Holiday Decorating with Buttons

This year, I have been determined to spend more time creating projects that allow my creativity to blossom. Of course sewing and embroidery of all types feed my creative need, but there's something about doing a project for the sheer pleasure of creating, if for no other reason than to celebrate the season.

When my sisters and I were young, my mother came home with a bag of shiny ribbons of varying widths, sparkling sequins and beads, richly woven trims in myriad of rich colors, and dozens of Styrofoam balls. She then went on to explain that since we didn't have the money to purchase ornaments for our tree, we would make them instead. Then, she proceeded to dump a mound of old Mardi Gras beads onto the dining room table and encouraged us to find our favorites among the glittering finery.

This ball was made with swirls of bright white shell
buttons alternating with swirls of dark shell buttons,
all held in place with white pearlized pins.
The red silk satin ribbon was added after.

In those days, Mardi Gras beads were constructed of beautiful mercury glass and polished beads from Czeclosovakia so they were treasured for their beauty and collectibility and rarely thrown out. Some necklaces were created with crystals in monochromatic colors while others jumbled combinations of beads with no compatibility except for being grouped together in the same strand. Long sections of tubular glass beads strung together with round glass baubles were plentiful but fragile so few survived the day intact. I coveted those necklaces with multiple strands of seed beads in a single color that invariably became the crowd favorites too and were highly sought by all parade goers. Mardi Gras, or Carnival as it is known to native New Orleanians, was quite a different event then and the "throws" were much more appreciated than the inexpensive plastic examples of today's beads.

The wreath begins with a small round styrofoam ring.  Three-fourths of an inch wide silk satin ribbon was swirled around the ring on the diagonal and pinned in place. To mark the position of the buttons, I used a dark color thread and wound it around the ring, then taped it in place. It was easy to re-adjust the position of the thread when necessary. Lastly, shell buttons were placed along the thread with pearlized pins (1" length), and then the thread was removed. The bow and streamers were added last.

The homemade ornaments we created turned out to be our favorites for years to come and the time spent creating with my sisters and mother will never be forgotten. So, this year, I sat down to create my own rendition of homemade Christmas ornaments and invited my niece to join in the fun. I decided to use buttons and ribbons, of which I happen to have amassed large quantities. Here are the results.

Editors note: This holiday season, I hope you take a few moments to create memories with your loved ones while creating special heirlooms to enjoy for years to come. The important thing to note is that my mother let us choose the colors, beads and ribbons WE liked and didn't interfere with our designs, allowing us to enjoy creating entirely on our own. Her role was feeding us inspiration to create.


This ornament began with a solid layer of ruby red buttons covering the surface and held in place with red pearlized pins. Brighter buttons of red, pink and fuschia were added and held in place with red and light pink pearlized pins.
 

Begin this ball with wide silk satin ribbon pinned around the widest point, then add shell buttons to the surface with pearlized pins. Heart pearl buttons are sprinkled on top of the round buttons inside the gaps with pearlized pins. Irredescent sequins were added to the small gaps and attached with sequin pins. The bow was added last.

 

Cyber Monday Sale

Are you enjoying all the Cyber Monday emails you have surely received in your mailbox today? Well, I for one always check to see what type of promotions my favorite vendors are running so I can stock up on my stash.

We have decided to offer a special Cyber Monday savings to our best customers this year, and I want to extend the invitation to you. If you did not receive an email from me yesterday and you would like to be added to our email list, please drop us a line at orders@wendyschoen.com. We will be using this list of names to notify you of our class offerings, current events, newsletters and special promotions.

Color Block Baby Dress

In just one week, we will all be going to the polls to elect our next President of the United States. To show my patriotism, I designed this cute dress. The dress was one I recently taught and I wanted to offer it to everyone. The version I taught was made with hemstitching along the applique bands, but this version features Point de Paris stitch by machine. We are featuring this project on our site as the Kit of the Month, along with a special price. The kit contains beautiful Ulster Linen gingham checks and grid handkerchief linen and comes in sizes 1 to 4. It is also available in blue and white.

This is the first time I have joined a Madeira Applique band cut on the bias. Let me tell you, it was quite different as the band kept stretching, making measuring tricky. Below is a mini tutorial for joining the contrast bands.


The completed Color Block Baby Dress made in the red version with Ulster linen and grid woven handkerchief linen.

Antique buttons were used to accent the pleats. These buttons are included in the kit, too.

Back of dress features shoulder bands that snap together for ease in dressing.

The contrast Madeira Applique hem bands.

Pin and then baste the applique band to the dress, matching up the seams. Mark the placement on the band where the seams meet. It is better to align the seams than to match checks.



With right sides together and edges even, pin the band together.



Sew the band together at the marked position. Trim away excess seam allowances AFTER checking the fit of the band.
 

Open out the hem band, place it in position on skirt and baste securely in place, turning under the edges along the stay-stitches. Press well, then stitch via machine with the blanket stitch function (Point de Paris or Pinstitch), L=2.5; W=1.5.
 



Beginner Tote Bag Class

A few weeks ago, I hosted my first adult beginning sewing lesson. I chose a cute tote bag made of pretty black toile and hot pink pique fabrics as the project. My students, whom I had never met before, were determined to start sewing and needed a bit of assurance and instruction to get started. The class was broken into two sessions, each lasting three hours. Working from 9 am to 12 noon over two days, allowed a bit of relief inbetween to avoid possible "gotta finish or else" jitters. It worked out so well that I've decided to reschedule the same class again. Hopefully, I'll get more students next time.


The completed tote bag.



