An antique silk gown and a photo shoot

Last week I met with Carla Canonico at A Needle Pulling Thread magazine for a photo shoot. This wonderful needlework magazine is produced right here in little old Newmarket!            

We were photographing the Christmas decorations for the Festive issue, well John, the Art Director and so much more, did the actual photography but Carla and I set up each shot. I of course never thought to bring my own camera to record any of the process...

Yes, the Festive issue and it is only March! Carla and John work so far ahead to bring you this wonderful magazine. I brought in a set of three silk ribbon embroidered decorations making use of some slightly different stitches along with the tried and true. There is a traditional ball, a Christmas tree and a Drummer Boy's drum.

Then a few weeks ago, inspiration struck again and I did up some felt 'cookie cutter' decorations that employ only two stitches for the designs. These are so easy you could even get your little people stitching if they are comfortable with a needle and thread - well maybe it is more like it to say if you are comfortable. After all needlework, particularly embroidery is a hand skill to be passed on the next generation and what better way to spend precious time with your children or grandchildren.

Please go to A Needle Pulling Thread magazine to check it out. From there
you can catch Carla's Face book page and 'like' her beautiful photos!! You might even sign up for a subscription or check out the "needlework pages" a listing of shops and services that you are bound to find helpful.


This is the cover of the newest issue that has just hit the news stands. Preview it on the web site and look for it next time you are out shopping.








Also last week a parcel arrived in the mail from my best friend in England. She always surprises me with these wonderful packages. Inside the gold tissue tied up in the prettiest ombre ribbon, was the most delicate Christening gown in champagne gossamer-fine silk embroidered in ecru silk or rayon thread. It has been made from an embroidered border which has not been trimmed to the edge of the stitching. There obviously was an embroidered insertion made to match.  

For those of us who use heirloom sewing techniques this gown is an anomaly. It is an antique gown from the Victorian or Edwardian era which has been sewn together by sewing machine - French seams of course. The hemstitching that was used to turn up the hem is absolutely perfect and exquisite.
 
The odd thing to me is the way the designer used the insertion pieces on the bodice and sleeves. Hope you can see this in the photo above. The 'waste fabric' has not been removed nor hidden by turning it to the back. Instead it has been used as an edging with part of it turned inside for application. In the CF, it has been made to look like these edges are pin tucks and a second pin tuck sewn beside each edge.
At the waist in the photo it looks like the 'waste fabric' has been turned to the back but on further examination, there is a huge tuck on the inside - an alteration was made but nothing was cut away so next baby could be accommodated.

 
All the embroidery on all the pieces is also perfect - not a sign of puckering. This is quite a feat considering how fine the fabric is and they wouldn't have had all the stabilizers the modern embroidery machines require. Look closely at how perfectly it has been stitched. I simply marvel!
 
 
 
 

The lace edging on the sleeves looks much like some of the fine lace edgings still available from Capitol Imports. Here is a close-up of the sleeve.
 
The designer even made an attempt to math up the pattern of the embroidery in the centre back the only seam in the skirt. But I imagine she was limited by the amount of fabric there was.
 
We can learn so much by studying antique garments. How did they make use of the different parts employed in the garment, what kind of seams, and their size, allowances for alterations and so on.
 
The design is simple enough for anyone to copy. All you need is a basic yoked pattern. Why not turn you had to creating such a gown for some wee babe!
 
So until next time, keep stitching.....

A gift for you....

Sometimes when we are designing a pattern one element or another doesn’t always work.

I usually file these little nuggets away for future use in some other form or pattern but this time I thought you might enjoy this design graph. It is just too sweet to store away. I hope you will this the same.

Smocked on double layer of Imperial Batiste

Why when this is such a pretty little design? Well if you look carefully at the photo you will see how the yoke bubbles slightly. I did everything you are supposed to do, let out the pleats to match the area of the yoke  to which it was to attach, spread my pleats, smocked more loosely at the bottom than the top. But when the seam was sewn, oh no!, it wouldn’t sit right.

 

Out with the steam iron and spray starch but no matter of work with these two was going to solve my problem. Of course it may have been that the piping in the seam was the problem but I was not going to take a chance and publish a design that wouldn’t work.

