The Power of One-Machine Embroidery Designs-Continued

Not so long ago, I  posted my saga of the USPS involving my dear beloved swap apron (missing its pocket). Well, the swap is over and I can now post its picture. The fabric I chose was an antique damask table cloth (its wonderful how these antique fabrics feel and wear) and while I was working on it, I realised that I tend to use one design a lot in all my embroideries. With millions of machine embroidery designs available to us this hobby can get a bit overwhelming. I look at it sort of like my passion with purchasing fabric. I have tons but can’t resist when I go shopping…a bit of this and a bit of that. Pretty soon, I am overwhelmed with so much fabric but….when I start a new project…do I use any of it? (LOL) The same can be said of machine embroidery designs. We tend to collect machine embroidery designs because they looked good at the time. Pretty soon, we have an overwhelming abundance of designs, many hardly ever stitched out once. With that in mind and a vow this year to tackle my overloaded fabric stash, I decided to try using just one design to its unimaginable limits. 

I wanted an apron that had a bit of the 40′s/50′s look to it. With that in mind, I initially started off with just making the skirt with curved sides and cutwork edge (the design btw is from Fiona’s Purse). As work progressed, I realised that I needed a bib with it so again I created the cutwork edge at the top. The pocket also had a cutwork edge at the top (but did not get stitched).

One design can be quite powerful to use and to enhance your garment, home decor etc. Use it as a border, scattered over the fabric or as a trellis like effect,  your choice. Place several printed out templates over the area to see how you like the effect. This way you can use those designs sitting in your stash just like those fabrics sitting in your stash.