An Embroidered Journey

I think I need to ask all of you to be my design consultants on a permanent basis!!! Wow!!!, did you ever come up with some fabulous ideas for my embroidered tree. Becky of Trial Balloons sent me some wonderful inspiration photos that she found on Pinterest. Not that any of the ideas should be used exactly as they are, but as a jumping off point.  

I love the patch of pieces and the embroidery in this skirt.

This is a little too much patchwork for me, but here again, I love the stitching and the mix of pieces.

Another mix of fabrics that really create an interesting garment.

Same idea, but a little bit of a different silhouette. It's anchored with the solid sleeves, and a solid back. This would be a great way to use some scraps. Take note that just 3 prints were used.

I absolutely fell in love with these embroidered pieces. 

Both are from a wonderful artist, Tessa Perlow. You can see more of her work HERE in her Etsy Shop.

Stephanie sent me these fabulous photos. I LOVE this jacket!!! 

So many of you talked about a kimono style jacket. With all of this running through my head, I thought of a summer kimono that I have. I think this is it!

You can see that the tree is rather large, and the linen has yellowed with time. But, I can get that out without a problem. 

So, I think I will use some of this fabric, but blend it with a solid, lightweight linen. With the solid linen, I can embroider flowers to look as though they have fallen from the tree. And then pick up something on the cuffs and collar. This is a piece that will evolve as I go. And...it will not be something I do quickly, which is fine.

My first step will be to finish doing the embroidery on the tree. Once the embroidery has been completed, I'll start the soaking process to remove the yellow. Then I'll start working on putting the jacket together. Anyway, however it goes, I think it's going to be a fun little journey!

Thanks so very much for all of your messages. It was great to hear from you. How lucky am I to have so many incredibly creative people popping in to see what I do?!!  

Rhonda

Help! I Would Like Some Creative Input

Something that I have learned over the past 6 weeks is that we show people the person we want them to see. We share what we are capable of sharing. In my being given the gift of handling my friend's estate, the person that I thought I knew became richer and deeper, and at times, quite surprising. I discovered hurts, losses, and disappointments that she had buried, at least to others. Things that absolutely broke my heart, and gave me tremendous insight into why she did things, and reacted to things as she did. Then one day, I opened a storage closet and found something that I had no idea that she had ever enjoyed doing, crewel embroidery projects. 

She had a number of kits that had never been started. Sound familiar? ;) But, there was one that was virtually finished.      

The stitch work is absolutely beautiful! All that needs to be done to complete the project are a ton of French knots. I love doing French knots!!! So, I decided to keep the project and finish it. It was meant to be a pillow, but I thought a bag would be lots of fun.

The other project that I decided to keep and finish was this tree in bloom. For some reason it just spoke to me. It spoke to me, but didn't tell me what it wants to be. I don't want to finish it as a pillow, I would like to use it in a garment. A skirt, a jacket, a dress??? I just don't know.  

The piece is on a lovely piece of linen, something that I think I can fairly easily match. If not match, at least tea dye to match. 

So, I would love and appreciate some creative feedback. I've looked on Pinterest to no avail. I know that some of you have a difficult time posting comments. But if you have an idea, or some thoughts, please send an email, sewbussted@yahoo.com I would truly love to hear what you think!

Thanks so much!!!
Rhonda  

Outfit Of The Day/An Embroidered Lining Finds a New Life

It's no secret that I love resale shops, antique stores, basically anywhere that I might find some treasure that another threw away. Or gave away as the case may be.

I came across a fur that had truly disintegrated, but inside was a beautiful little treasure, a fabulous lining. The picture below really does not do it justice.

Here you can see the embroidery and the red inner lining. I think more work was put into the lining than was put into the coat. The fabric is silk, behind the embroidery is the red silk, and the entire piece was backed with a lighter weight silk.   

And the best part of all, the name of the original owner. 

I had initially thought of making the piece into a dress, but decided a skirt was better. If I had made the piece from start to finish, there would not be a center front seam,or some of the other issues. But truth be told, I really don't care, there are imperfections, but I love it anyway. 

The red inner lining is not super obvious but when it catches the light, it shines.

I was able to save the embroidered name. Almost has the feel of a tattoo. Rather fun :)

The label was still in the coat. I have to do something with it. I thought of making it into a tiny little pocket.

Moral to the story...

If you find an old coat, be sure to look inside as you just might find a beautiful treasure.

I decided to wear this today since I am giving the talk on working with fur. Pairing it with a simple top. Although, I may be making a mistake as everyone will now be on the lookout for a special lining!  

Have You Ever Wanted A Dolce and Gabbana Gown?

The Fall/Winter 2015/16 collection from Dolce and Gabbana was all about roses. I thought it was an especially pretty collection. 

This morning I received an email from Haberman Fabrics, a fabric store in Michigan. This store carries the most beautiful fabrics. I initially found out about the store while participating in the Passion For Fashion contest put on by The American Sewing Expo in Novi, Michigan. 

