Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Embroidered Eyelet + Ice

Hi all!  I hope you're having a good start to your summer!

One of the unexpected joys of sewing is seeing how different a project can look with a change of fabric.  It's winning every time--you get something fresh without the hassle of picking another pattern.  After finding my perfect shirtdress last year in the Deer and Doe Bleuet, I decided it was high time to make another version.

And when I saw this eyelet lawn, I knew I had found the perfect match for shirtdress #2.





Ice Dyeing!

To start out my Bleuet part deux, I decided to ice dye the eyelet.  The 100% cotton makes it a perfect choice for ice dye.  It's lightweight too which makes it easy to manipulate during the ice dyeing process.  

I expected the embroidery to be a polyester, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was cotton too.  So all of the pretty flowers embroidered across the surface of the eyelet picked up some of the dye as well.

For this yardage, I used Procion dyes in coral, hot pink, clear yellow, and peach.  I was thinking about my daughter here who I knew would be gaga for these colors together.

Embroidered seams


The pattern calls for all of the long princess seams to be topstitched.  I don't love topstitching on eyelet because sometimes the needles can skip.  I didn't have too much problem with this one, I think because the holes are pretty small for eyelet.

Nevertheless, I decided to go a different route for finishing the seams.

First I sewed all the seams, then finished them on the inside of the dress with a serger.



Then I used a fabric marker to mark points at 1/2" intervals 1/4" away from each seam.  Then I stitched X's all along each seam with pink embroidery thread, including the shoulder seams.  It's a different way to topstitch!

I think the X's are a nice accent to the ice dye too.  


Yellow buttons


The one thing about the Deer and Doe Bleuet is that it takes a whopping 15 buttons.  Thankfully the Milly shirt buttons come in handy bags of 10.  For this project, I chose the yellow.  Those are sold out, but there's several other shirt buttons here.

I added the pink embroidery thread to the buttons too for a two-tone look on the buttons.


It's finally getting hot enough here in Colorado, that the final dress is just right.  My sons have been able to return to baseball, so I will definitely be staying cool at games!



Pattern rematch part 2: Ottobre 3-2017-14

I had just enough fabric leftover to make a second version of Ottobre 3-2017-14 for my daughter.  When I made it last year in the chambray it was a little big on her.  

I think secretly I cut sizes a little big for my kids in hopes that I can get a little longer out of the same size!  This year, the 98 is a perfect fit for her.

This has been a favorite dress for her.  It's nice that the second layer acts as a self lining.  And the shoulder ties and back keyhole are sweet details for summer.




She really loves when we do the whole Mommy and Me thing.  1) she loves fabric and especially if there's pink involved, and 2) because I think she gets a kick out of us coordinating.  And raiding my accessories is also peak fun for her.  


So those are my ice dyeing adventures with eyelet lawn and familiar patterns.  What have you been sewing this summer?

~Elizabeth of Elizabeth Made This
Sew something creative

Comments

  1. Great dresses, Elizabeth ! How did you do the ice dyeing ? Looks interesting...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! It's a really fun process, and there's a detailed tutorial here on my blog: https://elizabethmadethis.com/how-to-ice-dye-fabric/

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the effect of ice dyeing, but I've never tried it myself. Your dresses turned out perfect. Beautiful choice of dyes. And that hand embroidery-wow! So cool! I always get new ideas from your posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ann! I always love seeing your techniques too! I'm so grateful to be among such talented creative ladies! I think you'd enjoy the process--if you can pick colors, you will love the results!

      Delete
  4. The topstitching is genius. Color combinations also. Boutique worthy effort! Your daughter is growing up so fast, I can see she looks older in her expressions. She will be challenging you at the machine soon ; > )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I had the same thought. She definitely has strong opinions about fabric, LOL!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: FROM FABRIC TO FASHION: - The Saguaro Set with Fabric Mart Fabric

The weather in Southwest Florida is finally starting to warm up.  With the warm air and bright sunshine, I have been thinking about refreshing my “at home” wardrobe with some fun easy pieces this year.     I have wanted to make The Saguaro Set for some time now.   When I saw the beautiful selection of rayon challis on the Fabric Mart website, I knew now was the perfect time to get it started.   THE FABRIC I researched a lot to see which fabric would work the best for this pattern.   I chose the Deep Amaranth Pink 100% Rayon Twill Challis for my project.    It is a beautiful color that to me looks more coral. The fabric is light to medium weight and has beautiful drape.  The care instructions said gentle wash or hand wash.   I prewashed the fabric in cold water on the delicate cycle.  However, after drying it on the delicate cycle, the fabric had an almost vintage distressed look.   I was a bit co...

Made By A Fabricista: Revisiting a Pattern After Five Years

Have you ever used a sewing pattern and then immediately vowed never to sew it again? Well, I have. It all began in the spring of 2020 at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I tackled sewing projects that were more challenging to help me grow as a seamstress. There was one pattern in particular that almost did me in, the Seamwork Penny shirt dress. The Penny dress pattern has a classic button-up dress shirt style bodice with a gathered skirt and pockets. It is a beautiful take on a shirt dress, and my sister and I loved it. The only downside is that it was recommended for intermediate-level sewists and I was only an adventurous beginner back then.  I think I had only ever made one button-up shirt before attempting this Penny Dress and it didn’t even have a collar! Despite all of this, I thought “Why not try it, what’s the worst that can happen?”  Thankfully the worst didn’t happen, and the dress turned out surprisingly wearable, but I had some intense frustration at the end. I...

Made By A Fabricista: A Simple Frock for Spring

Hello friends! I’m really into sewing and wearing tent dresses at the moment. A tent dress is basically a wide A-line style gown. For this month’s project, I’ve opted to try out The Assembly Line’s Square Neck Dress. This style is a little avant-garde in its enormity and shape, and boasts the squared neckline it’s named after, plus some cute hem side slits.  All that volume is fun to move around in, plus there’s loads of air circulation which is cooling. This dress’s main feature–its wide and high squared neckline–really piqued my interest recently, and I added it to my Make Nine plans for 2025. I find it so satisfying to check off those boxes as I sew!  This beautiful shirtweight linen is a color I simply adore; a muted medium blue. Stormy skies, worn-in denim, and ocean waves all come to mind, and that is exactly what I want to be all wrapped up in. While I think a wild or large print would be amazingly on display in this big canvas of a dress, I also thought that a subtle ...