One Lucky Little Girl!

Elegant Stitches employee, Barbara, is going to have one excited Granddaughter at Christmas this year.  Barbara has been lovingly creating an entire wardrobe for her granddaughter's beloved American Girl Doll.


Take a look at these sweet little outfits!

Southern Belle

Mermaid

Super Hero

Little Witchy Poo

Princess

Can you imagine the look on little Annie's face upon opening her gift from her beloved Grammie?  This is definitely a gift to treasure and pass down from generation to generation!  

*Barbara recommends reading through the instructions completely before cutting the patterns.

Joan Hinds published these books for sewing clothes for 18" dolls. You can find these and other books at http://www.elegantstitches.com/

Heirloom Sewing is not just for Christening Gowns

Renee' Spell, one of the owners of Elegant Stitches, is a Martha Pullen Certified Instructor in Heirloom Sewing and Serging.  The techniques, awareness and appreciation for the needle arts is something Renee' wants to preserve and pass down to future generations.  As focus shifts from just children's clothing and quilting, many trends and techniques are being developed through BERNINA and the couture industry and being strongly fed by Craftsy, Pinterst and Etsy type sites.  Embracing the evolving trends, Renee' created this beautiful blouse using the built in stitches on the BERNINA 880 and Heirloom techniques.

Simplicity Blouse Pattern # 8523

The inspiration for this blouse was from an article written by Laura Jenkins Thompson in Sew Beautiful Magazine.  Renee' chose to work with Italian Organdy however, this blouse would be just as lovely with a  Swiss Batiste or a lightweight handkerchief linen.  You can see how the embroidered panels were created at http://weallsew.com/2014/09/22/diy-lace-insertion-in-the-mega-hoop/.  After creating the panels, Renee' added the lace insertion with pinstitch #720 on the BERNINA 880.  The notions used were a size 100 needle and 60 wt. Mettler Embroidery thread.  The width of pinstich #720 was adjusted to encompass only the heading of the lace.  This adjustment is done with each piece of lace as each piece is woven differently.  As you change your settings from one fabric to the other, it is helpful to keep a notebook to record the changes for future reference.  The lace insertions were placed on both sides of the embroidered design at an equal distance measured from the center of the embroidered design. A tip from Renee' is to stabilize the lace work with a lightweight tearaway such as Stitch'n Ditch Heirloom.

Embroidery and lace insertions create the front bodice

After creating the front lace panel, fabric was added on  both sides creating a palette for the bodice.  From this point, lay the front pattern piece on the fabric panel and trace.  Continue to follow the cutting and  sewing directions for the pattern. Keep in mind, you can make the pattern your own with minor adjustments.  Renee' decided to make the back bodice as eye catching as the front.  She created a key hole opening using lace shaping techniques and closed the opening with a pearl button and thread loop.

Stunning details

BABY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sept. 6 from 9am-4pm join us at Elegant Stitches for an Exciting Event: SEWAPALOOZA!   It is an all day event discovering the wonders of BERNINA Software 7,  Sergers and Overlockers and BERNINA accessories.    Space is limited so call us soon!

 

 

Join Lisa Veith, a BERNINA educator, and learn some new moves!

Our talented BERNINA educator is Lisa Veith.   Lisa is from Orland Park, IL.  Lisa lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband Hank.  Her youngest child is studying Culinary and her oldest is working on his PHD at Bayer College of Medicine. At the age of 10, Lisa started making her own clothes. She learned many tips and tricks from her stepmother. One of them was the importance of having a garment look as good on the inside as it did on the outside. So she became proficient in the detail of sewing seams! 

Continuing to develop the fundamentals taught from her step mom, Lisa turned her focus to home economics in school in order to foster and develop her creative instincts. When it became time for Lisa to purchase her first machine, her researches lead her to a BERNINA 1230 with its many features enabling her creativity to come to life. Over the years, Lisa has purchased many BERNINA machines and has become proficient in their use. Lisa now has 30 years of experience in sales and customer service. 

Always trying to stay close to her first love, sewing, she managed a BERNINA store for 5 years. Always focusing on the customer’s needs, Lisa excels in her ability to help customers find their own creative side. She continues her own educational growth by learning new techniques from BERNINA Educators. As a result, she is qualified to teach classes in quilting, embroidery, Machine Mastery, BERNINA Embroidery Software and additional Software programs. She is also trained to do consumer events. 

