Needlework Flashback: Easter Past

Every now and then - usually around a holiday - I take a look back and share some photos of my hand stitched needlework pieces that make up my holiday decor.

In 2009, I shared a piece called Rejoice, He is Risen from 1996. Here's a look at some of the other Easter counted cross stitch pieces in my collection.

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I can hardly believe that I stitched this piece, called Garden Basket, nearly 20 years ago! It was designed by Anne Fetzer, and appeared in For the Love of Cross Stitch magazine, March 1991. It's still one of my favorites!

This was stitched using cotton floss on linen over two threads, and was one of the first linen pieces I ever finished and had professionally framed.

This one is called Bunny Hop, and is a Mill Hill Spring Series V kit, using seed beads and cross stitch on perforated paper.

I hand-painted a wood frame from the local craft store to imitate the kit's model photo. This was completed a little more recently (only 11 years ago) in 2000.

Here is Paddy O'Hare, a stand-up figure made from a Special Edition kit from Lizzie Kate. He's stitched in regular and overdyed cotton flosses on overdyed linen and is embellished with buttons, a straw hat, whiskers and a little metal shovel.I completed this one in 2003.

There are a few other members of Paddy's clan still in my stash, waiting for someone to stitch them someday....

Happy Easter!

Insulated Water Bottle Carrier #15

Wow, this is the 15th time I've made one of these insulated water bottle carriers! You can see all 15 in my Insulated Water Bottle Carriers set on Flickr.

A friend asked me to make this one for her daughter for Easter. Her daughter is fond of wolves and camouflage patterns, so we tried to combine the two motifs into this project.

Here's a closer look at the machine embroidered Black & White Wolf applique design (purchased several years ago from Embroidery.com).

To get the background really white, I used 3 layers of white nylon fabric for the applique, though if I were to make this again, I might choose a tan background fabric to coordinate with straps.

Like most of the other insulated bottle carriers I've made, the outside is made of black sport nylon fabric, and the inside lining is white ripstop nylon. I use nylon fabric for the water bottle carriers because it is water and mildew resistant, and can be washed easily. The carrier is insulated using Insul-Bright batting which does an excellent job of keeping things cold or hot.

The adjustable shoulder strap was made using 1 inch wide black webbing with 5/8" camouflage grosgrain ribbon sewn onto one side using invisible thread.

The swivel hooks, D-rings, and cord stop are all black plastic; I considered using silver metal hardware, but the black looked cooler.

Looking at the back of the carrier, you can see I've lengthened the attachment strap for the swivel hook (along the left of the photo). That extended section is attached at the top and bottom of the carrier and is intended to be used as a handle for easy gripping while drinking.

The strap can be adjusted to carry a water bottle over the shoulder, across the body or around the waist. Without the strap, the carrier can be clipped to a backpack or around the handle of a carriage or stroller. And it can fit into the cup holders of most cars.

To go with the water bottle carrier, we decided to add this ID Zip & Go wallet (in-the-hoop design by Embroidery Garden), made using the same nylon fabric and camouflage ribbon loop for the keyring.

If I decide to make more ID wallets using the nylon fabric, I'll use traditional sewing rather than using the embroidery design version, as it was much too difficult to work with. Nevertheless, the wallet looks really good.

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I'll be making at least one more Wolf-embroidered water bottle carrier soon, a very belated Christmas gift ... and there may be one or two with Westie embroidery popping up in my SewAmazin ArtFire Studio in the near future.

ETA: bottle carriers are now available in my new Studio Section: Insulated Water Bottle Carriers.

A Shrug for Emily - Butterick 6421

My niece Emily, who also happens to be my Goddaughter, is making her First Holy Communion in May. Her Mom bought her a very nice RTW dress, but thought it needed some alterations so they brought it to me to see what could be done.

Emily tried it on and told us that the dress felt "heavy" and "full". When we looked underneath at the lining of the dress, we found 2 layers of very stiff crinoline! So the first item on the list of alterations was to remove that itchy stuff!

It seemed as if the length of the dress would be okay after removing the crinoline and everything else fit her quite well.

But I was worried about the fact that the bodice was sleeveless. I'm always cold - and the early part of May could be warm and muggy or rainy and cool.

Emily's Mom was thinking sweaters, but Emily was decidedly unenthusiastic about that option ... and I can't say I blame her, since a sweater would cover up and detract from her dress. I was thinking removable sleeves - as in a simple, bolero style shrug made of an elegant sheer fabric to enhance the dress.

I made a shrug for myself several years ago to wear to a wedding. We had Emily try it on as an example of the style, since it was way too big and the wrong color. And she liked it - which means a lot coming from an 8 year old. We even found sheer organza and crepe-backed satin fabrics in my stash that we could use to make it. All I needed was a pattern in a girls' size ...

I looked at some patterns that are currently available for girls, but could not find the right style. The feature that is most attractive about MY shrug is the fact that there aren't any shoulder seams, and the only patterns I could find were constructed like traditional jackets with set-in sleeves.

So I decided to search for out-of-print patterns and luckily found Butterick 6421 - which is a girls' sized pattern for Dresses in various lengths, with princess seams and a-line skirts INCLUDING the exact shrug I was looking for! It's virtually the same pattern as Butterick 6534, which what I used to make my own shrug several years ago, scaled proportionally for girls and teens.

