{"id":12100,"date":"2011-04-04T02:26:16","date_gmt":"2011-04-04T06:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/?p=12100"},"modified":"2014-12-22T22:50:54","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T03:50:54","slug":"easter-11-laurels-dress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/04\/easter-11-laurels-dress\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter ’11 ~Laurel’s Dress"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"zEaster11bodiceall@\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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In desperation, I’ve tabled all my to-do’s and should-do’s then\u00c2\u00a0surrendered to MUST-do, which is sewing.\u00c2\u00a0Not only is Easter\u00c2\u00a0just around the corner, but also\u00c2\u00a0I am in serious need of\u00c2\u00a0 a\u00c2\u00a0powerful sewing fix.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0So I’ve retreated to my textile cave, AKA Sewing Machine Garage and\u00c2\u00a0Stash Storage Facility, \u00c2\u00a0for needle and thread therapy.\u00c2\u00a0 If ever I were to fall seriously ill, I’m pretty sure an heirloom sewing session would cure me.<\/p>\n

Laurel is first in line for Easter finery.\u00c2\u00a0 Handling Swiss batiste, heirloom laces and stitching embroidery does for me what baby cord and Imperial broadcloth cannot.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Those items, by the way, are the components of the grandsons’ outfits that I have planned.<\/p>\n

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\"zEaster11Tdresscan\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Since Judith Dobson’s Tea Dress<\/em> appeared on the back cover of Sew Beautiful <\/em>in the January 1989 issue, \u00c2\u00a0I’ve wanted to make this beauty.\u00c2\u00a0 At the time, my Rebecca was already 14 years old so I knew that making the Tea Dress was not a project I would take on \u00c2\u00a0in\u00c2\u00a0the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

Now that my precious granddaughter Laurel is nearly 7,\u00c2\u00a0the Tea Dress\u00c2\u00a0seems like a perfect transition\u00c2\u00a0between little girl high yokes and big girl waisted frocks.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The design and lines\u00c2\u00a0just seem a little more sophisticated to me.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Nonetheless, this confection would sweet on girls of any age–but not 14.<\/p>\n

Coordinating outfits for my three grandchildren is quite a challenge. Do you remember Debbie Glenn’s\u00c2\u00a0Sew Beautiful series on sewing for three?\u00c2\u00a0 Who can forget!\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00c2\u00a0plan to pull out those mags and re-examine them from a need-to perspective.\u00c2\u00a0 With the\u00c2\u00a0Alastair 2 and Robert 5 years old, I\u00c2\u00a0can only coordinate them with Laurel’s garments by using color.\u00c2\u00a0 So\u00c2\u00a0blue it is.<\/p>\n

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\"bodice<\/a><\/p>\n

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I’ve struggled with the bodice embroidery and finally decided on designs from the Fil\u00c2\u00a0Tire’ and Fancywork Combinations <\/em>machine embroidery collection,\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0the\u00c2\u00a0product of collaboration between my dear\u00c2\u00a0 and talented friend Suzanne Sawko and me.\u00c2\u00a0 The fil tire’ looks especially nice against a contrasting color, so a blue Imperial batiste slip will be worn under the white Nelona dress.\u00c2\u00a0 As I write, that batiste is en route from Farmhouse Fabrics which I imagine to be the Ultimate Textile Cave.\u00c2\u00a0 Some day I’m going to make a pilgrimage there.<\/p>\n

Suzanne and I are in agreement that a little hand embroidery significantly\u00c2\u00a0enhances a machine embroidery design.\u00c2\u00a0 With Easter’s April 24th date rapidly approaching, I\u00c2\u00a0could only manage a few French knots.\u00c2\u00a0 But I do think they add\u00c2\u00a0nicely to the effect.<\/p>\n

