Ahoy there, it's another dungaree dress!

Hi guys,

I am back this week with another dungaree dress, first I feel there is a little bit of back story needed so let me tell you...

When I was younger, say in my mid/late teens I loved anything nautical, for example I loved anchors, anything with anchors on it I had to have it. I also loved anything with sailboats, stripes and the colour scheme navy, red and white. I thought I would grow out of all things nautical, but I guess, I didn't. 

Ok, ok, so now I don't have a need to be covered in anchors but I still love me some nautical pieces in my wardrobe. 

Onto my latest make, which I am hoping will be a well worn addition to my wardrobe. 

A navy twill dungaree dress with burgundy accent stitching and an embroidered anchor. 

(Ok, so maybe I just had to sneak a little anchor in there!)

I originally planned to just use a navy cotton for the stitching but my mum suggested some burgundy to liven things up and I am so glad she did.

I used some snazzy bronze buttons for this which I just love with the burgundy, I had bought some traditional style jean buttons but somehow they just didn't seam right for this, too heavy. What do you think?

This fabric was also a bit of a stash buster, it has been in my cupboards for a while and I am so happy I made use of it with this dungaree dress. 

This fabric is a cotton and acrylic twill mix in a traditional navy. I love it, but it does seem to however attract fluff at every move, I am hoping that with washing that will disappear. 

I used a pattern I made from a favourite RTW dungaree dress a couple of weeks ago. You can read more about it here. I love this version so much, It is so much more wearable than the floral version I made a couple of weeks ago and I can see myself making this a few more times over in more lightweight fabrics for the summer. I already have a chambray in my sights.

Do you have a favourite pattern that you make over and over? 

If so I would love to hear about it...

~HJF~ 

Motivational Banner

Today I would like to share with you a project I have been working on for a couple of weeks.

I haven't done much embroidery in my time, I have done a lot of free machine embroidery, but not much by hand. I think it such a skill and something I have admired for some time, but, alas, I am really not very patient. My mum and grandma have made a wonderful variety of embroidered tablecloths with a fantastic array of delicate stitches on them, that really are beautiful. 

For my first real piece I decided to keep it simple, with a back stitch. 

Here it is, finally finished. My motivational banner.....

I would just like to say this project was a little out of my comfort zone, I am not usually very fond of using "quotes" but I really like this one. I know quotes and slogans are very in right now, but I don't think it is something I will be indulging in too often. 

I typed up my quote, printed it and transferred it to calico using my lightbox.

I then used my watercolours to create a background so my banner wouldn't seem to plain. In hindsight I think using a patterned fabric might have been a better idea, but I will learn.

(Would you just look at those pom poms!!!! They are easily my most favourite part of this project)

After I had stitched my design i marked my banner and cut it to size. I stitched my pom pom trim into place and I then cut a back piece from some mint linen, this would enable me to 'bag out' my banner.

After I had finished my machine sewing to neaten all of my raw edges I hand stitched the top edge down to create a channel for my dowel to go through. (My dad helped me cut, shape and drill the dowel....it was too cold in the garage for me today ;)

I threaded a few lengths of grey thread through the dowel to give my banner something to hang from and I was done!

I really love the overall look of my banner, I am still slightly unsure about my use of a quote, but maybe if I let it hang a while I will get over it.

On another note, I ironed my fabric pre embroidery and after embroidery - twice! And would you just look, the creases are worse since I finished my embroidery, I was hopeful they may drop out while hanging, but now I am not so sure. I think I will have to live with it. 

Thanks for popping in, if you have any thoughts on the fabric banner trend or use of quotes I would love to hear them. 

~HJF~

Embroidered wedding gift

Hi all, 

So after our wedding in July we were totally overwhelmed by the amazing gifts we received from friends and family. We received some lovely presents and some really personal gifts from people who had really thought about us as a couple. 

When my cousins wedding was fast approaching last august I decided I wanted to make them something personal for their wedding gift, I struggled to settle on something and in the end decided on an embroidered piece relating to their wedding day.

I sketched out my design freehand and using my (homemade) lightbox I transferred the design to my calico fabric. 

I then used watercolour paints to add colour to my work. I free machine embroidered the rest of the piece using different shades of blue and green. I then finished it with some hand embroidered french knots. 

Here is the finished embroidery, excuse the poor quality photographs, I forgot to snap it before I framed it. I really enjoyed making this for my cousin, there are definitely a few changes I would make next time around. The feather shapes need some improvement and I would maybe throw in another colour just to mix things up a bit.