![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/BacktoDrawingboardIngred.jpg\" "\\"BacktoDrawingboardIngred\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt’s back to the drawing board for Laurel’s Christmas dress.\u00c2\u00a0 The day after\u00c2\u00a0it was\u00c2\u00a0ordered, the luscious black velveteen arrived from The Sewing Studio.\u00c2\u00a0 I was already working, full steam ahead, on the ivory Swiss batiste pinafore bib to slip over\u00c2\u00a0the black dress\u00c2\u00a0(see previous post), when it arrived.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Then disaster struck.<\/p>\n
But let me back up a minute.\u00c2\u00a0 I like to stitch the shoulder seams before inserting laces, so\u00c2\u00a0 the lace is a continuous piece, from bottom of the front yoke to the bottom of the back yoke.\u00c2\u00a0 By doing so, there is no break in the lace pattern and no fudging to get the laces to match up absolutely perfectly at the shoulder.<\/p>\n
So after inserting one row of\u00c2\u00a0 Swiss beading from front to back, nearly 20″, I discovered it\u00c2\u00a0was defective.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n There\u00c2\u00a0was\u00c2\u00a0a gap between the fabric and one of the eyelets for the ribbon.\u00c2\u00a0 It had never occurred to me to check for flaws.\u00c2\u00a0 Imported trims are expensive and thus, perfect, I foolishly thought. WRONG!\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 I stand corrected. Okay, so nothing is perfect, right?\u00c2\u00a0 Well, except for my grandchildren, of course.<\/p>\n Enlarge to see the defects\/gaps beside ribbon carrier eyelets.<\/p><\/div>\n Ever so carefully, I removed the tiny zig\u00c2\u00a0zag stitches, removed the beading\u00c2\u00a0and pulled out another length of this lovely stuff.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Half way through that application, I\u00c2\u00a0was heartsick to see not just one but several such defects.\u00c2\u00a0 I unrolled the entire 10 yard bold and saw defects no less frequently than every 10″.\u00c2\u00a0 I cannot even remember where, several\u00c2\u00a0years ago, \u00c2\u00a0I purchased this and the matching insertion.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0So I’ve put it away and will have to use it in short lengths.\u00c2\u00a0 The partially finished pinafore bib goes in the scrap bag.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe I will make a doll dress to match. But for now,\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0I was back to square one for Laurel’s pinafore bib.<\/p>\n Even a trip to the drawing board had to wait.\u00c2\u00a0 All three grandchildren here\u00c2\u00a0for a fun filled, glorious\u00c2\u00a0weekend with pumpkin carving, tractor riding, tree house climbing and football watching.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0So\u00c2\u00a0no designing or sewing went on.\u00c2\u00a0 Saturday,\u00c2\u00a0we put 6 year old Laurel in charge of entertaining 19 month old Alastair on the back porch, gave an iPad to\u00c2\u00a05 year old computer guru Robert and then bit our nails, grinned, moaned, groaned and\u00c2\u00a0cheered while we watched the Florida\/Georgia game.\u00c2\u00a0 After the 34-31 Gator win, I decided that\u00c2\u00a0flawed Swiss beading wasn’t the the end of the world.<\/p>\n Trying to find a silver lining to this untimely delay to my holiday sewing, I thought “oh well.”\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00c2\u00a0think I\u00c2\u00a0prefer lace beading and insertion anyway, rather than the heavier Swiss trims.\u00c2\u00a0 Another substitution is regular, sheer\u00c2\u00a0Nelona, more suitable to the lighter laces than the heavier weight\u00c2\u00a0Swiss batiste.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0And because the Nelona champagne color is lighter, I’ve\u00c2\u00a0chosen to use ecru laces.\u00c2\u00a0So the new bib will be different in every way except for the graceful Sugar Plum Fairy embroidery from A Bit of Stitch<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n I’m a positive person.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve decided that I am glad the Swiss trim was bad, glad to have a second chance to get this just right.\u00c2\u00a0 Yeah, sure I am……<\/p>\n Back to the machine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s back to the drawing board for Laurel’s Christmas dress.\u00c2\u00a0 The day after\u00c2\u00a0it was\u00c2\u00a0ordered, the luscious black velveteen arrived from The Sewing Studio.\u00c2\u00a0 I was already working, full steam ahead, on the ivory Swiss batiste pinafore bib to slip … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>