Sorry so long in writing. It's been a busy summer. As I am sure it has been for you! Have started many new projects. Our smocking guild in the Tulsa area is working on Fetal Demise gowns for those families who loose a baby at birth. We work on these sweet, tiny gowns. Some smocking theirs, others do a gown with shadowwork embroidery. We each make 2 gowns that are alike. That way one is worn by the child and the other is given to the family in a lovely memory box with the child's footprints. It's a very nice outreach that is affored these families at such a sad time. Our group has been using some of the Ginger Snaps daygown books as our source for our gowns. Nancy Coburn has premiee sizes in her books, so we are able to make gowns within the poundage that is requested. It's always had to find a ready to wear outfit for those extremely tiny babies!  Another source you may check out is the website www.threadoflove.com . They are a source for Fetal Demise gowns and you can print the patterns off on your printer, too. They are just a plain, basic yoke style gown. Pretty tiny to stitch, but think of it as "doll" clothes. Not that that makes it easier, it's just a helpful mindset!

I receive a newsletter from Children's Corner patterns and they sometimes show new ways to use their patterns. Their patterns are so uniquely designed that you can interchange parts within the same size. Use the sleeve from one pattern, the collar from another and the yoke from still another.

This newsletter shows us how to alter the Lettie Pant, pattern #245 by taking out the fullness, shorten the pant and use your serger to construct a fast to sew, comfortable garment for your child. Shown below is the Knit Yoga Pant - Lettie variation paired with a shortened Cece, pattern #268 for the top. Delicate Stitches has several lovely Sea Island Knits for this project as well as some soft knits imported from Canada.

Knit Yoga Pants Instructions.pdf (7.80 kb)

I have been pleating a wide inset for a customer. I am pleating all 24 rows. It is in the Imperial Broadcloth and the fabric is 60" wide. During the first 1/3rd of the pleating 2 needles broke. These needles were about in the middle of the pleater. Ugh! I am not proficient in removing those needles and replacing them as I've seen published in one of the needlework magazines over the years. So rather than stopping, I proceeded until the end of the fabric. Now I am left with the job of hand pleating the 2 rows where the needles broke.

I found that using my clear plastic OLFA ruler which has a wide end to mark one of the rows the 3/8" spacing that is made with the pleater. I marked dots with a purple vanishing marker along the pleater row. Then I cut a thin piece of cardboard about 1/2" X 6" to be a guide for spacing the stitches. I could align the cardboard piece along the space between stitches on the row above and below where I was needing to fill in. The cardboard is placed right along the side of the next stitch, so I know how much of a space I need to dip my needle into the fabric.

Hope this helps, if you ever get into this delimna!

Sewing has been slow this last month. April is my busy month with community areas that I help with. But I am ready to get geared up again! I've been thinking about summer sewing and especially for little boys. They play hard sometimes, love to have clothing unrestrictive. So that reminds me that a button on the shoulder or short-all is always a great choice. One of my favorites is Jeffery by Children's Corner Patterns or the short-all pattern by Chery Williams. Collar's Etc.'s "Will" is also a great pattern. All of these give you the ability to be as creative as you want, or just get an outfit stitched up as fast as you want! Knowing you can't always smock something cute, just stitching it up in a fun fabric and using fun buttons can do the trick. Dino Knit makes a great, comfortable fabric for this garment. Line it with one of the dominate colors and use some of our new "squares" for the buttons will stitch up a play outfit that will be enjoyed all season!

Wanted to pass on a great little pocket that came from Children's Corner. If you are not on their email newsletter, then go sign up! They are so good about repurposing their patterns! A sleeve from this one, together with the yoke of that one and so on!! It's amazing. They have suggested using this pocket to embellish the front of the following patterns - Lucy #241, Kitty #261, Charlotte #242, or their newest pattern Winnie #274. It is called the "Puffy Pocket". A sweet round pocket, gathered at the top edge and finished with a bias band. A great way to add some coordinating fabrics for the pocket and the bias band. All of these jumpers are lined. Use the lining for the pocket, then choose one more fabric for the band. So cute!!

Click Here for the pdf. instructions.

Hope you were able to great in the new year with a welcomed cheer! I enjoyed the holidays with my daughter and son-in-law in St. Augustine, Florida. Love the area where they are and it's always a fun visit! If you ever need a great place in Florida to visit, away from all the hipe of Disney or commericalizm of Destin or Miami, St. Augustine is a wonder place. Great historical town, oldest in the nation. Has fun shopping of all kinds, neat galleries, museums, just a lot to offer for all ages.

 Lots of new things have come to the website since I attended the Creative Needlework market in Birmingham, AL the beginning of the month. New fabrics, new patterns, new buttons, just to name a few. I am sending out newsletters with the new items pictured and specials, so be sure to be on my Mailing List.

