Sitting down today to make gifts for my friends, I realize that it is a perfect opportunity to share with you some of the Heirloom techniques that I use in many of the items in my christening outfits.
The first technique is OVERLAY and the second is MONOGRAMMING.
OVERLAY is when you lay one material over another. In the example shown below, I have overlayed a delicate lace piece on the front of the silk dupioni in three of the zip bags, before I embroidered the oval and the initial. The fourth gray bag has the same embroidered oval and an initial, without the lace overlay. Notice the difference in texture and affect.
MONOGRAMMING is an embroidered initial or group of initials. You might think of those old-fashioned napkins that your grandmother used on the holiday tables, when you think of embroidered initials. But today monogramming has come out of the closet and is used on so many items. These zip bags are a perfect example.
I am also making flannel pillowcases as gifts and the deep hem areas on each pillowcase will have a monogram or a full name embroidered in that hem area. Canvas tote bags, sweaters, key tags, and even Christmas stockings or dog collars can have monograms. Anything that you want to personalize and give a bit of elegance can be monogrammed.
Let your mind be creative when you think of making someone that special gift. Happy stitching!
The bags were created using a pattern from Missy Billingsley on the MissyB Stitching website.