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.
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!
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.
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
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Posted on June 24 2020
Great dresses, Elizabeth ! How did you do the ice dyeing ? Looks interesting…
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/
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.
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!
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 ; > )
Thank you! I had the same thought. She definitely has strong opinions about fabric, LOL!