Anna Skirt Embroidery - Day 1 Progress
Funny how it can all of a sudden be a whole week since I've last posted...
Anyway, we had tech all last week, so there wasn't any time for me to sew until Friday, when I had about 3 hours before our opening night. And in those three hours, I remade the Anna skirt out of the new luxe cotton sateen stuff from Joanns. It's lovely fabric, and even after washing, it maintained its sheen (after ironing, of course). I was a bit surprised about how prone to fraying it is, though. Hopefully the side seams will hold up after serging. I know that the curves on the hem would not hold up even with serging. By the time I got the binding on the hem on Sunday morning, it had frayed almost to the stitch line of the serging. So if you use this fabric, please keep that in mind!
I had originally hoped to accomplish much more than just remaking the skirt on Friday, but our rehearsal ran very late the night before (I got home at 1am), and I decided sleep was more important. Of course, that did mean that all weekend I was kind of disappointed, thinking that there was no way that I would be able to finish the whole project by Halloween/Dapper Day.
Sunday morning before our matinee I woke up early enough to finish the hem binding, mark four embroidery placements on the skirt, and do the stem/leaf embroidery section of one motif. After the matinee on Sunday, I came straight home and walked right into the sewing room to start the next stem section. And I realized that I had meant to buy embroidery bobbin thread on the way home, because I had wound my last one that morning. Shoot! So I left my machine going and ran out to Joanns (and to get gas) with my fingers crossed. I made it back about 25 mins later, and it had gotten about 19 minutes through a 21 minute stitch-out before shredding the thread and stopping. So I call that a success. And it's good that I bought the thread, because I ran out of bobbin thread during the 3rd or 4th stem section.
By the end of the night yesterday, I had managed to do four stem/leaf sections (about 30 minutes per hooping), and two flower sections (about 60 minutes per hooping). That equals to about 1/6 of the total amount of embroidery, since there are 16 motifs total. By doing that much last night, I am now thinking that it may actually be possible for me to finish it by Halloween. I have this evening free, plus next Sunday evening, the evening of the 24th, and the daytime on the 26th. Plus maybe a stolen hour here or there between work and rehearsal if I can manage it, but everything else is taken up with Music Man performances, White Christmas rehearsals, and work. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
Here's a pic of last night's progress:
While I was embroidering last night, I also walked my dog, ate dinner, and made a skirt for an etsy order. Today I will make a second skirt for that etsy order, and hopefully move back to the Anna bodice. I would really love to get that cut out and assembled tonight. Beyond that, I still have to do the Anna blouse, and I would like to do a blouse to go with the jumper and a tam to go with Dapper Merida. Not sure I'll achieve all that in the tiny amount of time I have left this month, though.
Anyway, we had tech all last week, so there wasn't any time for me to sew until Friday, when I had about 3 hours before our opening night. And in those three hours, I remade the Anna skirt out of the new luxe cotton sateen stuff from Joanns. It's lovely fabric, and even after washing, it maintained its sheen (after ironing, of course). I was a bit surprised about how prone to fraying it is, though. Hopefully the side seams will hold up after serging. I know that the curves on the hem would not hold up even with serging. By the time I got the binding on the hem on Sunday morning, it had frayed almost to the stitch line of the serging. So if you use this fabric, please keep that in mind!
I had originally hoped to accomplish much more than just remaking the skirt on Friday, but our rehearsal ran very late the night before (I got home at 1am), and I decided sleep was more important. Of course, that did mean that all weekend I was kind of disappointed, thinking that there was no way that I would be able to finish the whole project by Halloween/Dapper Day.
Sunday morning before our matinee I woke up early enough to finish the hem binding, mark four embroidery placements on the skirt, and do the stem/leaf embroidery section of one motif. After the matinee on Sunday, I came straight home and walked right into the sewing room to start the next stem section. And I realized that I had meant to buy embroidery bobbin thread on the way home, because I had wound my last one that morning. Shoot! So I left my machine going and ran out to Joanns (and to get gas) with my fingers crossed. I made it back about 25 mins later, and it had gotten about 19 minutes through a 21 minute stitch-out before shredding the thread and stopping. So I call that a success. And it's good that I bought the thread, because I ran out of bobbin thread during the 3rd or 4th stem section.
By the end of the night yesterday, I had managed to do four stem/leaf sections (about 30 minutes per hooping), and two flower sections (about 60 minutes per hooping). That equals to about 1/6 of the total amount of embroidery, since there are 16 motifs total. By doing that much last night, I am now thinking that it may actually be possible for me to finish it by Halloween. I have this evening free, plus next Sunday evening, the evening of the 24th, and the daytime on the 26th. Plus maybe a stolen hour here or there between work and rehearsal if I can manage it, but everything else is taken up with Music Man performances, White Christmas rehearsals, and work. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
Here's a pic of last night's progress:
While I was embroidering last night, I also walked my dog, ate dinner, and made a skirt for an etsy order. Today I will make a second skirt for that etsy order, and hopefully move back to the Anna bodice. I would really love to get that cut out and assembled tonight. Beyond that, I still have to do the Anna blouse, and I would like to do a blouse to go with the jumper and a tam to go with Dapper Merida. Not sure I'll achieve all that in the tiny amount of time I have left this month, though.