Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A Glorious Dress for Clara: Eyelet and Angie


My big handwork project this fall was a Christmas gift for Clara--this six-gore jersey dress from Alabama Studio Style. I used the Angie's Fall stencil, and worked it up in the "Eyelet and Angie" variation. I'll tell you about that.


First, here's the neckline. Tiny pale green beads threaded onto feather stitches.


Back to the good stuff. The stencil is put on with white fabric paint that I cut with just a dot of green. Then I used very pale green jersey to make applique shapes for the larger flower petals.


The echinacea petals, above right, are done in reverse applique. As in, the whole dress is lined in green, then the petals are stitched around, and the interior top layer is cut out. The different kinds of embellishment give this piece a wonderful dimensionality. 


Any shape that wasn't appliqued or reverse appliqued, was simply stitched around in back stitch. I used three stands of DMC floss in a matching pale green. The knots are on the inside of the skirt.


When I had worked all my shapes, I went back and put seed beads on parts of the passionflowers, then embroidered stars ("eyelets" in Alabama Chanin vocab) that totally reminded me of piped frosting stars.

The design goes all the way around the dress, and up to the waist. 


12 comments:

Deb L said...

OH so beautiful. Clara must have been thrilled!

Rose said...

Wow! It's something else Anna.

A happy new year to you and all the family.

Harmony said...

Oh, how could a girl not feel gorgeous in that! This is my favorite for sure of your many lovely Alabama Chanin works.

Lisa said...

Oh, my. I love it! The colors, it's all so dramatic looking. She must be thrilled!

Lisateresa

Julian said...

Gorgeous! Its my favorite as well. What a blessed Clara!
Christina

Polly said...

Delicious!! That's a lot of backstitching--but I love the look of the backstitch. Also: I'm in love with reverse applique. It is so dimensional and you never know what it will look like until you cut the shapes away!!

Very nice job--I'm sure Clara is loving it. Send the photos to Natalie Chanin!

Lisa said...

Yes, you really should send the photos to Natalie Chanin, like Polly says. You've worked hard making so many beautiful things.

Lisateresa

Holly said...

This is a work of art, Anna. I second Polly: you positively must send these pictures (or a link to your post) to Natalie Chanin. Well done! :)

Fiona said...

What a labor of love! Love for Clara and love for making beautiful things! It looks amazing, so much detail. And I also loved that little peek of sweet drawers on the side ...

Unknown said...

Soooo lovely. I received a DIY project for Christmas. I must say I was inspired by you to give it a try. This will certainly be a family heirloom.
Ceil

the momma said...

*sigh*
It's just lovely!

Rebekah said...

Simply marvelous, Anna. What a treasure.

Related Posts with Thumbnails