollensMusic/videos/1431323636919962/

 

 

Free Design for Minnie’s Birthday Playsuit

The floral borders below each of the Minnie designs are offered as FREE downloads at the blog web site. The Minnie designs are for sale at iBroidery.com.

 

This cute and cool little play outfit was made for Brother’s blog, Stitching Sewcial.  Minnie turned 60 years old in January so the blog post was a part of the birthday celebration.   As a “paid consultant” (inclusion of this info is required), I designed this and wrote the step-by-step tutorial, posted here.

As much as I love lengthy, complicated projects like an heirloom Easter dress or intricate quilt, there is a lot of satisfaction from making a quick and easy outfit for our little ones.  This  play suit certainly fits the bill. Continue reading

Sewing Ho-Hum and Holy Holy

Life at our house goes on at a breakneck pace, causing me to neglect posting as regularly as I would like.  But my sewing room is a beehive of unreported activity, not all of it very interesting.

Wouldn’t you love to sew only creative, fun items?  Does anyone get to do that?   Check out an earlier ho-hum post for an interesting view of what constitutes fun sewing elsewhere, like  “baju kurung, kebaya, punjabi suit.” Just how much fun would it be to sew a punjabi suit? More fun than I had with these projects.

HO-HUM SEWING

 

But duty calls and I have a running list of  ho-hum sewing which is in addition to routine mending.  These ho-hums become occasions for which my sewing machines can actually save some money.  While there is no creative satisfaction, there is the satisfaction of contributing to the family, being a helpmate to my dear husband, and  satisfaction in proving that my Brother Dream Machine is more than just an expensive toy.

 

Mending pool leaf filter baskets….yawn…

Continue reading

Christmas Cat Dress

 

CC Lucy embroidered with a darling cat Christmas tree from Apex Embroidery

 

It’s rush, rush, rush around here and, except for you amazingly organized ladies,  I expect we are all scurrying around with Christmas preparations.

This season has been especially busy for me as I am working on an heirloom project for Brother’s Stitching Sewcial blog.  Hurrah!  But I only had time to make a simple CC Lucy Christmas dress for 4 yo Vivian Rose.  And of course, a matching bow tie for big brother Alastair.

 

 

I was tickled pink to find the cat Christmas tree in the huge and wonderful Apex Embroidery catalogue.  Of course, cat-lover Vivian was delighted when the package arrived. Continue reading

Maggie B’s Kitty Cat Ode to Joy

Maggie B’s Ode to Joy dress

My 4 yo granddaughter and I really love this Ode to Joy pattern by Maggie B. It is offered to students in her on-line class with excellent directions and a multitude of step-by-step instructional pictures. Our little dynamo is always on the go, in a hurry to get wherever and impatient with fussy button closures. She’s a gal who has places to go, people to see, and things to do. So just get on with getting dressed!

One of the best features of this little frock is that it simply pulls over the head like a tee shirt. No buttons, no buttonholes.

As you can clearly see, the neck binding is loosey goosey. It IS important to use the correct size elastic and worth a trip to the store if you don’t have it on hand. Lesson learned.

With it’s pop-over style and comfy fit, Ode to Joy is a favorite of our Vivian Rose. The cat print is an added bonus, making it a very popular wardrobe choice. Continue reading

Two-Holiday Reversible Jumper

Same garment, two holidays.  The Halloween jumper reversed to become a Thanksgiving jumper.  Sorry, but the orange gingham hem on the Halloween dress does not show up well.

 

Have you ever heard anyone say that they have too much time to sew?  We all seem to have more projects in the queue than time will allow.  Here’s a tip–sew a reversible two holiday garment such as this.  It’s like a BOGO–buy one get one free.

 

Black pique fabric is trimmed with an orange gingham scalloped hemline. It is trimmed with purple spaghetti bias and an orange button at the peak of each scallop.

 

The reversible jumper is a project I did for Brother’s blog, Stitching Sewcial.  There you will find step-by-step instructions for this slick technique which I first learned  from guru Louise Baird’s excellent directions in Applique, Martha’s Favorites.  Only 4″ of handsewing is required for the entire garment!

 

This book includes a pattern for a nearly identical jumper as well as a boy’s Jon-Jon.

 

 

The Halloween scalloped hemline border was simply sewn with raw edges to the black pique’ dress.  The top edge is covered with purple spaghetti bias and an orange button at each peak.  The bottom raw edge is later enclosed in the seam which joins the two garments. Continue reading

Cars 3 Fun for Guys and Gals

See detailed instructions for this less bulky tutu skirt here http://blog.brothersews.com/embroidery/cruz-ramirez-tutu-skirt-tee/

 

As Disney/Pixar’s wholesome movie Cars 3 roared through theaters across the nation this summer, iBroidery.com offered a dozen beautifully digitized racing designs.  With so many macho characters associated with the Cars movies, Cruz Ramirex is truly the rising star of gender equality in the racing world.

This skirt features Cruz colors and embroidery. Fabric tutus similar to the one shown above are all the rage with younger girls.  I’ve heard of birthday parties at which each guest makes her own hula-type tutu.  One kindergarten class made these for an end of the year project.

Most of the quick, easy, and fun skirts are simply strips of fabric knotted over a circle of elastic.  Cruz’s skirt is tutu Version 2.0, with less bulk at the waist.  It includes a casing waistband which captures folded strips rather than knotted.  It also features her personal embroidered crest at the center front.  The skirt is paired with a simple white tee embroidered with the equivalent of Cruz’s business card.

 

 

Detailed instructions for this less bulky skirt and more photos are posted here at Brother’s blog, Stitching Sewcial. Continue reading

Antique Featherstitch Extravaganza

“Needlework is a way to capture Love, Beauty, Peace & Time.” unknown

antique woolen petticoat, heavily embellished with surface embroidery, feather stitching and moth holes

 

Antique needlework has always intrigued me.  So when I spotted this petticoat in an antique shop many years ago, the owner was surprised when I smiled and purchased this moth-eaten slip.  Her eyes said “Why would you want that?”  but her mouth said, “THANK YOU!”

First, I’ve always wondered who made this and who wore it?  Whoever kept warm in this petticoat was either a beloved child or a tiny young lady.  The satin waist band measures a scant 22,”  has a lovely hand stitched buttonhole and a pearl button.  The length is 24″.  My first thought was just who would go to all this trouble for a child’s under garment?  Then, as a mother and grandmother who has spent countless hours on a single garment for a precious little one,  I laughed at that absurd thought.  And I know many of you are laughing, too!  At any rate, I’ll never know for whom this was stitched, but it’s obvious she was well loved.

Needlework is a way to capture Love, Beauty, Peace & Time.” unknown

Well, clearly there is little to be done with this moth-meal leftover other than study it.  And it certainly is worthy of careful scrutiny, with the exception of the moth holes.  Just look at the features. Continue reading