Easter is just around the corner. Always a fun time to sew. I remember the late nights finishing up dresses for my two girls or a short all for my son. Loved to do some of the heirloom sewing for the girls when they got out of some of the smocking stage. We usually have some colorful flowers or trees at Easter, here in Oklahoma, so it made for some lovely pictures on Easter morning.

I've had some problems with the comment feature of the Blog, so if you have a question or comment, please just email me at sylvia@delicatestitches.com and I will respond to your question or comment in my next Blog entry. Sorry for the inconvenience, but hope to get it resovled in the future.

Happy Stitching, Sylvia

Greetings! Working on getting back into the swing of things since my older daughter's wedding earlier this month. Everything went great and of course she was a lovely bride! Had a gorgeous dress made with Spanish lace and very unique design. (I'm just glad I wasn't the one stitching or altering it!) It was a beautiful candlelight or ivory color and just a lovely combination of soft tulle and lace appliques.

What was fun to stitch was the Flower girl dresses. As I said in an earlier entry, they were stitched out of silk dupioni, ecru or champagne in color. Smocked in silk floss with tiny ivory colored seed beads. I've enclosed the "older sister's" dress in this entry. I used the pattern Larkin by Maja's Heirlooms. It is a great dress for an older girl, my recipient was about 7 years. The back is smooth with back vertical darts and it buttons all the way down. I used 4-holed Mother of Pearl buttons and put a rosebud with lazy daisy leaves to attach each button. Very nice, suprize for the back of the dress. I used the Madeira silk floss for the smocking, using 2 strands.

I've broken my promise of trying to "blog" every Monday. But I'll start again!  The wedding sewing is still going on, but coming to a close. I am seeing the end of the tunnel! I have to say that the little "Flower Girl" dresses are just precious!!  Ecru silk dupioni with ecru silk floss for the smocking with a ecru glass bead at the top and bottom of each diamond. Little bittersweet bullionroses along the bottom. I'll be taking some pictures and put them on the blog and the website real soon.

Starting to get some new Fall patterns in and will work at getting those on the blog and website, too.

Have been having computer poblems, but all should be resolved before week's end!!

Let me know about your sewing. We need to all stay inspired.

Sylvia

Well, working dilegantly on all the wedding attire and accessories for my oldest daughter's wedding the first of October. I finished the shoulder to waist smocking on the youngest flower girl's dress just an hour ago! Will begin the major construction tomorrow. I have all but one of the bridesmaid dresses ready for a final fitting. I was a little disappointed to hear that my sister-in-law felt my niece's bodice was too "puffy", I believe she called it. It does have a rather blousey look to it and may be a more "older" design for her. She is, after all, the youngest of the bridesmaid. I will get some imput from some sewing friends of mine tomorrow. Hopefully I won't have to remake the bodice!! Ugh!

Well, it's week 2 of the Delicate Stitches by Sylvia Blog and I promised to jot a note each Monday. Hope it's been a great week for you!

I've been up to my eyeballs in wedding attaire for my oldest daughter's Fall wedding. Make 5 bridesmaid dresses and 2 flower girl dresses. Then I know I need to work a bridal garter in there and also the bride's veil. (Luckily she wants something VERY simple) The bridesmaid dresses is a simple pattern except for the invisible side zipper. Ugh! But I'll muddle through.

I am smocking the flower girl dresses. They are being constructed out of ecru silk dupioni. I am using ecru Madiera silk floss for the smocking, 2 strands and a small bead at the top & bottom of the diamond shapes of the smocking design. The flower girls are sisters, about 2 years apart. The younger is going to have a basic yoke style dress with a full smocked bodice. For the older sister I am using "Larkin" by Maja's Heirlooms. I mentioned it last week as an alternative pattern for an older girl that you would still like to smock for. This little girl is not a "girly" girl and so we didn't want to overwhelm her with poof and lace! I think we are going to sash each of the dresses with a Fall color that my daughter is using in the bridesmaids' bouquets.

Since I am smocking on silk, I would mention a pleating technique that I learned that really makes the dupioni pleat up nicely. Dupioni can be very ugly if just run through the pleater without using this technique during the pleating process. As you turn the pleats on the pleater, fill up the needles full of pleats. Have a STEAM iron ready to blast the pleats with shots of steam until you see that they are "slightly damp" with the steam. Then have a blow dryer that you immediately set the pleats that have been hit with the shot of steam. When you feel they are dry, gently slide the pleats off the needles. Load up another couple of turns of pleats onto the needles and repeat the process across the piece of fabric you are needing pleated. Really, really does work nicely, gives great definition to the pleated silk and makes it very easy to block and smock.

Another tip: since silk is very dulling on your needles, take a piece of wax paper and run it through your pleater to remove any residue that occurs from pleating the silk. This is not a bad idea to do periodically for your pleater, even if you are not doing a lot of pleating of silk.