Chain Stitch Embroidery

Need a quick and easy embroidery stitch for your sewing project? The chain stitch was just what my daughter, Anna, was looking for when making the Christmas stockings and tree skirt mentioned in the previous blog. For the beginner, this is a quick and easy stitch and still looks great. Four strands of floss were needed to get the effect on the corduroy that she wanted. The lettering was first traced onto the fabric with a wash-away marker, then embroidered over. Instructions for the stitch are in the Heirloom Embroidery Book along with 16 other embroidery stitches.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Alabama!

Since my daughter, Anna, is back in town and newly married she has been wanting me to help her make her first tree skirt and stockings. The stocking she grew up with was one that my mother made her when she was a baby. Although she loves this stocking, Anna thought it best to have her and her new husband's stocking match. The day after Thanksgiving Anna started looking at magazines and picking out what she wanted. For the stockings she chose a simple white corduroy stocking with a pointed elf toe, red and white fabric yo-yo's, and a red corduroy cuff with her name embroidered in white, Jason's was the same except the colors were reversed. As for her tree skirt Anna liked mine that I made at the end of last year from a vintage tree skirt pattern that I borrowed from a friend. The tree skirt is a simple white corduroy with a scalloped edge and binding in the same red and white print fabric that is also used as accents in the stockings fabric yo-yo's. At first Anna had decided to put yo-yo's on the tree skirt also, but after thinking it over she decided to embroidery "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. " on the tree skirt instead.

It has been a fun project for us to work on while it is so cold outside. We have even had weather predictions of snow flurries for the last couple of days. So while all cozy in the house, the wives were sewing preparing for Santa Claus.

Baby's First Christmas

If you have a new baby for Christmas, what could be sweeter than a simple daygown trimmed with holly embroidery? The pattern used is Pleated Daygown #119. The daygown is made from satin batiste and the collar is piped with red and white gingham. The embroidered berries are twice wrapped bullions using three strands of DMC floss and the leaves are filled in lazy daisies using two strands of floss. The embroidery stitches are some of the basic ones that we learned as girls. If you are new to embroidery or need a refresher course, the stitches are in the Heirloom Embroidery Book, with clear directions and illustrations.

Snowflakes!

Snowflakes! We all laughed last night when the weatherman predicted snow flurries for North Alabama on the first day of December. We never see snow this early! In fact, we get so little in our area that we get really excited over a flake or two. Much to our surprise, it has been cold and flurried off and on all day. At one point they were even BIG fluffy flakes. As I watched the snow today, I remembered the new apprecitation that I gained while drawing the snowflake embroidery design for the romper and dress. I never dreamed that drawing a snowflake would be so difficult! Drawing the snowflake took most of an evening, while doing the embroidery took less than an hour. The snowflake embroidery makes both the Toddler Romper #113 and the Classic Dress #131 suitable for the winter, not just the holidays. Both outfits are made out of featherwale corduroy and are easy projects.