While not exactly the same, the embroideries that they have acquired will give you a very close copy of a Dolce and Gabbana gown.  

  

Underline it in a white silk charmuse and it would closely resemble the dress below.

The dress below is from Marchesa Notte.

This embroidery closely resembles the fabric used in the gown.

While both of the pieces above are beautiful, below is my favorite piece. And of course, it's the most expensive of the bunch! 

You can see all of Haberman's beautiful embroideries HERE. 

Sadly, I'm not getting any incentive to do this post. I just thought the fabrics were so beautiful and that you might at the very least enjoy seeing them. After all, it's always nice to dream :)

I'll let you know if I break down and purchase a piece.

Monday Morning Inspiration/Visible Mending

When I was in St. Louis a few weeks back, my husband and I had brunch with a friend at the most delightful restaurant called Tree House. It's a vegetarian restaurant and the food is amazing. If you are ever in St. Louis, by all means, make your way over for a meal. You won't be disappointed.

Our waitress that morning was so delightful, and as it turns out, quite creative. She loves taking old pieces and giving them new life. She was wearing a vintage silk top that had a hole in it when she found it. Rather than pass the piece by, she purchased the top and then did the sweetest little applique over the hole and added an embroidered spider web over the applique. I wish I had taken a picture. 

With that in mind, I decided to check out mending on Pinterest and I found a few inspirational pictures that I thought you might also enjoy. If you're in the mood, just search visible mending. You'll find lots of interesting ideas.

So here's a few that I found,

I love how a hole was turned into a window in the 2 pieces below.

       

Another window idea, but with lace. 

The next 2 pieces are from an amazing artist, Lou Tonkin. She does needle felting over holes. Beautiful work.  

If you think you might like to give needle felting a try and do a little mending, or just add a sweet touch to a garment, check out THIS POST. 

Even just a simple little touch can save a garment and add interest. 

I may be showing my age, but I am not a fan of the ripped up jean look. The Japanese have such a beautiful art form called Boro where garments are pieced and saved, but no holes are left open.

I thought this was rather fun, adding the British flag in a subtle manner.

Rather than discard a garment because the sleeves are worn, a touch of embroidery will make a worn garment so special. 

I loved how this artist took a striped denim and matched the mend with plain denim and white thread.

A beautiful touch of Boro on this pair of jeans. You can find more of this artist's work at Woman With Wings.

Amy Meissner is another textile artist that you might want to check out. Very interesting work.

And finally, for a little peek into my hippy personality ;), a pair of jeans that I actually wear. It all began with a hole that I decided to cover with a patch.....and then I went crazy!  

So now you see, patching no longer needs to be what your mother did to save the life of a pair of pants by ironing a patch over the knees.  

Happy Monday!

Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration

It's All In The Details

We can make a million basic t-shirts, and in the end, that's all they will be. Utilitarian, but with no spark, unless a detail is added. Every garment would be just a basic garment if it weren't for that special little detail that catches the eye.

Spider web stitching and artfully placed cut outs add interest to a basic black dress.

This is an antique garment that I just had to include as I thought it was just so beautiful.

I love the frayed seams and the patchwork detail on this jacket.

This technique can be found in the book Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi along with many other fabulous detail ideas.

A lovely idea, but be careful. Notice the gap in the cut of the neckline. If the tab is not positioned correctly, the neckline will not not lay flat.

Another fun cut out idea for the back of a shirt.

Bias strips with peek a boo openings.

Neither of these pockets are especially practical, but interesting nonetheless.

At first glance you might think this is Alabama Chanin, but no. The embroidery is satin stitched and there's a separate under layer. Just a hint of this on a shoulder of would lovely.

A very basic top made interesting with the addition of a chiffon inset, button loops and buttons.

A basic raglan sleeved top accented with zippers. It looks as though the zipper goes from the front to the back. Since this is from St, Laurent, I would imagine that the top is cashmere, so not so basic ;)  

The back of a basic jacket given a special touch with the smocking detail. It wouldn't need to be this detailed, just a touch would be nice.

I would not put this on a pair of shorts, but I love the idea of a leather overlay on a skirt. There would be no room for weight gain!!!

I have no idea how this was done, but I love it. It must be a photo transfer of some sort. If anyone knows, please tell me!!! I would love to do this.

Another accented edge from a vintage Chanel coat. Lovely.

Isn't this fun! Car wash strips over an ultra feminine full skirt. Might be fun to have a solid front and this detail only in the back.

I would be remiss to not include a piece from Alabama Chanin. This piece caught my eye as I love the mix. The skirt is relatively simple to do. Gathered strips that are beaded down the center.

The detail on the skirt is the same as what I did on my French jacket.

Another detail from my closet. The jacket is in desperate need of a good steaming, please forgive me. The jacket pattern was cut into sections and each section piped. The sections were then stitched back together and accented with beads.

I plan to wear this soon, so it will be in an upcoming Me Made Monday post with more pictures.

Hope this gives you a little detail inspiration.
Have a lovely week!
Rhonda