Monday, October 29, 2012

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Well BB released a new Christmas design this year, a Reindeer....Rudolf to be exact! They have been so so popular but they are rather cute so I don't blame anyone either. Tempted to make myself one actually.

Due to this design being a bit more complicated than my others I had to put up the price to cover the extra time spent sewing and cutting and knotting and gluing etc etc. But I have also put together a quick pictorial showing the work that goes into one little rudolf the reindeer top!

I don't have a picture of this but all of my designs are...my designs! I look for pictures on the net and change them and adapt them to being made into an applique. Sometimes I even have to have different sizes of the design which is what I've had to do with this reindeer one.

So to begin the process I get my design and trace the pieces onto some bonding paper. Once all the pieces are roughly cut out I then iron (glue) them into the material that I want for each piece. In this case I had two antlers, a head and a nose. Once the pieces are cooled and bonded then I cut around each one.


For the reindeer I then iron the nose onto the head and sew around it. I tend to use a zigzag stitch instead of a straight stitch like some other businesses do. This is mainly because it will stop the pieces from fraying and give them a bit more 'wearing' durability. 


I then get my top and put all the pieces where I want them, making sure they are as even as possible before ironing (gluing) them in place. I even go to the point of measuring points to check they are the same distance on both sides. This is probably one of the reasons my tops take so long to make. I like to be precise!


All of my tops also come with interfacing on the back. Why?? Well I feel that this holds the shape of the design a bit better and again gives the top a bit more durability. So with this step I have to estimate a good size that will cover all parts of the design. I usually hold up the template to get an accurate "estimate".


Then back to some more sewing! I first sew around the antlers which are the trickiest due to the many curves and sharp turns. I am slowly getting the hang of them though! I then triple knot the threads at each end for security. Then I start sewing the head!


Once that is all done and dusted I have to cut away the excess interfacing at the back. This is a very careful and slow step as I have to becareful not to accidently cut through the top as well. I have done this before and it's not fun putting in all the hard work only to have to throw it away!


Ta-Da! We have a lovely little reindeer head with it's antlers and nose.


Next I have to lightly glue on the eyes to make sure they are nice and even and I am happy with the way they are sitting. Sew them on! I use three threads to sew on the eyes for extra security. Next the bows have to be made (by me) and heat sealed the edges and then sewn onto the reindeer. Doesn't she look pretty??


Some people choose to stop at this step and have a cute little reindeer singlet...BUT...to make it even more girly and pretty and dainty I add some little lace cap sleeves. So I cute the lace, line it up on the sleeves, pin it and then sew it! I am very anal about getting the two sides pretty even but lace is rather forgiving due to it's ruffle-ness (is that a word? Is now!) and I can get away with it if it's a mm or two different.


Now we have a beauuuutiful girly reindeer top complete with a cute bow and frilly lacey sleeves! Perfect for a hot aussie christmas day. 


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