Lisa currently facilitates BERNINA All About Me Club at her local dealer, along with sharing her knowledge of software at the BERNINA Software Sampler. She travels with the National Trade Show Team to coordinate classroom monitoring responsibilities. As a result of her creativity, she has created samples for BERNINA, one of her samples was in the 19th issue of Through the Needle and taught at BERNINA University. She also prepares samples of the newest Embroidery Collections for Brewer. But she still finds time to nurture her own clientele encouraging them to find their inner creativity. 

Hanspeter Ueltschi wants you to Sew like a Rock Star!

Be the Life of the Party!  Be a Sewing Super Star!

Quilting for an Occassion

Stitched with Love 

 

Whether you are celebrating a wedding, an anniversary or the birth of a child,  suggest making a "friendship" quilt  so  all family members and/or friends wishing to contribute can get involved without committing to doing an entire quilt.  Check out the full story of Megan and Matt's quilt on BERNINA's We All Sew Blog .  Megan is the daughter of one of Elegant Stitches Employees. 

Tradition

 “During friendship quilts' heyday, women gathered together and each made individual quilt blocks. As a woman made a block, she embroidered her name on the block. Each woman made a block from the same pattern; when the group had finished making these blocks, someone would piece them together to form a quilt. Women would make these friendship quilts and give them to families in the community. The quilts were also common in previous years, when families pioneered throughout the country looking for a place to live and work. Women would make these quilts for other women who would take with them on their journeys. A friendship quilt served as a reminder to these women of the place they once lived and the friends they had there.”

Memories

Here's the Plan...

Shhhhh!  It is a surprise!  We are making a Family/Friends Wedding Quilt/Anniversary Quilt/Baby Quilt for (enter recipients names).  The traditional idea is still there with involving  many different people.  However, the blocks will be unique as to what the participant would like to make.  This will be a unique, one of a kind creation blending the talents of both (recipients name)  family and friends.  

Remember this is just an outline!  Material choice is personal, giving all participants the freedom to choose their own fabrics could lead to issues when trying to put the finished project together.   Giving out packages of coordinating fabric  will  make the process easier for everyone. 

Materials:   

                                                            

Each participant will receive:

·         6 pieces of coordinating  material (include solids) and

·         A piece of double sided sticky iron on stabilizer to use for an applique'

·        There are numerous quilt block ideas and basic hand-stitch tutorials to be found on the internet for non-sewers and those that wish to have their creativity stirred!

     Elegant Stitches offers many great pattern books from which to choose a quilt design and a fabulous assortment of material.

  

    Instructions:

First find a quilt block that you think represents (recipients name) their relationship, the two of them, who you are to them or simply one you find beautiful or you’re capable of doing!  

The blocks can be hand sewn or machine sewn.  Your choice!  For those non sewers that so graciously said they’d do a square, you can attempt to hand sew, or find an applique, cut and iron to background material (solid white or black) and send back to one of the "sewers" and we will machine applique the pieces.

The blocks must all be the same size and incorporate any of the fabric in the kit. Cut the fabric using the instructions for the quilt block you have chosen.  You may have to enlarge or shrink the pattern to fit the required block size of 15 ½” by 15 ½”.  

If you choose an applique pattern please use a piece of the solid material for the background of the applique.  Cut the background piece to a 15 ½” x 15 ½”  and use the remainder of that solid color and any or all of the other fabrics for the applique design.  Applique blocks should have at least ¼” border of solid background around the design. 

If you choose to piece a quilt block, simply follow the directions for your chosen block pattern making sure the finished block measures 15 ½ x 15 ½”.  In this case, there will not be a solid background piece. Feel free to create your own masterpiece!  There aren't any rights or wrongs for this project!  Incorporate material pens, pictures etc. Just remember that anything added needs to be washable.

Please return the finished quilt block no later than (DEADLINE).  Please send back any leftover material so that it can be used to finish the quilt.  

Megan and Matt's Wedding Quilt Featured on WeAllSew.com

Christmas In July

Do you have a square to spare?

For the person on your shopping list who has everything…Why not, embroider Toilet Paper!!!

Make your bathroom merrier with this cute idea!

Sports teams, monograms, seasonal motifs—stitch a roll or two for every occasion!!!  And if you make a mistake, just tear off the sheets with the error and start again!