Cristaine works diligently on her totebag. (See Cris' second project, Witch's Trick-or-Treat Bag in the previous post.)



The beginner students displays confidence while working on her totebag.

When Jamie completes her hand sewing on the lining, her bag will be completed.

Witch's Trick-or-Treat Bag

Most of you are aware that I'm best known for my fluffy white linen dresses with hand embroidery. Lately I've been going back to my roots and taking on sewing projects that I normally don't do. Frankly, it's a lot more fun doing what you want rather than need to do. This is a class I taught last week in Wendy's Sewing Studio. The project was the student's choice and idea and I provided the pattern and instructions for the lesson. This is a gift she made for her daughter, who is enjoying her first Halloween in the States. What fun!

The completed Witch's Bag. This bag is constructed of crepe back satin in black and purple for the basket. Channels are sewn and stuffed with fiberfil. A large piping cord keeps the rim and handle stable. The legs are constructed of striped quilting fabric and the shoes are appliqued on, using the same fabric but inverted so the dull side shows outward. Pompoms decorate the shoes. Although you can't see the sparkles, the netting is glittery and perfect for Halloween.

The legs are sewn with tiny zigzag stitches to prevent tears in the seams. They are stitched into the bottom section of the bag, which will eventually be hand stitched onto the outside of the basket.

A bias loop is attached to the gathered rim of the basket.

The lining of the basket is shown above. Purple was chosen, rather than black to enable tracing lines to be visible.



The leg pattern shown with the skirt already gathered and ready to be sewn onto the bag.

Sewing Room Class is Huge Success

I have been so busy lately that I have not had a chance to check in with you all. Last week, I just returned home from Birmingham, Alabama where I taught a lovely group of ladies at the loveliest shop, the Sewing Room. My hosts Patsy and Billy Smith graciously invited me to teach not one, but two groups. The project they chose was from 1996, one of my very first class projects. Needless to say, the handout needed serious updating, which started me on a quest to revise ALL of my handouts and class project instructions. This is a serious undertaking, to say the least, but now that my schedule is not as frantic, (no Martha Pullen School) the timing is perfect. I also have been working on updating the graphics on my site, but that has been a lesson in patience and preservation. Of course, Jane is doing a ton of the work leaving me to the photos and photo banners.

Just because I'm not included on the schedule at the School of Art Fashion in Huntsville, doesn't mean I'm going away. Quite the contrary, as I now have the time to truly think again and I'm coming up with a ton of new ideas to share with you. For the time being, they will have to remain a mystery, but you will be the first to know when I'm ready to spill the beans.

Here I am with Patsy Smith, owner of the Sewing Room in Birmingham, Alabama.

Here are a bunch of students looking very intently at their tracings.

The Boudoir Bow Pillow class project. If you would like a kit or pattern of this project, please let us know at wendyschoen.com.

Group 2 busy at work tracing their designs.

The Classroom Reveal

This idea came from my friend, Steve Savage, who visited me for lunch one day. I would like to share it with you.

My studio classroom is a huge square room. No closets, no storage of any kind exists. As soon as I began bringing machines from my home studio to my work studio, I realized I needed a place to store them when not in use. Below the staircase is the perfect place, and after all, I have seven machines so there's no way I can be using all of them at the same time.

I love my sewing machines, but the room was beginning to look like a Sew 'N Vac dealership with all the stuff hanging around. (My apologies to all you Sew 'N Vac people). The original idea was to make a drape beneath the staircase attached with magnets to the steel beams. I thought it was a wonderful idea and I immediately began collecting fabrics and trims for the project.

I chose a beautiful floral print to use as a lining and a wide awning striped cotton for the outer fabric. To accent the ginormous header, I decided to make a scalloped valence. The minute I began working, I realized this would be a mathematical nightmare, keeping the angle of the staircase even with the angle of the stripes. So, I got out my trusty contractor's ruler and began measuring. I measured the highest point and the lowest point of the staircase. I measured the width of the fabric and began cutting strips. First strip, longest length was first. I remembered the cardinal rule of sewing: Always cut the largest piece first. So far, so good.

The next length was cut and joined to the first, and following the same guidelines, joined the final length the same way. All the straight edges were aligned on the hemline of the drape. Working on the diagonal, I began cutting the upper edges evenly. When I was done, it was time to check my angle. Of course, it was inaccurate. I never was very good at math, which is a serious understatement. But, I forgave myself and kept going. After a rather lengthy hunt for magnet clips, I managed to find them at Lowes in the hardware department. I envisioned sewing curtain rings to the header and hanging them onto hooks, but the only magnets I could find had binder clips instead of cup hooks. Those would work. Well, not really. Once I got the fabric cut to size, the magnet clips weren't strong enough to hold it, and I still needed to line the curtain and attach the header. So then arose yet another dilemma. My mechanic husband, Billy suggested I use the clips and just clip the header to the rail, which I suppose is a "guy thing" to just get the job done. That worked, but looked unfinished. I'm still trying to figure out a solution, so if any of you clever gals (or guys) can solve my problem, feel free to chime in.

Moving on, I began concentrating on the header. Common knowledge told me the fabric would be prone to stretching because after all, it was cut on the diagonal. To avoid this problem, I cut 4" width strips from the fabric to act as a stabilizer the upper edge. Then, I attached the scalloped valence onto the edge and flipped it over the band so it wasn't noticeable. I chose a lively print for my lining fabric instead of plain white fabric, so when the drape is pulled back, it would still look pretty. I hemmed the bottom and attached the lining and viola! my curtain was completed. Check out the photos below.