If it was the piping, I may have stretched it ever so slightly  so that when it relaxed, it ‘bounced back’ to its original length. Nothing short of new piping (I had trimmed off the end of course) and taking everything apart  to re-stitch it all, would have solved this problem.  I am too fussy and yet at the same time too impatient to re do all that stitching. But you are the winner!

I used iridescent seed beads and the faintest variegated floss for the borders and matching pink floss for the central section. You could make bullion roses in place of the seed beads.

Send me a photo of how you have used this design and I will post it here.

So until next time, keep stitching……

Great news! The patterns I've been working on for what seems forever are finally ready for you.

Yes, the little Infant Tuxedo Jacket which coordinates with the Infant Wardrobe I and the little Infant Snowdrift are now both posted on the web site and on the new order form.

 Here are the covers of both. I think you have seen some of the work I have been doing on the samples in past posts to the blog.

If you go to the web site, you will find a full selection of photos with each pattern in the children's section of the Atelier. It would be wonderful to have photos from you of either of these patterns made up as you interpret them to post in the on-line Gallery.

We have a new Order Form and new pricing on the "ComPleater Boxes".

If you are browsing, check put our new Pleater Rods. Bob has created four categories of rods, all hand made and hand finished in wood with the most silky finish. There is even one specifically for travelling to class or convention! You need to see them with their description to determine which would best suit your needs.

Here are a couple of the finished samples from the Infant Snowdrift pattern.



View A with heirloom touches, button back

View B smocked, button back 



 



The Diaper Cover Panties with monogramed tab



Please take a minute and check out all these new things at www.amberlane.ca

I think you will like what you find.

 

 

So till next time, keep stitching!



Create a Chanel seam finish on your garment!

So yesterday was Valentine’s Day and I received the most beautiful bouquet!  

My dear husband outdid himself this year and we even went out for a very special and delicious dinner. It was rather romantic as we were seated right by the restaurant’s fire place. I felt so lucky and special as the pace was packed! The waitress said we had the best spot in the place!!

 

 

This week between other jobs I tested the new Infant Snowdrift pattern in a very soft 21 wale 100% cotton corduroy. It is from Spechler-Vogel and I picked it up a couple of years ago with another project in mind. At the same time I colour-matched it to a tiny gingham check. So when I needed a different weight of fabric these two came to mind.
 

Corduroy is not at all difficult to work with if you keep the nap in mind but is can be messy with little bits of ’fallout’ appearing everywhere from your clothes to every corner of your sewing room and anywhere else that you take your stitching. (I like to do the hand work in the evening in front of the TV). So when it came to seam finishes I wanted to be as creative but sure of ending this fallout as possible. Since I had the coordinating gingham I decided to employ a ‘Hong Kong’ seam finish.

 

I first came across this finish back in my Ryerson days when we learned that it was one of Coco Chanel’s favourite finishes. The jackets of these loosely woven wool tweed suits were sometimes left unlined but teamed with coordinating silk blouses. From the silk fabric she had the seam allowances finished as described below.  

 



Quilting foot, 1" Bias, #10 foot, Seam to be finished 



Now this technique takes a bit of extra time but is worth the effort when done well. The seam allowances in this pattern are only ⅜” which makes them a bit trickier than the traditional ⅝” seam allowances most of you are used to using. I could have done a bit of practising and done a better job on my first seam but was sure I could stitch strait without! Wrong. Accuracy is paramount when working with such tiny details. So I urge you to do as I say not as I did!!

Doing the math was pretty easy. My seam allowance was ⅜” and when pressed open you would see ¾”. You need bias strips to edge the seam allowances. If I made my finish ¼” wide, it would work perfectly to create a proportion of thirds. So I cut the bias strips of gingham 1” wide – ¼” would show on each edge and ¼” of corduroy would be left showing in the middle. I know this doesn’t add up but you have to take into account the ‘turn of the cloth’ and that you need to stretch the bias so very slightly.

 

 

 

 

 

I used my ¼” quilting foot to apply the bias strips to one seam allowance. Trick here is stretch the bias just a tiny bit.

 

 

 

 

Press the bias away from the seam line. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold it along the edge of the garment fabric to the wrong side. Next step is to machine stitch ‘in the ditch’ of the first row of stitching securing the bias on the back of the seam allowance in place.  For this step I used my Bernina #10 foot to ensure straight, perfect, stitching. Check to see if your machine brand has a foot of this type. That is all there is to it.

