CHICKPEA SEWING STUDIO

 

a note about the cabin progress at the end of this rambling post...

It's a well documented fact that children, especially toddlers, delight at the sight of their names. It's also a fact that in a daycare class of 20 kids the birthdays keep on coming. The orgy of presents that ensues is a bit sickening and I no longer look for "the special toy" as it will be no doubt completely buried amongst the multitude. Instead I have been embroidering bath towels with the child's name, you might have seen similar products in the Pottery Barn Kids catalogue. Growing up in France it was one of the numerous things the posh kids had and I coveted one with a fiery passion. One christmas, my aunt Francoise made it happen. Juliette was written in white cursive on an orange Jalla towel. Interestingly, I still remember it and should thank her again as it is one of the few presents that left a vivid impression.

Embroidering towels was the first project I tackled when I received the Bernina 580. And let me tell you, with the possibility of stretching the letter size as far as the hoop can go right there on the machine I didn't hold back... Things written on towels at home:

Finn then Finn and Finn again, Thomas, Juliette, Linge de Maison, soon to be embroidered for the cabin "la maison d'altitude"... and of course there was Nate, Elodie, Lance and today Greta.

So far the children have really liked their towels, especially in the summer where water play goes on every day. Hopefully the parents see it as a useful addition and not clutter. This towel will be more likely used in the bathroom as winter approaches and if usually a  bright Lacoste towels from Macy's does quite nicely, this time a muted plum from Costco is more in keeping with the season, plus little girls love purple don't they?

Things to think about when embroidering a towel:

If the item is for a child choose a bath towel not a bath sheet, it's hard for parents to stuff giant towels into a beach or swimming pool bag.

You will need to stabilise both the back and the front of your work, use water soluble film for both.

Don't bother hooping the towel, it's extremely difficult to do accurately and just hooping the soluble stabilizer and spraying some glue will be plenty enough.

If you increase the font size you must also increase the stitch count, I do so by no less than 30%. I also believe that the increased stitch number helps the nap/loops of the towelling stay under the stitches.

Finally, after trying out mostly every possible font offered by the Bernina, the cursive option is still a favorite. The letters seem to remain the tightest even while being enormously enlarged. However, I recommend using a layered file where the capital is handled alone, you can control its placement and size better that way.

We are leaving for the cabin tomorrow with our cars filled with furniture and odd and ends but before we do I would like to thank all of you for your words of encouragements and your sage warnings regarding mice safety. We will not take them lighly we promise you and I wan't to offer all my sympathy to those of you affected by the Hunta virus and pneumonia. Thank you again so much for the time you took to write me and the concern you showed our family.