This week’s installments of “And So To Sew” and “And So To Embroider” bring us to week 10. This week we’ll learn all about the techniques used to sew a woollen dress from a commercial pattern, how to sew a tailored collar and cuffs (pattern included), and how to use simple embroidery stitches to create motifs and borders.
As always, I have included modern video or photo tutorials for everyone who enjoys learning by example.
If you’d like to stay up to date with every new item I add to the website, subscribe to the email list over on the left (on desktop), or under this post on tablet or mobile. You’ll receive a quick email every time I add something new.
This week, our And So To Sew bulletins are all about learning techniques for both sewing and embroidery.
“And So To Sew” leaflet 9a is all about techniques that are used in the sewing of vintage sportswear. Every technique from making the pleats of a classic sports skirt, to matching patterns, finishing seams and hems and reinforcing garments at stress points.
Cushions from “And So To Embroider” 9b
“And So To Embroider” bulletin 9b teaches us all about embroidering on wool. It also includes three new stitches, how to use them to design motifs, and some project ideas to embroider them on.
As always, I have included a selection of video and photo tutorials for each technique as we all learn differently and not all of us have a teacher close by to help if we get stuck!
I hope you are enjoying this series of 1950’s leaflets from the Needlework Development Scheme. We have a way to go yet, with some of my all-time favourites coming up! If you’d like to stay notified when new things are posted, sign up to be notified by email (over on the left on desktop, or under the post on tablet or phone). You’ll receive a short email with information on the new post so you can choose whether it’s something you’d like to look at. At the moment, that will be three emails per week.
I thought I’d start a new series here on the Mostly Knitting (but really all sorts of crafts) Blog and feature some of my favourite things. These things might be YouTube channels, products, classes, blogs, books, whatever takes my fancy.
Today I’d like to feature one of my favourite YouTube channels, “Rose World” from India.
Rose World has only been on YouTube for just over two years, but already has a following of over 260,000 subscribers. The videos are high quality, not language dependent, colourful and inventive.
From the channel description:
In This channel I’m sharing How to stitch, Hand embroidery, Basic Hand Embroidery, Nokshi Embroidery, Nakshi kantha, Neck design, drawing tutorial, etc Video.
I found out about Rose World when this video popped up in my recommended list:
I’m currently playing with the big loopy woven parts on an embroidery sampler.
A tiny corner of my current embroidery sampler – woven stitches.
I’m going to try them in different threads, including needlepoint wool and see how they look.
Rose World also has quite a few videos on making yarn flowers that can be sewn or stuck onto any project. This marigold is one of them.
Traditional nakshi kantha like these borders. I adore nakshi kantha borders 🙂
and modern designs like this flower
Rose World not only has all of these things, but also videos for beginner embroiderers, and instructions on drawing designs so you can customise them any way you like.
We’re up to bulletins 8a and 8b in the Needlework Development Scheme’s “And So To’ series already!
In “And So To Sew” bulletin 8a, poor Jamie learns how to choose garments that best suit her figure, instead of becoming a slave to fashions that don’t let her look her best. The leaflet covers style advice for all body types, how to care for 1950’s clothing, and common mending tips. Even if you don’t sew, it worth downloading for the illustrations!
“And So To Embroider” 8b is one of my favourites. It contains a pattern and instructions for making the sun bonnet on the cover, plus lots of information on manipulating fabrics to change the way they look. The photo above shows just two of the mini samplers from the leaflet, with others showing spotted and striped fabrics.
These techniques are then shown in two projects, an apron and a cushion.
As always, I have included video and photo tutorials for all of the techniques mentioned for my fellow visual learners.
If you’d like to see all of the vintage leaflets and books that I have available for download, check out the “Vintage Sewing and Embroidery Books” section, and sign up to be notified whenever I post more. (On the left on laptop, or under this post on tablet and mobile).
Regular readers will know that in 2015, I joined in the “Take a Stitch Tuesday” challenge run by the lovely Sharon Boggon. 100+ stitches, and 2 years later, I had finished every stitch and then some. In 2018, I followed up by joining in the first “Beyond TAST”, and this sampler is the very last of that challenge.
In my last blog post about this sampler, I talked about the often wibbly wobbly way my design process can take. Well. it wibbled and wobbled a bit more after that!
The last challenge for Beyond TAST 2018, was to use three of the techniques we had investigated in a single project. I decided to use woven stitches, pattern darning and couched laidwork.
Then I drew a cloche pattern to trace around, drew it onto my fabric with a water erasable pen and immediately became stuck, which led to my learning some interesting ways to become unstuck when I can’t decide what to do next.
Sarah’s Guide to Unsticking Your Creative Brain (or my brain, anyway)
Put the thing away for a bit. Unless you have a deadline. In which case, don’t put it away, pin it up somewhere.
Have a good, long think about what your intentions for the piece are. For me, it was creating lots of little flowers that, with a bit of imagination, could conceivably have been made out of shells. Maybe.
Stitch a bit. It doesn’t matter if it sucks, you can rip it out.
What do you like/dislike about the bits you stitched? If you like them, leave them. If you hate them, don’t be afraid to rip them out and work it the way that you now know would look better.
Still stuck? (I was). Find a technique that fills in space quickly. Do that. I made flowers with buttons, some of which I removed later.Â
At this point I became unstuck and decided to fill in the entire cloche with closely packed flowers.
Things I learnt working this piece (or already knew and employed)
Repeating things at least three times is a good way to achieve balance, if you want a balanced piece. You can see I only worked two large cream woven flowers, but I added a little star shaped button in the same colour to echo them as a tiny bud.
It’s fine to change your mind. I had intended to work the whole piece in very shell-like colours. I obviously didn’t 🙂
I’ll never be able to work couched laidwork perfectly, or even remotely, straight without ruling out every line.Â
Couching thread over a mistake can save a lot of work, which is especially important when you’ve run out of the thread you used and really like the colours.Â
I am capable of finishing a challenge that took over 4 years. Wow.
Now, I have a few more stitches I’d like to investigate while I sew them all into fabric books so stay tuned!
