Category Archives: heirloom sewing

All About Lace Tape Part 2a

Posted on September 10, 2018 | Leave a comment

There have been some questions lately about the use of lace tape. I completely forgot that I had not finished my intended Part 2 post, as I meant to stitch up a few more samples.  But I didn’t.  So here is an incomplete–there is so much more!– but informative post about lace tape, especially for Georgia.  I hope that when life slows down, if it ever does, I’ll show you more about this fabulous product.  But for now, this is all I have.

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Here is Part 2 about lace tape, with more posts to come.  Aside from being very busy with life in general, I’ve put this off because so much time is required to stitch out samples that illustrate the techniques.    So instead of covering several applications, future lace tape posts will deal with one or two techniques.

To begin, I want to show the two types of lace tape and their differences.  The product I sold and used in my classes was made in Japan.  The newer variety of lace tape  is made in Switzerland.  Both kinds are available from Farmhouse Fabrics.

Why is it so important to know the difference?  Because there are many uses for which one or the other is better.  As the techniques are detailed, my suggested preference will be noted.  FYI, I have updated Part 1 with these suggested preferences. Continue reading →

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Posted in heirloom sewing, lace tape, techniques

Church Dress for Beatrice

Posted on August 20, 2018 | 6 comments

OFB Smocked layette dress pattern on white Imperial batiste.

At last Baby Bea’s church dress is finished. So many things I wish I had done differently, but it is done. The pattern is OFB Smocked Layette, made from white Imperial batiste.

I used this pattern with the little bit of smocking because I wanted to focus on the cross embroidered trim at the hemline. It would have looked better, I think, with short sleeves.

Because the cross embroidery is Swiss, I felt compelled to use Swiss for the other trims. Do you ever mix heirloom laces with Swiss on the same garment? I’d like to know your opinion on that.

The tiny Swiss trim at the neckline and smocked sleeves should be short enough to avoid irritating her delicate newborn skin. It has a built in entredeux stitch so I wove that with floss to add a little color higher on the daygown.

The cross trim at the hem was 6″ wide.After attaching it to the entredeux beading there just seemed to be too much blank space. So I removed it, trimmed the cross piece to 4″ and rejoined it to a new piece of entredeux beading, threaded with pink ribbon.

It still looked to plain so I added twin needle “shadow work” in pink on either side of the beading.

This is the first bonnet I have ever made with the ruffle behind the smocking. I’m not sure I like it, but Bea is so tiny, just now 7 lbs. that I thought the ruffle might obscure too much of her precious face.

The twin needle work was repeated on the back of the bonnet near the drawstring ribbon.

Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, church projects, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, machine embroidery, smocking

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Wrapped in Love

Posted on July 2, 2018 | 5 comments

Swiss flannel with pinstitch joining lace to fabric. Pinstitch is woven with pink perle cotton.

 

I can’t seem to stop thinking about Beatrice.  She is the soon-to-be-born, soon-to-be-adopted baby girl whose waiting parents are active members of our church.   So I sew.  When she is in their arms, she will be wrapped in love, with or without this shawl.

Soft, luxurious Swiss flannel is perfect for any baby.   Especially here in Florida where winters are usually moderate, a tiny one dressed in this fabric can go out on the town without being bundled in a parka.  The blanket coordinates with a bonnet and smocked daygown featured in earlier posts.  I hope to duplicate them for Baby Beatrice.

Pinstitch and Swiss flannel go together like peas and carrots.  The holes were perfectly clear and clean, as always, but were woven with perle cotton because I wanted a little more color near the perimeter.

 

 

The lace edging is my favorite blanket trim as it can withstand heavy laundering and still flaunts its heirloom ancestry.

Six inches from the lace is a zig zag feather stitch frame, interspersed with embroidery. That stitch is worked in soft green, but I was unable to get a good scan of it.  It shows up clearly in this photo from another project.  With 30 wt. cotton thread, it works up nicely.

 

 

This stitch is one I designed several years ago in Brother’s exclusive My Custom Stitch feature.  If you have a Brother machine which includes MCS, I would be happy to share it with you.  Just leave your request at the end of this post.

 

Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, free patterns and designs, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery

FREE Heirloom Baby Dress Sew-Along

Posted on June 16, 2018 | 13 comments

Heirloom Baby Gown Sew-Along presented by Brother International Corporation

 

Classic Sewing Magazine  is offering a FREE Sew-Along.  I made this sweet little dress/daygown for Brother’s submission to the magazine and it is being offered to you. The instructions have been broken into 4 lessons.

Written for beginners, it also includes tips and suggestions that might be useful for experienced heirloom sewists.  Techniques such as lace insertion, lace shaping, pin stitch, joining gathered lace, etc. are included.

The first two lessons have been posted so go sign up!  You must be signed up to get notification of the next lessons.

I do hope you will join us.  Just click on the link in  the opening photo and you will be taken to the site to sign up.  The sleeves on this pattern (Simplicity 8024) are just precious.

Let’s sew along!

 

 

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Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery

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Easter ’18 Week

Posted on April 7, 2018 | 8 comments

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 →

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Posted in accessories, boys, brother-sister, free patterns and designs, girls, heirloom sewing, lace tape, machine embroidery, Nana fun, Second Time Around

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Valentine Free Fil Tire’ Heart

Posted on February 5, 2018 | 158 comments

 

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I am again offering this free fil tire’ heart design.  There are many new readers who might enjoy this and some older readers who might have missed it.  The design is so suitable for this holiday celebrating love.  And what says love better than a heart?

