Garden Party By Stephanie Corina Goddard Create a room outdoors with gorgeous garden-inspired table linens. Entertain to soft breezes and candle glow with a table fit for finery. Supplies Decorator fabric. Note: Determine the amount of fabric needed in Measuring on page 17. Lining fabric for chair backs Accent fabric(s) for contrast napkins and tablecloth borders Tear-away and clear water-soluble stabilizer Medium-weight fusible interfacing 1" foam for chair pads 5" of 1 -wide hook-and-loop tape for each chair pad 60" of 1"-wide satin ribbon for each chair pad Pattern tracing supplies Chalk marking pencil Utility scissors Hand sewing needle Embroidery, bobbin and sewing thread Seam sealant Embroidery designs of your choice Measuring Take measurements for the chair back (A on page 18) and seat as shown (B on page 19). For the chair back, choose a side length and center back length to suit your furniture style. Our sample chair measures approximately 9 1 4" on the sides and 12 1 4" at the center. When measuring the depth of the chair seat (refer to measurement E in Figure B), be sure to record the shortest point, just in front of the uprights where the chair back attaches to the seat. As furniture construction varies it s suggested to test the measurements by constructing a muslin sample of the chair back and chair pad cover before cutting into decorator fabric. Because the needs of your project are dependent on both the size/shape of your furniture, the number of chairs in your set, and the fabric print repeat length, it s impossible to give exact yardage. Take your patterns to the fabric store and ask a sales associate for help in determining yardage. Or, trace a pattern onto tissue or tracing material and take it to the fabric store for placement on the fabric to determine yardage. 16 Creative Machine Embroidery JULY/AUGUST 2004
Choose decorator fabric with a life-like floral pattern and coordinating solid fabric. Embellish the solid fabric with complementary floral designs to carry out the theme and create your own garden party. JULY/AUGUST 2004 Creative Machine Embroidery 17
GARDEN PARTY A Chair Back A widest portion of chair back B desired finished side length C desired finished center back length A B C A clever pocket design on the back of the chair affords a place to leave silverware and a napkin for your dinner guests. 1 Seam Allowance 3 4" Ease 3 4" Ease 1 Seam Allowance Make the patterns Note: Use pattern tracing paper for each piece. Chair back: Make one pattern piece for both front and back. Draw dimensions A-B-C on pattern tracing paper (refer to Figure A). Add 1 seam allowance at the hem edge and 1 1 4" to the upper and side edges. This allows 3 4" ease and 1 seam allowance. Use our pocket pattern or plan your own (C on page 20). Mark the pocket placement on the pattern, positioning the pocket lower edge at least 1 1 away from the hem cut edge (D on page 20). Chair pad: Draw dimensions D-E-F on pattern tracing paper (refer to Figure B). Mark as Chair Pad Template. Copy the drawing on a fresh sheet of paper and add 1" all around. This allows 1 ease + 1 seam allowance. Mark as Upper, then make a copy of the new drawing. Slash the copy widthwise across the seat, at approximately 1 3 the distance from the rear. Mark as Lower Rear and Lower Front (as shown in Figure B). Extend each section by adding to either side of the slash line, indicating narrow hem. Tablecloth: Draw a 5" square cornerstone pattern for embroidery positioning (E on page 20). Napkins: Plan to cut napkins 14" square or larger. Draw a template for embroidery positioning as desired, but not closer than 1" to any cut edge. Embroidery This project is a good one for companion designs in varying sizes. For example, the single accent motifs used on the sample napkins and tablecloth corners were combined with more motifs from the same design package to create the focus embroidery for the pocket flaps. Another approach would be to use a single motif, scaled up or down to fit each portion of the project. Choose motifs and thread colors to coordinate with the decorator fabric. Embroider the chair back pocket: Note: Remember that each pocket flap is actually a lining that turns out, so be sure 18 Creative Machine Embroidery JULY/AUGUST 2004
B to orient the chosen embroidery design with the lower edge toward the point. TIP Decorator fabrics are often highly textural, with heavy threads and coarse weaves. Add a tear-away water-soluble stabilizer as a topper to keep the embroidery stitches on top of the weave. After preparing the paper pattern as described above, draw the foldline for the flap as well as the 1 seam allowances on all edges. Choose an embroidery motif to fit in the pointed flap area between the foldline and the seam allowances. Use the pattern to roughly chalkmark an outline on the fabric for each pocket lining, leaving a bit of space between. Don t cut them apart. Instead, keep the cloth intact for hooping. Stitch or print a template of the design and mark each pocket flap with reference lines for hooping. Hoop the fabric with tear-away stabilizer and use temporary spray adhesive or the machine s basting function to adhere a water-soluble stabilizer over the embroidery area. Embroider the design, remove the stabilizer and set aside. Embroider the tablecloth cornerstones: Prepare the pattern as described above, including the embroidery placement area. Choose an embroidery motif to fit into the square (refer to Figure E). Use the pattern to roughly chalkmark an outline on the fabric for each cornerstone, leaving space between each. Don t cut apart. Instead, keep the cloth intact for ease of hooping. Stitch or print a template of the design and mark each cornerstone with reference lines for hooping. Hoop the fabric with the tear-away stabilizer and water-soluble stabilizer on top. Embroider the design and remove the stabilizer. After embroidering