Embellishing Clothing

One of my favorite things to do is to embellish clothing. Kids clothes are especially fun to embellish because children really do appreciate the little things. I once made a dress with 2 little pockets and added woven european ribbon to them. The pockets caught the eye of a 3 year old girl and she had to have the dress. She and her mother had a really cute conversation about how pretty the dress was, but the 3 year old kept referring to how much she loved the pockets. Funny. I almost didn't put them on the dress because I thought they would be more trouble than they were worth. Had I not put them on the dress, I may or may not have sold that dress that day. One thing I know for sure, I sold that dress then because of those pockets. Little girls like added "things" to their clothing. Recently, I have been appliqueing hearts to dresses, shorts, tops, anything I make I try to add that special touch. The results have really been successful. I have found out from the consignment store owner that the garments with the appliques have been selling well. Up to now, I was using an older Viking sewing machine. I have really beat that machine to hell, but it keeps on. I decided it was time to upgrade. I bought a Babylock Tempo plus tax, plus 3 year warranty, in the ballpark of $875.00,on the recommendation of the manager at the local sewing machine/fabric store. The result? LOVEIITTTTTTT! Usually, I don't really feel comfortable with computerized sewing machines. My thought is if it malfunctions, it's big bucks to fix. The manager assured me that Babylock machines don't have too many problems and that I would love the machine. The one feature I have been experimenting with is the embroidery stitch. Here's a picture of the first applique I sewed using this stitch. I am really excited about the results! I happened to be in the consignment shop Crush Boutique, when this little girl was trying on this dress! I added a black and white polka dot fine mesh as trim to the dress, along with the applique, and the results were darling! Hope you like the dress. For sale in my etsy store. etsy.com/shop/ginafern1. Happy stitching!