Butterick B4136 Skirt

Just finished making this gored skirt for my daughter, she likes long easy to wear skirts so I hope she likes this one, she picked the fabric when she was last home.  I will pack it up to day and post off to her in Sydney.
I used Butterick pattern B4136, it is a fast and easy pattern and it worked out to be that way.  Although I am a bit worried about the sizing.  I used quilting cotton DS Quilts Collection it was a bit hard to slide through the machine, I am not sure why but it was not easy to stitch.

Sewing Machine Worries

Sad times my lovely Bernina sewing machine has had to go back to Bernina. I really miss it and have been trying to think of things to hand sew. I had planned to make some more skirts for my daughter before she goes overseas but I have not had the time.


I made this lovely blue poppy one for her it is like an old style 1950's swing skirt.

I have two more lovely pieces of fabric that my daughter bought long ago so i will make them up and send them along to her when my machine comes back home. She is off to Malaysia on Monday evening so only a couple of days left to enjoy her before she goes.

Last week I found a book that has wonderful Jacobean applique designs, Jacobean Rapsodies, so I bought an online copy of the book. I have not hand appliqued before so I have been trying to have a go using the needle turn way.

I have machined appliqued in the past with clothing in the years gone by putting holly hobbie on little dresses when my daughter was a little thing.

The needle turning applique is a bit of a worry trying to keep my stitches small and due to my arthritis it is a little hard to keep the needle going. I made a little case for my daughter's tarot cards and it would not pass close scrutiny that is for sure.

So now I am trying another way with blanket stitch. I gathered leaves in the garden and then traced them and copied them onto the sticky applique fabric and then ironed them onto a quilt top that I am making for my son. it is a bargello patterned quilt in lovely brown shades of Hoffman Batiks. First I tried the blanket stitch with three strands of embroidery cotton and it appeared too bulky and rather uneven, then I tried some machine embroidery cotton (all by hand) and that was too uneven as well. so now I have decided to wait for the machine and give up the battle with the blanket stitch.

I did read a Blog about a way to blanket stitch that holds the top of the stitch and now I just can't find it again. It was like there was a bit of a knot at the top of the stitch.

i really like things to be neat when i sew- so my uneven stitches really worry me.

Called about my machine but it is still not fixed. Very hard to be patient.....