Corsets or "How to Make Your Own Girdle"

This illustration is from VintagePatterns. The type is in a small font, so you might not be able to clearly read it. The caption says:

"NOT ONLY HAVE I LOST MY SHEEP, THIS CORSET IS KILLING ME."

This picture and caption are too good not to use as a whimsical embroidery piece on a purse or quilt square.

With the advent of Oprah and her endorsement of Spanx, corsets have made a comeback, but in a much more comfortable venue.

The owner and founder of Spanx is Sara Blakely. What a gal. She had a great idea, and produced a successful company making comfy, workable girdles. Blakely even gave back $1 million to the OprahWinfreyLeadershipAcademy in 2007 in appreciation for Oprah's bringing Spanx to public attention back 8 years ago.

Not wanting to take anything away from Sara, I found a less expensive alternative HERE which says:

Starting at $25 a pop, they (Spanx) are a rather pricey solution to an embarrassing problem. But with some scissors, and old pantyhose, you can achieve the Spanx effect without paying the Spanx price!

Basically, you buy a pair of control-top pantyhose, cut off the legs, and you have made your own sized-to-fit corset. Granted, it would not look too attractive when undressing in front of your favorite person, but it could save some dollars.

Using Crayons & Watercolor Pencils to Tint Fabric

Thinking I would try crayons or watercolor pencils to tint fabric in preparation for embroidery, I researched some options. I knew that crayons could be used to color fabric, but was unsure of applying the waxy color directly to the fabric, thinking the color would run. However, TintedLinenTutorial gave these easy instructions:

Trace your pattern onto your fabric very lightly with a pencil or a water soluble marker... Tape the fabric down on the corners to a flat smooth surface.Take out your crayons and color! You may need to color a little harder in the fabric because the ironing will soften the crayon. Experiment with shading to add depth or only color a few things to really make a bold statement. Try to color in the same direction because the strokes will show (unless this is the effect you are trying to achieve).

When you are satisfied with yourself, sandwich the fabric between 2 pieces of plain paper. Set your iron to the "cotton" setting. Press the fabric sandwich slowly and smoothly. This will 'set' the crayon. You may need to press a few times to get the results you want. I did mine a few times to soften and melt the crayon for a smoother effect. From this point you can either back the design with another piece of fabric or place in an embroidery hoop. Embroider your heart away! Use different stitches, beads, sequins, etc.

The possibilities are endless with this technique. Experiment, be brave, try new things!

But wouldn't it be easier to just embroider a design, and then color it in with crayon? Apparently, this option of "coloring within the lines" is a no-no, because in another thread discussion, Contadine said:

You could stitch first, but that causes a few problems - You can't get right up tight to the stitching without getting some wax on the threads. Once you iron, that wax melts a little and makes your stitching look funny. If you scrub the piece heavily between ironing, you'll rough the threads up too much, and they'll look very fuzzy.When you iron, place a piece of copier paper on your ironing board, and then the colored fabric face down on it, and iron from the backside, or you'll get melted wax everywhere!

OK, so now I was ready to try my hand at this. I pulled out some old fabric cocktail napkins from the 1940's which were still usable, and had nice hand-work on the edges.

Now for a design choice for embroidery...a pink ribbon since Relay for Life is a timely June topic, and I recently knew of a friend with a breast cancer recurrence who might need a "pick-me-up".
Here is a picture of five napkins with pink ribbons crayoned on them. The blue outline is a water soluble pen that I used for sketching the ribbons on the napkins. Then the napkins were ironed between white copy paper to take off some of the waxy color.

And here is the finished product on the right. The pinks came out pretty well, and I was surprised that so much color stayed on the fabric. A heavy embroidery floss in dark pink was threaded and used for the outline whipped stem stitch.

More examples of using crayons to tint fabric can be found at TheFlossBox. Another great source for embroidery patterns can be found at Needlecrafter. And I found some cute pictures drawn by Beatrix Potter through a Google search, and some transfer-worthy images of Peter Rabbit here.

