Design wall Monday
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 5:29AM I’ve been up most of the night pressing and sewing ruffles… high priority on my list of things to learn is to use a hemmer foot! Double folding, pressing, stitching and pressing again quarter inch hems is quite time consuming. Good thing to do in the middle of a sleepless night!
I’d love to tell you what I’m working on here, but as of yet I have no idea. Something with linen and lace! I spent yesterday embroidering lace, and have had my Bernina 830 running all night making more. The first laces, pictured here on top, are done in Ecru with So Fine 50wt thread, on a double layer of Vilene.
The lace on the bottom, also done in So Fine, in white. These are Sue Box designs, aren’t they exquisite? The So Fine is absolutely fantastic for lace making! It looks like cotton, there’s no build up of lint in my machine, and it rinses out to be beautifully soft and supple.
;)
I also covered some buttons in the same linen I used for the ruffle, which is hanky weight. The dark linen and the ivory linen are a medium weight.
I have a lot of projects that aren’t quilts that I am really looking forward to making, and as you can see I’m kind of on a vintage kick. In fact… I’m seriously thinking about going for the vintage/shabby chic look in the studio and remaking the machine covers I’ve done so far!
Today I’m going to whiz into town and see if Hobby Lobby has any silk dupioni I can play with. Do you suppose if I had an art degree and a background in sewing, I could eliminate all this “test” sewing/designing stage? Sometimes I waste a lot of supplies in this process, but it’s the only way I can get the ideas from my brain to form.
Head over to Judy’s and see what everyone else is up to this Design Wall Monday!
Reader Comments (11)
That Sue Box lace is exquisite. Beautiful! I am also intrigued that you say the So fine rinses out soft and supple. My issue with using poly for lace is that it feels like plastic (duh!) even when thoroughly rinsed. I am going to have to try some so fine in the next day or two.
What did you end up using for covering the buttons?
CJ, I wish you were my neighbor! I'm stuck in a rut always following a pattern, I envy your motivattion to play with fabric/embroidery. You come up with the most beautiful ideas - you should work for a sewing machine company and do their ads.
If you had a serger, you could do rolled hems on those ruffles.
Judy in MO
CJ
I don't think a degree in anything for anything would make a difference. When a person has a LOVE for sewing the extra sewing isn't extra, it's just the LOVE coming thru and you my Dear show that LOVE. Your LOVE gives the rest of us Inspiration and I for one LOVE You for that !!! :-)
Aw... Sher that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me, thank you!
lovely lace. I assume the machine is an embroidery machine? And, when you say wash out you mean whatever stuff you make it on washes out? I keep telling myself I don't want to expand what I am doing by adding any new types of machines. But with a grand daughter it would be fun. What will you be making with the lace? And, I think people always do practice pieces ... unless they are into liberated projects. But if you want to create what is in your mind you may need a couple of practices to get it perfect.
I love all that lace - I don't know what I in particular I would us it for as I mainly just quilt, but it is very pretty.
sorry you are not getting much sleep again.
Karen
CJ - I just checked the Superior Threads site and I see that the So Fine comes in both 30 and 50 weights. Which weight did you use for your lace? It is beautiful! claudia
Beautiful Beautiful Lace! You are such an inspiration. Honestly, I was ready to sell my 830 until I found your site! I used Poly X, Isacord, and Sulky embroidery threads to make FSL ornaments for our grandchildren this year. The ornaments are smooth, but now that you mention it, they are not supple. They are stiff as boards, but that's ok as ornaments for the grandkids; who are young and their stuff needs bullet proof durability! I've not used Vilene. I'll have to give that a try. Thanks!
CJ, a good rolled hem foot is a must for ruffles. The key, I have found, is cutting the fabric on a 1/4" 45° to start. That allows you to feed it into the foot smoothly and just sew away. Check out my "Bag Ladies" post from November 18 and I have a close up of my rolled hem on their ruffles.
I have lots of So Fine that I use for quilting. What a good idea to use it for lace! Do you use it in the bobbin also? I'm definitely going to give it a try.