Bear in Mind. Sheila. From The Editor. Enjoy the Summer! the old becomes new. Prepare to be inspired by Miss Mollie s fresh ideas!

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1 Bear in Mind An electronic newsletter from Bear Threads Ltd. Volume 9 Issue 6 June July 2017 From The Editor What a roller coaster of weather we have had recently. Summer in March, winter in May and now as I write this we are in a flood warning! How nice to have the hobby of sewing which you can enjoy in the comfort of indoors, no matter the weather! First, my sincere apologies for the error in last month s issue. My article on the origins of smocking was inadvertently totally left out. But not to worry, it is definitely included in this issue. Also, I have written an explanation of the piece lengths of embroideries and laces. For many of you, especially those new to Heirloom Sewing and for those using the finer French laces and Swiss embroideries for the first time, it is confusing and at times frustrating when encountering varying piece lengths. This month, Part I How Long Are the Looms? will cover the general lengths of the laces and embroideries; and Part II in August will cover How and Where to Piece. And thanks again to Miss Mollie as she begins her first grandchild s wardrobe. What a lucky child she will be. It has been fun and inspiring seeing her new combinations from many of our older traditional patterns. In my nearly 40 years of designing/owning Bear Threads, I thought I had seen most every trim pairing possible. But every generation has different ideas and so we see how the old becomes new. Prepare to be inspired by Miss Mollie s fresh ideas! Remember this summer newsletter is a combined June/July issue. So until we meet again on the Net in August, have a wonderful and safe summer and remember to be careful with your sewing in a hot car I say this every summer: Dark colors will bleed in the hot humidity, and it usually is permanent. And beeswax melts. Two situations to be avoided!!! Happy Stitching Sheila Enjoy the Summer!

2 SMOCKING REGULAR vs. ENGLISH Many years ago I inherited both my Mothers and Grandmothers sewing supplies. While the boxes and canvas bags were searched many times over, each time I dug into them there were special finds and tools for which I had to educate myself of their purpose. I remember as a child watching my mother and grandmother sit for hours embroidering pillow cases and tablecloths, so I recognized the many carbon transfer sheets, seeing the floral patterns, baskets and ivy vines in a variety of shapes, many times over. What baffled me for years were the sheets of dots what on earth could they be for? Surely you did not sit for hours embroidering dots on fabric!!! Then in the early 1970 s I was introduced to smocking and realized these provided an early method to pleat the fabric preparing it to be embroidered by smocking. You know that smocking is a type of embroidery stitched on pleated or gathered fabric. Originally smocking was considered embroidery that decorated as well as gathered the fabric in one step. This was in the days before pleaters were invented, and so to evenly gather the fabric dots were transferred to the fabric in a grid. To back up just a tad more, back in the day, regular smocking was considered to be marking the fabric on the right side with evenly spaced dots. The smocking was worked on the right side from dot to dot, gathering the fabric with each stitch. A variation of this method was to use gingham or stripe fabrics in lieu of transferring the dots to the fabric. This can certainly still be a workable method, but perhaps best left to the more accomplished smocker. If you use this method stick to stripes and checks that are no more than ¼ 3/8 depending on your design. This method works best with geometric smocking designs. However, English smocking was considered marking the dots on the wrong side, and rows of uneven running stitches were worked from dot to dot on the WRONG side. Further these running stitches entered the fabric just barely adjacent to the dot on one side and came out just barely on the other side of the dot and continued along. This came to be known as long is wrong as in the long stitch was on the wrong side of the fabric. This was the method of pre-gathering the fabric. The fabric was then flipped to embroider on the right side. Today the term still exists, but we are fortunate to now have pleaters to evenly and accurately pleat the fabric allowing for pre-gathering. If you look closely with pleater gathered fabric, the longer running stitch is still on the wrong side. This method is what today we know of as English smocking. Copyright April 2017 Sheila T. Nicol Designs All Rights Reserved Ed. Note: Please refer to a 3 part series on Smocking from an historical point of view that is in the December 2010, January 2011, and February 2011 issues of Bear In Mind. All past issues of the newsletter are to be found on our website Summer Travel Fun Facts In the United States, over 650 million long-distance summer trips are made. In the United States, the top 5 most popular summer vacations are 1) beach/ocean (45%), 2) a famous city (42%), 3) national parks (21%), 4) a lake (17%), and 5) a resort (14%). The top 5 most popular summer vacation activities in the United States are 1) shopping (54%), 2) visiting historical sites (49%), 3) swimming/water sports (49%), 4) going to a park or national park (46%), and 5) sightseeing tours (46%).