Jemima Puddle-duck of Beatrix Potter fame will be my next quilt square for a baby blanket, and I plan to tint Jemima with watercolor pencils in blues for her hat and pinks and roses for her shawl.

Check out the Beatrix Potter website for delightful illustrations, and more about her life here at the BeatrixPotterSociety. If you are a fan of hers (like I am), you might be interested in seeing the movie Miss Potter. Renee Zellweger was the star, and it was a delightful film IMHO.

At VintagePatterns, an entire free catalog from 1886 of embroidery patterns is available on-line and in the public domain. This site is fascinating. Tutorials are also given of how to turn the patterns into usable designs.

And to think that our foremothers probably used some of these patterns on their lingerie!

Palestine and Cross-Stitch Embroidery

My husband and I were fortunate enough to pilgrimage to Greece, Jordan, Palestine and Israel in 1995 with a group of people from our local Lutheran church. It was a pilgrimage because the trip met the criteria in it was a conscious choice of a place to be; cultural differences were encountered which caused disorientation; we had shared reflection; there were common rituals and spiritual disciplines; and the group came to have a sense of community and leadership.

Among many things, I learned that the Palestinians have a lifestyle that I would not want to trade for living in America. Money is scarce, and women have unique challenges in this society.

Women in Gaza have been bearing an increasing burden of supporting their families. Although it is labor-intensive and time-consuming work, thousands of women are willing to embroider as many stitches as they can while juggling household responsibilities, in exchange for a wage that would afford basic subsistence for their families’ survival.

Sunbala is a Jerusalem-based nonprofit Fair Trade organization that supports 14 different craft producers. Sunbula helps Palestinian artisans to be economically empowered, and supports the preservation of the cultural heritage. The Sulafa Embroidery Project aims to provide income for the Strip’s refugee women and to ensure that the traditional art form of embroidery is kept alive. Women, by receiving the embroidery work, earn an average of $40 per month, a significant amount in the area where a majority of people live below the poverty line ($2/day per household).

The UNRWA Sulafa Embroidery Project is located in Gaza City and provides income generating opportunities for hundreds of refugee women through a network of 9 community centers across the Strip. Sulafa is a nonprofit project established by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) in 1950 as a part of the Social Service Programme. Sulafa’s shawls, with their elegant style and striking geometric patterns, have been the top-sales item at Sunbula for many years. Gazan women’s artisanship and resilient spirits against all odds are reflected in the beauty of their products.

Once a traditional craft practiced by village women, Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery has become an important symbol of Palestinian culture. Embroidered pieces can be found in the homes of most Palestinian families in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Israel and the Diaspora beyond, adorning the walls of houses in Jerusalem, villas in the Gulf, suburban homes in the United States, and cement block houses in refugee camps. In addition, cross-stitch embroidery is given as gifts and worn by Palestinians worldwide on festive occasions.The handicraft also symbolizes the traditional rural lifestyle of Palestine, much of which was lost after the 1948 creation of the state of Israel.

All proceeds from purchases directly benefit Palestinian craft producers, and help to carry out their mission to support women, refugees and people with disabilities.

While in Bethlehem, I purchased an embroidered eyeglass holder shown on the right. After 13 years, it still looks as fresh and bright as it did when we were in the Holy Land.

It was definitely a good investment for a small price, and proceeds from sales helped defray the Palestinian women’s expenses in producing hand made products.

Making Your Own Footstool

My dad had given me a framed piece of needlepoint several years ago that his aunt had made in the 1920's. The glass was cloudy and the frame was in pretty bad shape. It was definitely not something I would use as it was put together all those years ago. But the piece of needlepoint using deep shades of greens and reds was beautifully executed and in perfect condition under the glass.

Isn't that pretty?

To preserve that nostalgic old piece of needle crafted art, I decided to make a footstool and place on the top of it the rose needle-pointed in wool.