Supplies:

·       Toilet Paper (we used Quilted Northern)

·       OESD Heavyweight Cut Away Stabilizer

·       Embroidery Needle (we used a Gold Schmetz size 75)

·       4x4 hoop

·       Double sided tape

·       Isacord thread

·        Embroidery Design

Directions:

1.    Hoop the stabilizer in the 4x4 hoop.  Remove any torn sheets of toilet paper.  Fold the 1^st two squares of toilet paper under the next two squares.  Fold these four squares under the next two.  You will have three thicknesses of toilet paper and you will be embroidering on the 6^th square of toilet paper. *Make sure your toilet paper is unrolling from the top of the roll (so you can roll it back up later).

2.   Center this square on top of the hooped stabilizer (one square, three layers thick, will be to your right and the roll will be to your left). Place the hooped stabilizer on a cutting mat and usethe grid on the cutting mat to center the toilet paper. Secure toilet paper square to the stabilizer using tiny pieces of double sided tape.

3.   Place your hoop on your embroidery machine.  Be careful not to rip your toilet paper with your needle when putting your hoop on and off your machine. Unroll a bit more toilet paper so it has some slack while the embroidery arm is moving.

4.   Stitch out your design.   Again, be careful when taking your hoop off of your machine.

5.   Remove stabilizer from hoop.  Gently cut away extra stabilizer from the back of your design.

6.   Re-roll the toilet paper and secure loose end with double sided tape.  Wrap in a pretty package and enjoy the reaction of family and friends!

Operation Sew Thankful

Operation Sew Thankful

 

"The mission of Quilts of Valor is to cover ALL those combat service members and veterans touched by war with a comforting and healing Quilts of Valor (QOV). This foundation is not about politics. It's about people."

Lisa Wardenaar and Kari Stewart

History

Lisa Wardenaar began the local chapter of  The Quilts of Valor project , called Operation Sew Thankful in September of 2013.  Kari Stewart is her "wing woman".  Lisa lives in Holly Springs, NC , is the mother of three small children and owns a sewing business called Oh Sew Lola.  Kari is also a Holly Springs resident, a mother of two children and is the one who taught Lisa to Quilt!  Kari gets to choose the quilt design and figure out all the mathematical equations that go into piecing the quilt.


Lisa's  father, grandfather and a few uncles served in the military.  When Lisa came across Quilts of Valor on Facebook, she knew she wanted to do something to honor those that have given so much for our country's freedom.  Upon seeing that there wasn't a chapter in our area, she started one of her own!  

 
Lisa and Kari  have recruited a dozen or so other women to the organization.  The group meets every 3rd Thursday at Elegant Stitches from 9:30am-1:30pm and every 4th Tuesday at Woodhaven Baptist Church from 6:30-10:30pm.  The average quilt costs $200, Operation Sew Thankful accepts donations of fabric, gift certificates to local quilt shops and both time and monetary donations. Unless donations are given, Lisa personally funds all the projects.

Working in Elegant Stitches classroom

 
 
The quilts touch the soldiers in so many ways. They are a source of comfort and a reminder of the high regard with which they are held within the community. Potential recipients are identified by word of mouth, veterans that have been met along the way and/or veterans that were identified at previous presentations.  


It is truly a labor of love that is being performed by these members of our community.  Since the inception of Operation Sew Thankful, the group has presented 10 quilts and have made 24 to date. Keep on stitchin'!

Many hands lighten the load and spread the love

Quilt in process

Colonel Stewart receiving his Unexpected Bonus of a pillow made with his Uniform patches! 

Flirty Skirty Serger Apron

Oh my, my!  Look at this apron and the fun these ladies had constructing it!

 

Would you have walked right past this pattern?

Wait!  Give it another glance!  Can you believe the below aprons are made from  the same pattern?  Look how adorable this pattern is with different material choices and  different styling options.  The Apron Lady Flirty Skirty Design is classy and timeless.  Think of all the possibilities you could create with all the many different material choices in the store.  Store samples are a great way to inspire your creativity and make you think outside the box. 

So sweet and sassy with a ruffle and Monogram!

Chevron and Applique Monogram

Maureen in her apron fabric apron!

 

Maureen, an employee at Elegant Stitches took The Apron Lady Designs "Flirty Skirty" apron and created a serger class adding several  overlock techniques to a sewing machine pattern. These ladies learned how to modify the pattern by attaching a D-ring to the neck strap to get a perfect fit and also how to ruffle on the overlocker and turn tubes using a serger chain.

She walked these ladies through the entire process from figuring out their size, cutting out the pattern and constructing the apron.

While creating the serger chains for tube turning one of the participants  said how she now "LOVED HER SERGER!"  Overlocker as we say in BERNINA world! 