 

 

 

 

Do one seam allowance completely at a time. It is important to keep the width even throughout the length of the seam. Careful pressing will be a big help as will having the right feet.

Had I been using plain fabric another thought occurred to me as I was doing the ‘stitch in the ditch’ down the length of the seam. I could have used a simple decorative stitch to coordinate with the main fabric or theme of my garment. Just a thought to bank for another garment and another time.

 So here you see how I used the gingham not only for the seam finish but also to finish the top edge of my hem but the Yoke Facing and Diaper Cover Lining.


Always look for interesting ways to make the inside of you garment as beautiful as the outside. The right side of this little ensemble will be on the web site as soon as we can get everything posted.

Be sure to check it out and order the pattern!!

 

Till next time, keep stitching……

 

Moving a Sleeve Seam is Easy

Moving a sleeve seam to avoid a continuous placket in a long sleeve is easy!

 

Why would I want to do this? Well it is a very neat way to create a sleeve placket in any long sleeve and avoid stitching a continuous placket - a job that makes many a sewer cringe!

Printing restrictions being what they are, the sleeve I wanted to use in the Tuxedo Jacket pattern wouldn’t fit onto the pattern sheet. Even a plain sleeve pattern had to be split into two parts – something I really hate to do!

So here I want to show you how to take the plain tuxedo sleeve and move the seam from under the arm to the back quarter.

 

You would follow the same procedure for most long sleeves.

                                                                 Here is the plain sleeve as in the pattern.

Trace off the original onto a clean piece of paper to preserve the original pattern piece.

                                                                            

Fold the pattern in half and mark the fold line. This should be the centre of the sleeve.

Draw in the stitching lines on both the vertical seams.

Draw in the hem line.

 

Fold the Back Sleeve stitching line onto the centre line and mark the new fold line.

You now have divided the back of the Sleeve in half.

 

                                                                                       

Now trim away the Underarm seam allowances.

Cut the pattern apart on the line which divides the Back Pattern in half.

Position the Sleeve pieces so the original Underarm seams match up.

Place your new pattern piece on a new large piece of paper.

 

 

                                                                 

Add back the seam allowances to the New Sleeve seams.

Smooth the lower edge to form a gentle curve. (You can do this free hand or with a French curve or even use the edge of a plate to get a nice line.)

Now add a seam allowance to the lower (wrist) edge.

To finish this Sleeve you will need a Facing.

Draw a line about 1¼” up from the seam edge. (See the green line in the diagram.)

Trace off your new Sleeve pattern and then trace off the Sleeve Hem Facing.

Transfer all markings and label each piece.

 

If you were doing this with a blouse sleeve, the new seam should fall near your wrist bone on the outside of your arm.

To create the Placket, you would stitch down the sleeve seam to within approximately 3½” to 4” from bottom of the sleeve. (Check your original pattern to see what length it calls for.)

You can clip the seam at the point where the stitching ended. Turn lower portion of this seam (which will form the placket) twice and slip stitch or machine stitch to each side of the sleeve.

Finish the remaining sleeve seam allowances and press the seam open.

Carry on with your garment construction.

 

Hope this gives you food for thought the next time you are faced with stitching a Continuous Placket!!

 

So till next time, keep stitching…..

 

 

 

 

How cold is it?

So how cold is it? Too cold!

Canadians love to talk about the weather and this week we've had lots about which to talk. As I lay in bed very early this morning the house creaked and groaned with the cold. I as so glad I didn't have to down stairs to a cold family room to stoke a fire or outside to fetch firewood! We are so lucky to have central heating in our homes today and at times like this even more thankful for those things we take for granted. My friend in England has been enduring extremely wet weather and flooding. In Australia my friend's daughter has been living with extremely high temperatures. We seem to be living in a time of extremes so enjoy what comforts you have and be thankful.

Last summer I made smocked dresses for a couple of little girls who were in a wedding party. I wrote about gathering the layers of silk to get the full skirts attached to the bodices.

Here you see the two little girls in their dresses and considering we only had one preliminary fitting of the pattern pieces they fit reasonably well. 

The adult attendants wore short dresses of the same fabric as the girls' sashes. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding.





So now that we are in a new year and over the holidays and colds that are part of the season, I hope to write more regularly.