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\"bodice<\/a><\/p>\n

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We also agree that cotton embroidery thread\u00c2\u00a0enables a “hand look” machine embroidery to look more convincingly like the hand embroidery it strives to emulate.\u00c2\u00a0 The fil tire’ is stitched with a wing needle and ecru 80 wt.Madeira Cotona.\u00c2\u00a0 For the leaves, 30 wt. Mettler thread was used, for the flowers, 50 wt. DMC and for the tiny tendril, 60 wt. Mettler.\u00c2\u00a0 A 50 wt. cotton quilting thread from Robison-Anton was used for the L<\/em><\/strong> monogram (from Monogram Wizard with the addition of a spray from the same\u00c2\u00a0fil tire’ embroidery collection).\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 http:\/\/www.allthreads.com\/Robison_Anton_50wt_Cotton_Quilting_Thread_King.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n

This Super Stitch 50 wt. quilting thread is my #1 choice for monograms as it is much heavier than the DMC 50 wt. I love this thread!!!\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I bought three 3000 yd. king spools, in white, ecru and eggshell so I will never run out.\u00c2\u00a0 Likely it is 3 ply, though I haven’t taken the time to examine it closely.\u00c2\u00a0Its extra weight gives lettering a padded satin stitch look.\u00c2\u00a0 But because the Nelona is sheer and fine,\u00c2\u00a0 I did reduce the density by 10% in Buzztools2.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0In my opinion, the variety of thread weights contributes positively to\u00c2\u00a0the “looks like hand embroidery”\u00c2\u00a0deception attempt.<\/p>\n

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\"Easter11backembscancrop\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The back yoke is embroidered with another design from that collection.\u00c2\u00a0 So often I think of Elizabeth Travis Johnson’s suggestion that “something pretty” should appear on the back.\u00c2\u00a0 Twice, I roomed with this delightful legend who waxed eloquently on the subject.<\/p>\n

As you may know, she was deaf for\u00c2\u00a0a good part\u00c2\u00a0of her adult life.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Consequently she spent\u00c2\u00a0much of Sunday worship service\u00c2\u00a0 in personal prayer, meditation and contemplation.\u00c2\u00a0 She confided that once, sitting\u00c2\u00a0in the pew\u00c2\u00a0in near silence, she looked at the congregants backs and wished there had been some detail that would catch her eye.\u00c2\u00a0 After that, she often made a point of wearing a pin on the back of her dress for church.\u00c2\u00a0 For children, she suggestion, the back is what is most often seen, so why not embellish it?\u00c2\u00a0 The petite sprays on\u00c2\u00a0the back of Laurel’s Tea Dress honor\u00c2\u00a0EJT’s\u00c2\u00a0suggestion.<\/p>\n

I used my own technique for constructing the bodice.\u00c2\u00a0 The instructions direct you to\u00c2\u00a0create the front–inserting lace, working embroidery, and then repeating these steps on the back.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve never been happy with the lace seamed at the shoulder and often the lace does not match up exactly.\u00c2\u00a0 This is probably operator error, but I don’t like to struggle when there is an easier way.<\/p>\n

Joining the shoulder seams first and then inserting the lace\u00c2\u00a0gives a nicer effect, in my humble opinion.\u00c2\u00a0 By doing so,\u00c2\u00a0not only is the lace continuous and\u00c2\u00a0unseamed, but the pinstitching is also continuous and flows smoothly across the shoulder.<\/p>\n

I hope to finish the sleeves tonight. And like Robert Frost, I have miles to go before\u00c2\u00a0 I sleep.\u00c2\u00a0 But my miles are marked with pinstitching\u00c2\u00a0which is not “the road less traveled.”\u00c2\u00a0 Now, back to\u00c2\u00a0my textile cave.<\/p>\n

What are you sewing for Easter? Have you started?\u00c2\u00a0 Are you finished?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  In desperation, I’ve tabled all my to-do’s and should-do’s then\u00c2\u00a0surrendered to MUST-do, which is sewing.\u00c2\u00a0Not only is Easter\u00c2\u00a0just around the corner, but also\u00c2\u00a0I am in serious need of\u00c2\u00a0 a\u00c2\u00a0powerful sewing fix.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0So I’ve retreated to my textile cave, AKA Sewing … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,8,25,28,18],"tags":[368,232,369,1062,277,366,370],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12100"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32380,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100\/revisions\/32380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}