The two books are making progress together. For “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery: Whitework from Teulada” I have been continuing to work on promotional material, and for the new mysterious book I have been continuing to embroider, research and think through ideas.
I personally like the idea of wearing hand embroidered clothing. It is embroidery that gets used. I have a couple of embroidered shirts that I enjoy wearing, and for the Sardinian book, I made a dress with an embroidered border, seen right on the sample book pages. I love wearing it!
For this next book, I am seriously considering including another garment. I just really like the idea of wearing the fruit of my labour. Apart from anything else, it is a really good advertisement for what I do – it is a very practical way of showing people what I do all day!
When we think of embroidery on clothing, we often think of smocked dresses for little girls, grub roses on singlets for little babies. Why do babies and children get all the fun? Why don’t we adults wear embroidery on our clothing more often? One practical reason could be that children are smaller, therefore less time is required to embroider their clothing!
Two of the magazines that I have worked with were always interested in projects that either put embroidery on existing clothing or that had embroidery that was done and then included in the construction of the garment.
Embroidery on clothing was one of the main reasons I wanted to do the pattern drafting course that The Reader and I have been doing over the past year and a half now. I used those skills to draft the pattern for the dress in “Sardinian Knotted Embroidery”.
Do you like the idea of wearing embroidered garments? Is this something you already do? Have you embroidered either on existing clothing or on components that have been then made into a new garment? Is it something you would like to do?
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
Yes, I like to wear clothes I have embroidered. Probably a symptom of the times of my youth when hippies wore embroidered caftans, shirts, jeans, blouses, and hats. Definitely guilty! (I admit to embroidered pillow-cases and other house linens too.) I see capri pants with embroidered areas at the hem in the shops here, embroidered shopping bags, blouses with a band of embroidery at the hem, and fabulously embroidered white night gowns.
LOL! I don’t think you have to feel guilty about it, Louise! 😉
As you know, yes, I embroider clothes, and it’s nothing to do with being a hippie. My Grandmama used to embroider almost any fabric that came into the house, and it’s a family tradition I don’t even try to control!
That’s hilarious, Rachel. I can just imagine your Grandmother seizing fabric as it comes in the door, attacking it with her needle and thread, and not resting until it is suitably “fixed” with some embroidery!
Hi Yvette,
I love your embroidered dress. I have always embroidered my clothes since my teens, after doing Fine Needlework at TAFE (within a full-time Fashion Course). I still work in fashion, being a patternmaker/cutter creating made-to-measure clothing, but it is too expensive in Australia to hand-embroidery garments for most people, so it is rare that I get to embellish our clients clothing, unfortunately.
I love that you are encouraging other people to embellish for themselves, as it immediately makes the garment their own exclusive creation, even if they have not made the garment themself.
Happy stitching,
Debra Ryan