The pattern was available in the correct size from an eBay vendor, and the rest was easy. This time around I have a much nicer sewing machine AND a serger, so the seams are all finished neatly and professionally.

I traced the pattern for a size 7 and sewed and serged the underarm seams, then had Emily try it on for size. We decided to take about 3 inches off the sleeve length, but everything else was fine. The last step was to make the bias trim from the satin fabric and apply it the wrists and the neckline edges. I thought about getting fancy and using a decorative stitch, but decided that less is more, so it is sewn with just a straight stitch.

I've written a review of Butterick 6421 over at PatternReview.com.

Here are some pictures of her dress, before and after removing the crinoline. It's not quite so poofy in the skirt, but I think Emily prefers it that way - she's not really into twirly skirts.

Before

After

This is how the crinoline was attached to the lining of the dress - there were two layers, both were removed by carefully cutting and removing the stitches. And both layers are still standing up at attention in the corner of my sewing room!

This is a closeup view of the bodice section - it is covered with a layer of 'fabric' made from woven ribbons, with pearl beads as accents.

This is a close-up of the hem of the dress - the woven ribbon motif is repeated.

Emily's Mom plans to make her a hairpiece/barrette with similar ribbon-work.

I'll try to share some photos of her wearing the dress and shrug, after the big day.

In-The-Hoop Quilted Wristlets & Accessories

Have I mentioned that I'm a little obsessed with in-the-hoop embroidery? I've been having so much fun making up these designs from Embroidery Garden! Virtually all the sewing is done in the hoop - when the design is finished stitching, pretty much all that's left to do is trim, finish off the seams and turn right side out.

A couple of months ago, I showed some of my samples to a few friends to get their feedback on whether or not to include these in my SewAmazin ArtFire studio. One of the girls asked me to make a couple of Quilted Wristlets using fabric from her stash. Of course, I said yes!

Kris is a long-time bunny owner, so the first wristlet is made with this cute fabric with bunnies and carrots on a red background.

I selected a red zipper and matching red embroidery thread to do the quilting/embroidery/sewing, so that it would blend in, but still have texture. The little wrist strap was done before the embroidery phase and I chose a silver lobster clasp and matching 1/2 inch split ring for attachment hardware.

Kris had asked for the lining to be made from a second fabric, printed with tiny carrots and heads of lettuce, but in my sewing room, the colors didn't seem to work, so I made the wristlet in all one fabric.

To make up for not using her second fabric in the wristlet, I decided to use it to make her a coordinating monogrammed key fob (another design from Embroidery Garden), using the same red embroidery thread and red grosgrain ribbon for the monogram section.

I think they both turned out great, and Kris didn't seem to mind my artistic decision on the fabric choices.

The finished size of the wristlet is about 5.75 inches x 9 inches and it's just the right size to carry a few essential items like a wallet, cell phone and keys.

The key fob is about 5 inches long with a 10 inch circumference, so it can slide onto the wrist like a bracelet, leaving the hands free to carry packages, etc.

Embroidery Garden's instructions for most of the in-the-hoop designs recommend using a woven type of water soluble stabilizer (wss). I tried substituting tear-away on one of my earlier samples and decided it was worth it to use the wss, because the finished piece is softer and it's just easier to remove all traces of excess stabilizer around the zipper and other important areas.

Kris gave me a second set of fabrics to make a quilted wristlet for a gift, and this time I was able to make the lining using her choice for contrasting fabric.

The outside of the wristlet is a glittery aqua cotton fabric. I chose a matching colored zipper and embroidery thread to do the quilting/embroidery/sewing again, so that the glitter would sparkle without any distractions.

Can you picture this with some added bling in the form of a brooch or some other sparkly jewelry?

The wrist strap for this one is completely removable; to dress up the wristlet, a silver chain or bracelet could be substituted for the strap.

The lobster clasp and split rings are the same that I used for the bunny wristlet above.

Here's a peek inside - the lining fabric's got yellow and blue "bubbles" splattered on a spring green background.

To make both sides of the lining with the contrasting fabric, I had to modify the way the back piece is pre-quilted in the embroidery hoop. Normally a single piece of fabric is used; instead, I joined two smaller pieces of fabric and aligned the seam where the instructions normally align the center fold.

On the finished wristlet, you can see a bit of the lining fabric poking through where the back of the wristlet joins the zipper - so next time I do this adjustment, I'll have to remember to offset that joining seam by 1/4 - 3/8 inch, so it will be hidden behind the zipper.

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These are two more in-the-hoop accessory designs from Embroidery Garden, made for a friend who is also a musician.

At left is a small monogram zipper case which can be used as a coin purse or wallet. It's slightly smaller than 4x4 inches square and can carry small items such as hand sanitizer, ID cards, cash, and could easily be clipped onto a key ring for a quick trip out to the store or the gym.

And to go along with the musical zipper pouch, a musical themed key fob holder with a snap. This one is large enough to carry lipstick or lip balm, a USB drive and other small items.

My friend suggested that her bluetooth earpiece will fit inside. I think it would also be useful for keeping track of all those bar-coded key ring membership cards that all the stores seem to be handing out these days.

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To see more samples, visit my Flickr set: ArtFire Sample photos or visit my SewAmazin ArtFire Studio.