I measured the unframed piece of work, discarding the glass and frame. Those measurements determined what size box was needed in order to have an adequate base for the footstool. Then I determined how high the footstool should be in accordance with my favorite reading chair. My father-in-law made a hollow pine box base, so half the battle was over.

Coordinating upholstery fabric in reds, greens and blues was purchased. Bagged polyester filling was place on top of the box, and then the needlepoint rose was secured to the top of the box with a sturdy staple gun. I bought fabric three times the diameter of the box and the appropriate height of the box. It was all fairly intuitive after that as far as cutting, hemming, gathering the fabric and sewing the skirt.

The skirt was also attached to the box by staples. Where the edges of the top and skirt came together, I hot glued a length of cording all around it and attached tassels to each corner.

The dogs immediately destroyed the cute corner tassels, but it still looks nice enough to use and display that vintage piece of fiber art.

After the first footstool turned out so well, I decided to make a more simplified one without fabric on the bottom. Instead, a nicely crafted pine box supplied by my woodworking friend was used for the base. I stained the wood and put a quick acrylic spray on the wood when the stain dried. The top of the box was covered in the same manner previously described, but using a striped fabric for the top.

There was even enough fabric left over to make a matching pillow.

Only after making these two footstools did I find an article from the Carol Duval television show that explained how to make a footstool step-by-step. Those directions can be found at Carol Duval.

Another footstool using a metal planter as a base is shown with directions given by DIY, DIY Decorating & Design host Nancy Golden. All the tools she used are included at that site.

I was pleased with the results of making these two footstools, and happy to preserve my Aunt Lula’s needlepoint. To sum up, who could say it better than Mark Twain?

Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.--Mark Twain

Silk Ribbon Embroidery - Covered Buttons

Thinking I would like to embellish a few vintage vests which I previously sewed, (referring to March Post), it seemed a natural fit to incorporate ribbon embroidery onto buttons.

This site: Purl Bee ...shows in great detail how to make a covered button. It is a very complete and easy-to-read tutorial which I highly recommed taking a look at. A picture of completed buttons is shown at right, taken from the Purl Bee citation.

Ribbon embroidery can be used for decorating articles of clothing, sachet bags, purses, etc. It certainly gives a distinctive touch to any lingerie, outer wear, or craft item.


On the left is a picture of a few silk ribbon birds which I made for a size 36 (7/8”) button cover. I thought they would be in proportion to the button, but after I put these onto the button covers, they were WAY too large.




Then I decided that what was needed was to make much smaller silk ribbon birds in order for them to fit onto individual button covers.

The smaller birds shown in the image (right side) can more deftly be wrapped around the button cover.

Using examples from the book An Encyclopedia of Ribbon Ebroidery by the American School of Needlework (1996), these replicas of American Goldfinches worked much better.

I will show a picture of the completed button once I get several more embroidered. But for now, the vest needs to be completed so these buttons can be added to it!

Silk Ribbon Embroidery

“Embroidery…the word conjures up so many visions and memories for me: crewel wool pomegranates flowing across an eighteenth century bedspread in Balmoral Castle;…” Judith Baker Montano (1995)

This book, Elegant Stitches, was my first reference book on the subject of embroidering with silk ribbon. Embroidering with ribbon was very popular about 10-12 years ago (who knows, maybe it is still in vogue).

I loved the idea of beautiful colors creating a landscape though various types of knotting ribbons, as well as threads. Ms. Montano explains and gives examples of over a hundred types of stitches in her book. The book is a real keepsake not only for the knowledge it imparts, but also for the gorgeous illustrations.

Silk ribbon embroidery can be used for decorating articles of clothing, sachet bags, purses, etc. It certainly gives a distinctive touch to any lingerie, outer wear, or craft item

My mother-in-law sewed pretty mauve ribbon roses on the sachet bag (left foreground) shown in this picture:

More about Silk Ribbon Embroidery in next post.