Altering Patterns to fit your style

If I recall correctly, BERNINA,  in the not so far past,  posed this question on their facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/berninausa  "Do you  follow a pattern to get to the end result or  use it as a guide to end up somewhere else?" Maybe not in those exact words, but you get the gist...

This wrap-around skirt is a perfect example of using a pattern as a guide to construct a finished product different from the designer's original idea.  
  
With a few minor adjustments and leaving off the bodice, the Favorite Things  Wrap Dress was transformed into a Wrap Skirt.

Favorite Things Wrap Dress

Altered Version- Wrap Skirt

 To make the alterations, follow these easy steps!

•  From the pattern, cut the pieces for the skirt back, skirt front, lower back flounce, lower front flounce and ties. 

• Once the front and back panels are stitched together at the sides, serge/overedge the top edge of the entire skirt.   Turn the serged edge toward the wrong side creating 1/2" hem, pin in place.  Attach the  finished ties on each end of the skirt, tucking 1" of the raw edge under the  folded seam.  The majority of the tie will be extending out from the sides. Stitch both the hem and ties in place.
  
  
  

  

  waist hem

  
  

tie attachment

• Using a seam ripper, open up the left side seam 1/8" from the  top edge creating an approx. 1/2" opening.  Remember you have already created your hem at the waist so you will be creating an opening in both layers.  Using a straight stitch,  stitch horizontally above the created opening, reinforcing the opening on the top and bottom.  An option would be to create a buttonhole instead. 

new opening for waist strap

• Stop the flounce just above the knee on the left side of the skirt front.  This is the side of the skirt that lies closest to your body once wrapped around your waist.  This creates less bulk in unwanted areas!

stop flounce above knee

Next...try it with a knit!  

visit us at: http://www.elegantstitches.com 

Enter the world of blogging

Shelley Holmes and Ruth Sparks (2 of the 3 original owners)

Here we go...

Welcome to the beginning of something beautiful as Elegant Stitches enters the world of blogging!   Did you know that Elegant Stitches was one of the "NEW" Waverly Place Shopping Centers first tenants?  Lately, we've heard "Have you always been here?", "I've never seen your shop before!"  Well... walk right in and enjoy what we have to offer! 

How it all began:

Elegant Stitches began when three full time mothers and neighbors decided they wanted to go back to the basics and create classic heirloom and smocked clothing for their own children after dealing with  the crazy 70's clothing styles.  What started as friendship, camaraderie and desire for classic clothing became a business. 

heirloom sewing

smocking

Elegant Stitches first opened it's doors in 1986 at Ashworth Village, in the heart of downtown Cary,  as a place to learn the art of heirloom sewing and smocking, to purchase heirloom sewing and smocking supplies as well as to order custom made children's clothing. 

 

 

The Move to Waverly Place:

Having established the store as a preferred source for quality fabric, lace, patterns, floss, smocking plates etc. as well as a place to hone ones skills of English Smocking, Elegant Stitches began to literally bust out of it's seams.  Elegant Stitches moved from Ashworth Village to Waverly Place in 2004 where it tripled in size from its original conception. 

Store front in Waverly Place Shopping Center

Classes, Workshops, Machines, OH MY!

Visiting teacher, Sarah Vedeler, Workshops and BERNINA

Custom garment construction became a part of Elegant Stitches past when it began growing, hosting more and more classes and selling machines.  Elegant Stitches expanded its focus not just on children's clothing but quilting, adult garment and accessory construction, and offering a vast range of  ELNA and BERNINA machines to help with any stitching needs. With the association of ELNA and BERNINA, Elegant Stitches hired a full service technician and began hosting more and more workshops and visiting teachers.

Retail Success:

Ruth retired in 2011 and Renee' Spell stepped in and joined Shelley in continuing the retail journey that three friends began almost 28 years ago.  Renee' is a longtime Elegant Stitches garment constructor,  ES part time employee,  ES customer,  Home Economics Major and a Martha Pullen Licensed Instructor in both Heirloom and Serger sewing.    

Renee' Spell and Shelley Holmes (current owners of Elegant Stitches)

 

Well said...

"Shelley and I both learned what a needle and thread could do as children at our grandmother's, aunt's and mother's sides...the techniques, awareness and appreciation for the needle-arts seemed to be "born" in us both.  To preserve the needle-arts and continue to teach to the next generation AND learn more from the next generation,  is what we have based the continued scope of Elegant Stitches on." (quote from Renee')

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