I so appreciate the support and encouragement you dear readers have given me  through the years.  For the some time now I have been extraordinarily busy and posts have been few and far between. And yet you still stop by to read my infrequent chats. I thank you for that.

For this day celebrating love, I am offering this free machine embroidered fil tire’ heart, along with wishes for love each day.  Just leave your request for the design as a comment at the bottom of this post.
 Continue reading →

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Posted in free patterns and designs, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery

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Children and Puppies=Inevitable Damage

Posted on June 28, 2017 | 6 comments

Children and puppies–I do love and enjoy them.  Damages are to be expected and the children who are the light of my life  never fail to deliver in their younger days.

 

 

Recently, Vivian Rose, 4 yo, was here for a week of Nana Camp.  She is a scamp so I rarely let her out of my sight.  But one  day she slipped away while I was on the phone.  She was wearing her back-to-school Children’s Corner Jane.

 

At the top of her head is what Vivi calls her “fountain.” This was her signature look for a few weeks at the beginning of the last school year. She loved it.

 

As I turned away from  the kitchen sink, Vivi stood behind me, looking quite artificially serene.  Her outfit was streaked with what looked like peach sidewalk chalk marks.

 

Vivi’s back to school Jane.  After laundering the stain remains

 

“What’s on your shirt, Vivi?”

Smiling sweetly, “Dirt.  Umm hmm.  Brown dirt.”

“It doesn’t look like brown dirt.”

Big blue eyes widen as she replies, “Well, the red polish was vewwy vewwy high u—uh, I mean…. it’s brown dirt.” She smiled and walked away.  End of subject.  What she lacks in honesty, she makes up for in creative explanations. Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, lace tape, quilts

Opinions Change–Hurrah!

Posted on May 22, 2017 | 16 comments

Children’s Corner Gwen with lengthened sleeve ruffles.

 

Granddaughter Vivian Rose, 4 yo, has always had strong opinions about her wardrobe.  Her taste in fashion has been less than classic, requiring bribes  for her to wear many of the garments I have made her.

But now she has changed her mind!!!!  She is asking for more Nana dresses!

It’s like she is recognizing her femininity, the flip side of her (Tarzan’s) Jane or Moana Strong Female persona.

 

 

I love this picture, taken when the family was on a camping trip last weekend. She looks like an Amazon girl, bringing home the 5 yo “man” she bagged! Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, Second Time Around, smocking

Beautiful Easter ’17

Posted on April 20, 2017 | 13 comments

What a hambone! This little girl in her smocked Swiss voile bishop loves the camera.

 

I hope you all had a joyous Easter.  Ours was beyond fabulous, with a beautiful worship service and all four grandchildren and their parents for the weekend.  It could only have been better if our pilot son had not  been flying out in the wild blue yonder.

It was a non-stop celebration.  Saturday morning a church family hosted an Easter egg  hunt for 40+ children.  Wonderful as the hunt and the huge bounce house were, the highlight for most of the children was fishing in the pond.  Those fish were hungry and hit on every line.  Every child caught at least one fish. Grandson Alastair, 8, caught 4!  He was ecstatic.

 

 

Vivian Rose also caught a fish but she seemed more disgusted than thrilled.  She was happy to have her daddy’s help dealing with her catch.  She looked so cute and comfortable in her Petite Poche Penny. Continue reading →

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Posted in accessories, antique textiles, antique/vintage textiles, girls, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery, Nana fun, smocking

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Opinions? Easter Dress in Progress

Posted on April 7, 2017 | 15 comments

Pink Swiss voile, ivory entredeux, cherub medallion, heirloom laces and bishop pattern from Mimi’s Heirloom Sewing Book Two.

 

My life is absolutely wonderful but SO busy!  These new puppies chew up a lot of time… and a lot of everything else.!  They are adorable and we are crazy about them.  But they are one of the big reasons it’s been so long since I’ve posted.

 

Samson and Delilah, each 21 lbs, 10 weeks old

 

At this late date I am starting on Easter dresses for 4 yo granddaughter Vivian Rose.  One, of course, is for Easter Sunday.  The other is for the church egg hunt on Sat.  But that is on the back burner until Sunday’s dress is finished.

For several years I have had a piece of what must have been an exquisite tablecloth featuring cherubs and roses.  You probably figured out that roses are a bonus for anything I make for Vivi.

I’m thankful that someone had the foresight to save the remnants.  From the first time I saw it, I imagined one of those cherub medallions in a granddaughter’s dress.   Finally, the time has come.

 

each cherub is 3″ tall

 

The plan is to modify a bishop with several inches removed from the front.  That would leave a flat area on the Swiss voile for the single cherub.  As you can see, it is already pinstitched to the voile.  I love love love pinstitch and use it whenever possible.  This time a #100 needle was used instead of a wing for fear that a wing would cut through the dense portions of the lace.

 

cherub medallion secured to Swiss voile with pinstitch W 2.5 L 2.5

Continue reading →

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Posted in antique/vintage textiles, girls, heirloom sewing

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