First of all, I want to thank everyone who responded to the call for projects that I put out last week on this, my new blog. We received lots of submissions, and it was really hard to choose one. So I chose two! One is in this post; to see the other one, click here.This project was sent in by Jane Herasimenko, and the story is just fantastic. Jane uses lots of stuff; crystals, software, embroidery and, most importantly, creativity, but what really clinches it is the set of circumstances. Ladies who really love to sew, as she must, should love this story. Jane, we hope the wedding this weekend went well! Here's how Jane told us the story:
General Description
I made all the dresses for my daughter's wedding in the past four months which was logistically challenging as we live in Ottawa Ontario Canada and the wedding is taking place in Saint John, New Brunswick and all the members of the wedding party live in the Maritimes, so I took my sewing machine on the road! All of the dresses had some embroidery feature on them, that coordinated with the embroidery on the bridal gown, however, it was when I made one of the last garments, for the mother of the groom, that disaster struck.
The outfit consisted of a long skirt, jacket and top out of satin backed crepe, using the satin side for the sleeveless top. All was done except the jacket and I only had time to do a
final mock up fitting before leaving to go home, a 14 hour drive. I usually mark up mockups with a pen that disappears, but since I was taking this home to work on I needed something longer lasting. My daughter handed me a felt pen, which turned out to be indelible! I needed to mark the V on the lapel of the jacket against the top......and yes you guessed it, the pen went through the mock up onto the top leaving black marks on both shoulders...........and of course not in the same places.
Step-by-step Description
For the 14 hour drive home I thought about a solution other than having to make the entire top over again. By the time I got home I had decided to appliqué leaves (the theme of the wedding is fall leaves and colors) onto the shoulders.........I downloaded a pattern of lace flowers, spit out the appropriate leaf and then embroidered it onto organza with a plastic stabilizer in two sizes.........I did these in a poly embroidery thread the same color as the suit. I then cut them out and appliquéd them on by hand to cover the felt pen marks. Using my old mannequin was a big help as I was able to pin the leaves in place while it was in position on the mannequin.
......since the marks were not in the same places I arranged the leaves on one side going towards the back and on the other going towards the front.......then embellished with Swarovski Crystals for a little glitz. The pictures do not show the way the light picks up the crystals very well but the leaves came out quite well.
What Makes This Project Special?
Why is this project special to me.....well, it certainly saved me a lot of work, as I still had my outfit to make and three flower girl dresses at that point.......but it was fun to devise an embroidery project to save the day........the wedding is October 19th and we leave tomorrow to be there with our friends and family.
Skill Level
Well I am certainly not that accomplished at computer/embroidery work, if I can do it, most anyone can.......maybe a little more advanced than beginner?
Products
I did this on my Kenmore 200o series embroidery machine. Other items I used are:
Water Soluble Stabilizer
Lace Embroidery Design
Swarovski Crystals
Organza
Editing Software
General Description
I made all the dresses for my daughter's wedding in the past four months which was logistically challenging as we live in Ottawa Ontario Canada and the wedding is taking place in Saint John, New Brunswick and all the members of the wedding party live in the Maritimes, so I took my sewing machine on the road! All of the dresses had some embroidery feature on them, that coordinated with the embroidery on the bridal gown, however, it was when I made one of the last garments, for the mother of the groom, that disaster struck.
The outfit consisted of a long skirt, jacket and top out of satin backed crepe, using the satin side for the sleeveless top. All was done except the jacket and I only had time to do a
final mock up fitting before leaving to go home, a 14 hour drive. I usually mark up mockups with a pen that disappears, but since I was taking this home to work on I needed something longer lasting. My daughter handed me a felt pen, which turned out to be indelible! I needed to mark the V on the lapel of the jacket against the top......and yes you guessed it, the pen went through the mock up onto the top leaving black marks on both shoulders...........and of course not in the same places.Step-by-step Description
For the 14 hour drive home I thought about a solution other than having to make the entire top over again. By the time I got home I had decided to appliqué leaves (the theme of the wedding is fall leaves and colors) onto the shoulders.........I downloaded a pattern of lace flowers, spit out the appropriate leaf and then embroidered it onto organza with a plastic stabilizer in two sizes.........I did these in a poly embroidery thread the same color as the suit. I then cut them out and appliquéd them on by hand to cover the felt pen marks. Using my old mannequin was a big help as I was able to pin the leaves in place while it was in position on the mannequin.
......since the marks were not in the same places I arranged the leaves on one side going towards the back and on the other going towards the front.......then embellished with Swarovski Crystals for a little glitz. The pictures do not show the way the light picks up the crystals very well but the leaves came out quite well.
What Makes This Project Special?
Why is this project special to me.....well, it certainly saved me a lot of work, as I still had my outfit to make and three flower girl dresses at that point.......but it was fun to devise an embroidery project to save the day........the wedding is October 19th and we leave tomorrow to be there with our friends and family.
Skill Level
Well I am certainly not that accomplished at computer/embroidery work, if I can do it, most anyone can.......maybe a little more advanced than beginner?
Products
I did this on my Kenmore 200o series embroidery machine. Other items I used are:
Water Soluble Stabilizer
Lace Embroidery Design
Swarovski Crystals
Organza
Editing Software
Time Investment
I managed to get this done in three sessions about 2-3 hours long; total about 8 hours.
Why I Love This Project
I cannot say I love the project, but I certainly am proud of the end result and when I sent pictures to the mother of the groom she was very excited! We plan to have a good time at the wedding!
Send Us Your Creations
Do you have any creations that go with a great story? If so, we'd love to hear about them, and see them! If we choose to post your project, you'll get a free $25 gift certificate to use in the AnnTheGran.com online store. Click here for details on how to submit your creation.
What Would You Do?
Jane altered her embroidery layout in order to hide an ink stain. Do you have any ideas on other ways to fix an "oops"? Click on the Comments link to give us your ideas.
6 comments:
What a fantastic solution, to go outside the box and creatively solve this dilemma with something beautiful that appears that it should have been there all along, GREAT JOB.
In addition to the creativity and talent shown in this project, I was so glad to be able to see the finished project.
The embroidery, the crystals and the matching thread were gorgeous, but the color of the material was so outstanding and, well, just plain beautiful.
Kudos to you kid and I hope the wedding is a great day for all.
Kathy
Great creativity on your part! I love to see the Kenmore use! I have a 19010 and love it but never see it mentioned or acknowledged!
jps
Who would have thought that there was an "oops". What a lovely way to cover it up.
Mabel Nel
Pietersburg
South Africa
Just goes to show you if there is a will there is a way. Great thinking on your part.
This is a great story. I had to smile when I read the word indelible ink. But if it happened to me I would have cried a lot on that 14 hour drive! The embroidered leaves worked out great. Since I work in the fashion industry I see a lot of sample garments that come from factories world wide. The samples need to be destroyed or duties need to be paid. Samples are usually cut and many times the word SAMPLE is written across the back in indelible ink. When my hair was long I could get away with it. But now I am inspired to do something more creative and use an applique techinique like this!
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