Finally, I’ve completed my linen wrap dress! The embroidery is along the neck-edge, the back seam, and the side seams all the way down. It fastens with a tie inside and another tie outside, both made of the tiniest self scraps pieced together. It is comfortable and airy, the perfect house dress for 2020 late spring into summer. Linen is a fantastic warm-season fabric, as it is wicking and highly breathable, so it can handle a humid summer or a warm spring day.
I have chosen the viking style of embroidery as seam ornamentation because linen was one of their traditional fibers. I find the viking style of embroidery very beautiful, particularly the scrolling flowers of the Mammen find and the ornate Birka cap. Both of these styles, while gorgeous, might be biting off a bit more than I can chew when embroidering an entire dress for the first time. Herringbone stitch variations were very popular in the age of the vikings.
I have added an additional layer of herringbone stitch to the seams I wish to ornament. The bust darts, for example, will not be decorated, nor will the small amount of piecing on the hem have any more attention drawn to it. The side and waist seams, however, are now beautifully embroidered with a herringbone stitch variation.
I also hope to embroider the wrap neckline, arms, and possibly the opening edge of the skirt if I have enough embroidery thread. Time will tell.
I drew this one 5 years ago! I don’t have the dress any more, but it was very comfortable, airy, and looked pretty with a belt.
This was a very simple project that has yielded a lot of use. As an artist and seamstress, my dexterity and hand-eye coordination are important to me. I got the crazy idea that perhaps I could improve these by learning some juggling, so I made these juggling pyramids to practice. I’m still terrible at juggling, but I’m having tons of fun!
The pyramids are 3″ long on each side finished dimensions. They are made from 4 triangles stitched together and can be filled with gravel, plastic beads, or anything else you might have at hand to give them a little weight when tossed. Fabric for this project was the scraps of an old sweatshirt that was recycled into several other projects previously. I think just about any type of fabric would work.
I didn’t want to let the few leftover sprigs of rosemary I purchased for a recipe to go to waste, so I re-clipped the ends, dipped them in rooting hormone, and stuck them in damp soil. Most of them survived! The surviving 4 have been put in a larger pot and, if they survive to be big, I will not have to buy rosemary again!
Where are all those brown scraps for embroidery coming from?
This is an apron I made as a gift for a loved one. They do a lot of messy hands-on projects and needed something to protect their clothing. I cut out a simple shape for an apron, then made bias trim from more of the same fabric.
This is a simple shape with rounded edges. While it may look like the bottom (on the right) end of the apron tapers down, the sides are parallel. This is an apron design that would be easy for you, the reader, to replicate at home with any fabric you choose. The wide part goes from mid-shin to the waist, then curves in to the breadth of your shoulders minus a few inches.
I stitched the bias trim around the entire perimeter of the apron shape, then added more trim as ties for the neck and waist.
The person I am making this apron for is broader-shouldered than me (see the dress form photos), and has a very utilitarian mindset. A sturdy brown cotton apron suits them and the sort of projects they make perfectly because there won’t be any worry or fuss if the apron gets soiled. I hope they get a lot of use out of it!
Yes, this is a part of my 2020 Fabric Stash Use-Up Project. I did not need to buy anything to make this apron! It’s a great feeling to find uses for the resources that I already have.
This is a zinnia-style flower I embroidered, then made into a button using recycled card stock. The brown fabric is a cotton remnant from a larger project. These buttons are pretty fun!
I took my tiny embroideries and stitched them taut around discs cut from recycled cardstock. Now, they are adorable little buttons!
This is an older thing I drew, but it’s still useful! How to make a zipper pouch that looks really nice:
Click to enlarge
Old fabric for the new decade!
This year, I want to pare down my fabric stash even further. I had a lot of fun with this the past two years, and I managed to use up most of my hand-me-down fabrics and plenty of fabrics I personally acquired. I plan on focusing on functional pieces mostly, but I’d also like to make a couple pieces of historical clothing and create some more items for my etsy. This project also covers fiber, as I still have a few balls of yarn that I’d like to give a purpose.
The year has already started, so Slippers from Nothing but Scraps #2: Slippers for a Loved One counts as part of this project, as well.
Rules are that I won’t buy anything for new projects until I’ve finished all of the projects I have here. It is, however, okay to purchase a component needed to finish an existing project.
Will you join me in my 2020 Stash Use-Up?
Happy sewing!