3 Lace and Embroidery Lengths! How Long are the Looms? The easy answer is that typically Swiss embroidery looms are 10 yards long give or take an inch, but there are some newer machines that are 15 yards in length. The easy answer is that French lace machines are 12 yards long, but there are some instances where lace lengths are yards in length when they are loomed vertically rather than horizontally. Swiss EMBROIDERED on prewoven fabric. Since the lace is much more fragile, especially the Malines, there are often times that a manufacturer chooses to cut out a flaw, leaving a lace length of less than 12 yards, sometimes as little as 5 or 6 yards. There is no standard in France for how many flaws are allowed. You get what you get! The simple moral of the story is to always buy more than you think is the exact amount you need. We ll address How and Where to Piece next month. Copyright May 2017 Sheila T. Nicol Designs In actuality, the Schiffili embroidery machine is 9.2 meters which equates to about 10 yards in length. Swiss embroidery looms stitch horizontally. As the machine stitches, the now embroidered fabric in Bear Threads case it is Bearissima is rolled over. Then these insertions or edgings are cut apart, inspected, and carded to our specifications. It is obviously easier to cut apart insertions, where as the edgings, with many scallops, are much more difficult to cut cleanly. The Swiss embroidery industry is strictly controlled by the government. There is a tariff per stitch count. That means that every time the needle enters the fabric there is a governmental charge. Flaws are also governed by the country and they allow 1 in 10 flaws that is one flaw in 10 yards. French Levers lace machines are made of cast iron and can shake the ground of the building housing them when in use! Lace lengths are normally 12 yards in length as this is the length of the loom. The lace is usually loomed woven horizontally. Notice that by the terminology I have used the lace is WOVEN, where the Swiss embroideries are Did you know that sand dollars are a type of sea urchin? Rather than having long pointy spines, sand dollars have short, fuzzy spines on the outside of their shells.

4 Mollie s Continuing New Year Resolutions for sewing projects Mother s Day came a week early this year. I learned on May 7th that my daughter, Victoria and her husband, are expecting a baby girl in late September. No name has been selected yet but I now have a focus for my sewing projects. With summer making an early arrival in Atlanta, my thoughts went to outfits I would like to make for my granddaughter to wear for her first summer beach trip to Charleston in Of course, I am leaving myself plenty of time to make her outfits to wow her great grandmother, great aunts, uncles and extended family. The four patterns displayed in this article are from my sewing stash and I have used them to make spring and summer outfits for my sister s granddaughter, Carrington. The patterns are Hallie and Elyse by Bonnie Blue Designs (#123A and 151, respectively), Becky by Children s Corner (#243), and Little Miss Sunshine by Annie Unrein ( This article will showcase several Bear Threads fabrics, embroideries, and motifs which I can visualize with these summer ensembles. So welcome to my summer play sets design board! Bear Threads has several beautiful printed pique fabrics (two floral and two polka dots) which come in red, navy, and jade. The fabrics are 55 inches wide. Photo #1 shows possibilities for the jade mini polka dot pique. Bonnie Blue Design s Hallie pattern 2 shows a top with either panties or bloomers. I would be making view 2 and would modify the pattern so the insertion and gathered ruffle abut each other. The insertion would be made using E-10D (a double row of entredeux), E-118 (a small peach and green floral insertion), and another row of the double entredeux. The gathered ruffle would be made with E-48G, a beautiful embroidered edging which complements the fabric s mini polka dots. Photo #2 shows a close up of E-118, E-10D, and E-48G. All of the items shown are on sale at substantial discounts. Photo 2 Photo 1

5 Photo #3 shows the same jade mini polka dot pique used to make Bonnie Blue Design s Elyse pattern, a cross over back summer play top with ruffled panties. I proposed using E-119N, a small floral embroidered edging for the ruffle on the top and panties. E-119N is 40% off. Photo 3 Photo #4 shows the four printed pique fabrics and the colors in the Bear Threads collection. Photo 4

6 There are endless possibilities to mix and match these fabrics with a variety of children s patterns currently on the market. I have paired the red mini floral and the regular red polka dot pique to make Children s Corner Becky. My design board shows the use of a premade white floral embroidered collar (E- 123W) (see Photo #5) Photo 5

7 The next two design board ideas introduce you to a beautiful pink damask diamond dot fabric which is 60 inches wide. This petite print is perfect for a small baby or toddler. I can see it used for Annie Unrein s Little Miss Sunshine halter, bloomers, and sunhat (Photo #6). Photo 6 I would use E-107 for the flounce on the halter top and our embroidered butterfly motif on the bodice for a three dimensional effect (Photo #7). E-107 is 50% off. Photo 7

8 The same fabric would also be beautiful with the Children s Corner Becky pattern. Our bunny rabbit motif could be used on the bodice in lieu of a collar. A possibility would be to use our small embroidered insertion E-106W on the neckline and/or the shorts. (Photo #8) Photo 8 Have a wonderful summer with family, friends, and your sewing projects! Visit us on the web at To place an order contact us at or fax "Bear in Mind" articles are available on our website. Encourage your customers to check out our website for information and inspiration.