Covid 19 Stitching Part A

Hi Folks,
It’s been some time since posting, but have no fear, I am still here.

Many of you know that I host “Stitch Therapy Tuesday” every week at my studio where A group of sewing friends come to my studio for a few hours of stitching, conversation and of course, food. Yes, that’s right: we eat lunch together too.

Everyone brings her own projects to work on, which is quite interesting and informative, and we love seeing what each other is doing during the week. We bounce ideas off each other and sometimes we plan a project for a guinea pig class. We support each other in good times and not so good times, and provide “therapy” as needed. We are all members of the GNO SAGA chapter guild and have been friends for over 25 years.

Our group of about 20 participants, communicate via GroupMe app during the week while we sew. We are a driven group whose projects are quite varied. We each bring something different to the table. I would like to share with you just a few of the projects we have been working on since the quarantine. What talent!

Easter Sewing

Jane Briscoe made this lovely smocked dress for her granddaughter, Caroline using the Children’s Corner “April” bodice and her rendition of a design developed by Ann Strickler. .
Combing the endless pleats.
Leslye Usner created this precious sun dress for Jane’s granddaughter, Josephine, using Old Fashioned Baby’s” French Acadian Sundress”.
Another view of Caroline’s sweet dress by Jane Briscoe.
Leslye Usner also made this beautiful smocked dress using CC “April” bodice and her rendition of a design developed by Ann Strickler.
Cute knit dresses are CC “Nora” with an added collar, made by Diane Palmisano.
Diane Palmisano made these twirly skirts for her granddaughters without using a pattern with strips of fabric in her stash. Each row was cut longer and wider than the previous row to create fullness.
Jeanne Buffat completed this precious smocked dress and matching sweater designed by Gail Doane.
Jeanne also made this precious blue neoprene dress from a pattern download.
Jeanne Buffat completed the adorable project from Peggy Burley’s class, which we attended in Baton Rouge a few weeks ago.
Here is Barky Graziano’s Peggy Burley class project! Very sweet design.

A closeup of the project made by Barky Graziano, featuring thread replacement and cast-on flowers.
This beautiful first Communion dress was lovingly made by Diane Palmisano for her granddaughter.
These two holy communion dresses were made by Diane Palmisano using “Rose” pattern by Sue Stewart Designs. The fagotted insert was adapted to the pattern and worked by hand. Beautiful!
Cindy Gebbia made this adorable boy’s shirt for her grandson, who is a twin.
Cindy Gebbia made this precious shift dress for her granddaughter, who is a twin.

Keep in mind that this is only the photos they have shared with me, and does not include every project they are working on.
Stay tuned for Part B in a separate post.

Tootles!
Wendy

Granito vs. Padded Satin Dots

At first glance, Granitos (translated Little Grain), are pearl-like dots stitched in the fabric. The stitch requires no under-padding, but instead, the working thread is mounded continuously until the desired effect is obtained. This consists of only two stitching points, A to B, repeated over and over causing the stitches to mound over until they resemble a small dot in thegranito-flower fabric. This is similar to what you may have experienced while machine stitching and the foot of the machine gets stuck in one place, so the stitches keep mounding up. Granitos can be rendered correctly up to a certain size so if a larger dot is required, another technique such as padded dots can achieve the desired effect. I prefer to make my Granitos sans-hoop while working over the finger.

granito-photo-all-steps

 

Padded satin dots are completely different. The area of the dot is outlined with a very secure foundation stitch such as split-stitch or stem stitch; I prefer the former. The inside of the dot is padded either with “line padding” or chain stitching. Line padding can be layered by alternating stitch directions from one layer to the next, first beginning in the centermost point of the dot and gradually getting wider as the layers are added. The final layer should lay perpendicular to the satin stitches so planning is essential.

padded-satin-dots

It is said that every embroiderer is judged by her skill in making padded satin dots so can be quite challenging to master. It’s easy to go completely wrong while stitching these tricky little round circles, but with a little practice and the correct techniques, you can achieve mastery with a few tidbits of techniques and a lot of practice. Padded dots are best worked in hoop to prevent the dots going oval.

I hope you try both techniques and before you know it, you’ll be including them in your embroidery projects regularly. The accomplishment is enormously rewarding and the effect is absolutely intriguing.

Please check back for additional stitch techniques pertaining to this design. If you would like to purchase a copy of Babes in Blue pattern, please contact me via email: wendschoen@aol.com.

The Easy Way to Attach Tatting

babes-in-blue-collar
This little dress is created using a vintage baby dress from my vast and ever-growing collection of vintage baby clothes. The original was made of broadcloth, as most of the dresses from the 50s, but I chose to make it from linen. The project features Madeira Applique, Granitos, Drawn-thread, Buttonhole scalloped edging, and Satin Dots. I will cover all these stitches in my upcoming posts.

Have you ever wondered how some sewists are able to attach tatting to a garment without having the header showing? I know I did until I figured out how to remove the chain-stitched header entirely.

The technique I’m referring to pertains to tatting that has a chain-stitched header. The very narrow tatting has a thread that trails from one loop to the next. If you cut that header, the tatting will come apart, so choose carefully. If you make your own tatting (jealous me!), just leave the header off. You can often find handmade tatting on ebay and those usually never have a header. Finding vintage well-made tatting is certainly like finding hidden treasure so scoop it up for your stash.

Most of the tatting I use is made in China and it is very good quality and is available in many styles and widths. It is cost effective but only available in white or ecru. Oh how I wish I had learned to tat from my grandmother, who sat on her porch and needle tatted all afternoon while rocking in her favorite chair.

babes-in-blue-handout

babes-in-blue-dress
Babes in Blue is available as a project lesson. The pattern is included in one size only, Size 9-12mo. Please contact me via email if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Email: wendschoen@aol.com

babes-in-blue-header