Applique fun

I have known for a while that my embroidery machine can do applique designs, and I much prefer them over the straight embroidery but thought they would be a bit tricky to master. However when I decided to join the kids clothing swap on EB, I thought it was time to get brave and give it a whirl, since it was sure to make the outfit extra special.

I can't show you too much here of that one since it's supposed to be a surprise and will be revealed after the recipient has it for her little boy.




I can however show you the design I did for Madelyn. I love the cherry print knot I found at spotlight - she already has a nappy (almost grown out of) and scratch mitts (no longer used) from the print and I am still not sick of it. There's enough left for two more nappies too when I get around to making mediums for her.



The only problem is that it's such poor quality - very thin and bad recovery when stretched. so the sleeve bands I added to pull the sleeves in a little at the wrists (to stop it hanging over her hands and getting in her way) didn't really do what they were supposed to And I also discovered that just because one Ottobre pattern LOOKS the same as another, they are generally not. I loved the swap top I made from Ottobre 4/06 but couldn't find the magazine when it came to drafting Maddy's. I found a similar pattern that I thought was identical in Ottobre 1/07 but the neck opening is much larger and I'm not happy with it, the swap top is soooo much better, so I am thinking this might end up being a pyjama top, perhaps with some matching longies for this winter.



I also had trouble with the snaps -Andrew discovered that I was trying to put the sockets in upside down - I was sure they were up the right way. That's what they call baby brain I think. At least I got it right for the swap top as I used Madelyn's top as a practice run before I snapped that one. Swap pants to follow.

And for those who love a give away... head on over to Kylie's blog to see what she has up for grabs, something every day in the lead up to her 100th post.