all cornerstones, use the pattern to cut each one individually. Set aside. Embroider the napkins: Prepare the pattern as described above and cut it out from contrasting fabric. Choose an embroidery design to fit in one corner. Use the pattern to roughly chalk-mark an outline on the napkin fabric, leaving space between each. Don t cut them apart; keep intact for hooping ease. Stitch or print a design template and mark each napkin with hooping cross marks. Make sure the embroidery is at least 1" from any cut edge. Hoop the fabric with tear-away stabilizer and water-soluble stabilizer on top. Embroider the designs and remove the stabilizer. Construction For each chair back, cut two from decorator fabric and two from lining. Construct each pocket: Cut one embroidered lining and one contrast fabric. Place the two pocket sections right sides together and leave at least a 3" opening on one long edge. Trim, turn and press, keeping the embroidered lining toward the flap outside and the contrast fabric toward the outside on the lower portion. Slipstitch the opening closed. Using the placement line on the pattern as a guide, pin and edgestitch the pocket to a single layer of decorator fabric. Right sides together, stitch two decorator sections (one with a pocket, one plain) at the sides to form a tube. E D F 1 3 2 3 D E F Lower Rear Narrow Hem Narrow Hem JULY/AUGUST 2004 Creative Machine Embroidery 19
GARDEN PARTY D Allow 3 4" breathing space at upper and side edges. Pocket Placement TIP For extra strength, fuse a patch of interfacing to the wrong side of the decorator fabric at each pocket stitching line upper edge. E F 1 4" Tablecloth Cornerstone 1 4" 1 5" 1 5" Turn and stitch 1 4" narrow hems. Stitch 5 strip of hook portion to wrong side of fabric. Lower Rear Hook-and-Loop Tape Lower Front Join two lining sections in the same manner. Press all seam allowances open. Place the decorator and lining portions right sides together, matching side seams and lower edges. Stitch around the entire lower edge, pivoting at the points, with a 1 seam allowance. Trim, turn and press. Turn the entire piece inside out so decorator fabrics are right sides together, sandwiched between each layer of lining. Smooth all layers toward the upper edge and pin. Stitch across TIP At the side seams, it may be necessary to clip to the stitching line in order to turn the inside corner. C Pocket Pattern 1 Square=1" Foldline fold line the top through all layers. Turn right side out. Note: Depending on the chair back frame, round or box the upper corners for a better fit. Use the Chair Pad Template to mark a cutting line on the 1" foam. Cut to shape with utility scissors. For each chair pad cover, cut one Upper, one Lower Rear and one Lower Front from decorator fabric. Construct the Lower Rear and Lower Front: Turn and stitch 1 4" narrow hems as indicated on the pattern. Center and stitch a 5" strip of hook-and-loop tape (hook portion) to the fabric wrong side at the Lower Front pad bottom edge hem (F). With right sides together, pin the Lower Front section over the Upper Front section, aligning the front and side edges. Temporarily place the Lower Rear wrong side up, aligning the back and side edges. Mark the location for the remaining half of the hook-and-loop tape fastener (G). Stitch the loop portion to the Lower Rear on the fabric right side. Cut two 30" lengths of ribbon; trim the ends at an angle and treat with seam sealant. Fold each strip in half and baste in place as shown (H). Replace the Lower Back. Fasten the hook-and-loop tape closure and pin all edges. Keeping the ribbon ends free, stitch around all sides with a 1 seam allowance. Trim corners and turn. Insert the chair pad and fasten the hook-and-loop tape. Round the corners of the chair pad front for a better fit, if necessary. 20 Creative Machine Embroidery JULY/AUGUST 2004
G Pin sections aligning front and side edges. Mark location for remaining half of hook-and-loop tape fastener. H Stitch loop portion to Lower Rear on fabric right side. Cut ribbon; stitch 1 from cut edge. 1 1 Cornerstone embroideries add interest to the tablecloth and unify the overall look with their placement. Construct the tablecloth: Decorator fabrics are usually 48", 54" or 58" wide. Cut a single layer of fabric as long as the fabric is wide. Cut four contrasting border strips, each 5" wide and as long as the tablecloth side measurements. Join the border strips to two opposite sides of the tablecloth, with 1 4" seams. Join a cornerstone to each end of the remaining two strips with 1 4" seams, TIP Although the border lengths may be pieced, they look best cut in continuous strips. taking care to place the embroidery in the correct position as shown. Join the pieced borders to the remaining sides of the tablecloth, matching the cornerstone seams to the seams of the first two borders. Press all seam allowances toward the borders, and then press each border strip to finish wide. Be sure to extend the creases into the cornerstones so they intersect beyond each embroidery motif. Open the creases, and then fold each corner in half to mark a 45 miter angle (I). Stitch and trim the miter. Turn the miter right side out and re-fold each border on the crease lines. Press. Turn the remaining raw edge under and secure by hand stitching or machine stitching-in-theditch. Construct each napkin: Cut one lining for each embroidered napkin. Place the embroidered napkin and lining right sides together and sew with 1 4" seam allowance, leaving at least 3" open for turning. Trim corners, turn and press. Slipstitch the openings closed. G Stephanie Corina Goddard is a frequent contributor to Sew News. She writes and sews in Easton, Md. to the sounds of classical music and dog snores. Husqvarna Viking, Disk #17, designs 10, 15, 25 I Fold corner in half at angle; draw stitching line to form miter. 45 1 JULY/AUGUST 2004 Creative Machine Embroidery 21