Of significant news this month is the closing of the company Grace L. Knott Smocking Supplies Ltd. George Webb, the grandson of Grace Knott, has decided to retire. The company has been in business since the early 1930's when Grace came to Canada as a war bride. Her daughter-in-law took over the reins of the business when Grace retired. Doris never took credit for the many innovations she put in place and she grew the business to become the booming mail order business that many of you think of when you hear the company name. When Doris, who is now 96, retired her son George took over and has spent many years at the helm. He now wishes to retire and we wish him well.


"Amberlane and Amberpetites"   is not closing. We have been a separate company all along with my patterns being distributed through GLK over the years. I intend to carry on and add more patterns and other designers to my offerings on the web site.

This all takes time and is a part of the reason I’ve been away from this blog recently.

Please come back for more news and articles about sewing, patternmaking and smocking as I work my way through the challenges of new patterns.


So till next time, keep stitching…

Back again with a possible new pattern

I was shocked to see how long it has been since I posted at this blog. I'm back an hopefully will be able to devote more time to writing.

In Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October and our family gathers up at our cottage where usually the leaves are wonderful rich reds, oranges, gold and light yellow. This year didn't quite give us those brilliant reds.

On Thanksgiving Tues we left on a trip to Atlanta for the Smocking Arts Guild of America convention at the Peach Tree Plaza Hotel. It was an interesting drive as neither my husband nor I had been through Kentucky or driven through Tennessee! It took less time than we thought and so we arrived a day earlier than we had planned - what a bonus to have a day to prepare for all we wanted to do.

Meehan's Public House the Irish Pub where we ate one night.

So Wed. evening I took in a fashion show put on by "Peanut Butter 'n Jelly Kids" at the Meet & Greet followed by the Teacher's Meeting. On the Thursday evening they held the Show and Share along with the Design Show and the Teachers' Show Case. I brought a number of class samples for display for the Showcase and met so many great ladies from all over the country. We ran overtime and I really didn't get to see either of the other two displays. 

SAGA Kits for purchase in Hospitality

                                                              
Then on Friday afternoon through the evening the big event was the Market and we had a really busy booth. 
Bob introduced his new rod system for the pleating machines, the "Select-a-Size" and I showed the new infant girls' dress and diaper cover. Both got rave reviews and as soon as we can get these ready for sale they will be posted on the web site and here as well. 
Saturday morning found us back on the road again. We drove straight home and unpacked so Bob could do a quick turn around to drive to Edmundston, New Brunswick to check on his elderly mother. 

Bob got back Sunday just in time for hurricane Sandy. In fact he drove through torrential rains most of the way home and Sandy didn't even hit until last night, Monday. Where we are, an hour north of Toronto, after all the hype, the storm turned out to be a non-event (thank goodness). We had stocked up on extra drinking water, food, a spare tank of gas for the BBQ, batteries and all the things they told us we should have on hand for a lengthy time without power. All was normal when we woke this morning but south of us, in Toronto there was a fair bit of damage and power failures. Our son-in-law was in Manhattan on a work-related visit so he is going to have a few adventures to tell. We've be e-mailing back and forth and he is fine - a bit wet but surviving. Bet he can't wait to be home!


So after all the boxes were unpacked and everything put away, I got side tracked with a request that truly intrigued me. A lady from Utah had written before our Thanksgiving to ask if I could create a pattern for a baby boy's tuxedo jacket to go with the Infant Wardrobe I.  Here are the photos she sent to show me the type of tuxedo jacket she needed.
Now the Infant Wardrobe I pattern (in case you are not familiar with it) contains a pattern for a tailored boy's shirt, pants, bow tie and jacket along with a kilt, tam and girl's variation on the shirt and a wee jabot. She had figured out a vest and only needed the jacket. At first I dismissed the idea as too much work for a one time pattern but this lady convinced me to give it a 'go'. I did and here is the finished jacket.

So my question to you is would this be of interest for wedding, special occasions, baptisms, christenings or blessings? Should I grade the pattern to include all the sizes found in the Wardrobe or leave it? Right now it is only in Size 11 pounds.

Now it is back to finishing the little girls' dress pattern. One more test sample to create and then it is the writing and illustrations. The pattern pieces are now done, labelled and nearly ready to go to print. Keep an eye on this site as I will soon be posting photos.

So till next time, keep stitching.....