On the Cutting Edge
August 13th, 2009 in reader's closet
evek, member
10 users recommend
Front view
This ensemble was inspired by a guild challenge to be creative with 2 yards of linen.
Cutwork is a traditional technique that is often used to embellish linen. Here,
I give it a modern edge by combining it with silk organza and by using a non-traditional
color scheme. Every inch of the available fabric was used -- the two small rectangles left
after cutting out the jacket and pants were just enough to complete the purse.
The fabrics used are black linen and black silk organza. The top is silk charmeuse. I modified the edges of a simple bolero jacket and pants to accomodate the machine-embroidery.
The elaborate machine-embroidered cutwork borders on the jacket and
pants consist of several smaller motifs that have been grouped
together in software to follow the design lines of these garments.
These embroideries are stitched out using a water-soluble stabilizer.
The linen fabric in the open areas of the embroidery and along the
garment edges is carefully trimmed away before the final machine
stitching is done. The entire jacket and the embroidered areas of the
pant legs are underlined with silk organza. This underlining serves
several purposes: it acts as a permanent stabilizer for the
embroidery, as an interfacing for the jacket, and as a decorative
transparent inset for the cutwork. The organza is also used to finish
the seams inside the jacket.
Express Yourself in Linen
To enter, submit photographs of your garment into our Challenge Gallery by 11:59pm, August 17th, 2009, and you could win the new 1100D serger from Janome.
Be sure to include a brief description of your garment highlighting any special techniques you used to create the garment, what pattern you used, any modifications you made, or if you designed it yourself. In addition to an image of the full garment, please also include some details shots of your garment so we can see your construction techniques up close.
Threads editors will choose the winner based on creativity, best use of technique, quality of construction and style. Keep in mind that we’ll be judging from a photograph only, so the determinations will be based on the clarity of these features as seen in the photograph.
See official rules for more information.
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