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National Sewing Month

Day 8

Question: Do you like to make and sew your own jewelry and adornments? I have a few suggestions including cuffs, bracelets and brooches, all use bits of this and that including fabric, lace, ribbons, and buttons.

Chantilly Lady’s Lace Cuff by Christen Brown

These are examples of what I call the wistful days gone by, reminiscent of tranquil days lounging on an overstuffed satin pouf, or demurely sashaying along a tree-lined avenue, parasol in hand. There are two styles to choose from that will be embellished with needle-tatted and crochet components, ribbonwork flowers, a few silk ribbon embroidery stitches, beads and buttons. The lace base and other components are dyed with Colorhue dyes.

silk ribbon, embroidery, bracelets

Tandleton Rose Bracelets by Christen Brown

You have two styles to choose from, both using a Tandleton base (pillow). The “Ring of Roses” is made up entirely of embroidered ribbon pillows, strung with beads and has a glass button for the closure. The “Band of Roses” is made from a ribbon base, layered with vintage lace and a few of the embroidered pillows; a dainty embroidered button and hand-stitched button loop are used for the closure.

ribbon work flowers and leaves

Scrumptious Hearts by Christen Brown

The base is created with bits of cherished lace and with silk fabric to form a beautiful heart shaped base for your floral design. Chose from a few different heart shapes and ribbon worked floral vignettes or create your own. This is an excellent way to use up small amounts of this and that to form an heirloom brooch to be treasured. The lace base and other components are dyed with Colorhue dyes.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Day 7

Question: Do you plan out every detail, or do you approach your work with serendipity? For this piece, I did a bit of planning, so that the metal frame could take a prominent place amongst the pieced fabrics.

Midnight in Paris by Christen Brown

I crazy pieced solid and printed cotton fabrics with satin ribbons and vintage laces that I dyed. The embroidery was worked in silk embroidery ribbons (4mm and 7mm), silk perle, perle cotton, and cotton floss. I combined these with vintage and new beads and charms, and vintage buttons, including metal, glass and shell. A ribbon border with beaded details was used to frame the piece.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Day 29

Do you plan out every detail, or do you approach your work with serendipity? For this piece, I did a bit of planning, so that the metal frame could take a prominent place amongst the pieced fabrics.

13″ x 11″

Midnight in Paris by Christen Brown

This wallhanging is crazy pieced with cotton solid and printed fabrics and vintage laces. The embroidery was worked in silk embroidery ribbons (4mm and 7mm), silk perle, perle cotton, and cotton floss. Vintage buttons, beads, an antique metal frame, and charms were used for embellishments. A ribbon border with beaded details showcase the piecing and the frame.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Day 28

What form of piecing do you prefer? I really love crazy-piecing, simply because you can use the pieces and scraps that you have on hand, and the pieced lines provide a variety of opportunities to embroider and embellish.

Victoriana 1 and Victoriana 2 by Christen Brown

These two pieces were stitched using the same fabrics, and are almost identically pieced together. I was going to make a purse, but decided that two small wall hangings were more desirable. The embroidery stitches were worked in silk embroidery ribbon, perle cotton and cotton floss. Beads, charms and buttons were used for the embellishments.

You can find these two pieces in The Embroidery Book by C&T Publishing.

The Crazy Lady Victoriana by Christen Brown

This piece was made using the same fabrics as the above two pieces, with the addition of several vintage silk ties and their lining fabrics. I created this piece while I was teaching a class titled the Crazy Corner. I enjoyed adding in all of the embellishments such as a birds nest, fabric yo-yos, and ribbonwork flowers.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

National Sewing Month

Day 25

What sewer does not have a favorite needle keep, or pincushion. Here are a few of mine:

Some of these are classes, some were shown as examples in book, all are used and loved.

Happy Stitching, ~Christen

Day 30 of FLOWERS GALORE!

Day 30 of FLOWERS GALORE!

ribbonwork daffodils

Daffodils

When our friends Phred and Tom got married, I was asked to be the flower girl. In this case, it meant that I was making the flowers for the wedding party. Here is a group of my friend Phred’s favorite flower, the daffodil. My husband Kevin gave part of the ceremony, and our daughter Gwen was the video photographer.

ribbonwork daffodil

Happy Stitching, enjoy~ Christen!

Day 29 of FLOWERS GALORE!

Day 29 of FLOWERS GALORE!

Country Cottage Tussy Mussy

May your day be filled with everything and everyone that you love!

This is a class that I taught for Joggles. I loved working with all of the different materials, and textures which include cotton fabric, lace, grosgrain ribbon, satin ribbon, felt, crochet streamers, and vintage buttons. The vessel that the flowers are displayed in is made from a cardboard cone that has been covered with mixed media techniques.

One of the flowers that I think is the prettiest is the shabby rose. If you would like to make this flower click here.

Happy Stitching, enjoy~ Christen!

Day 27 of FLOWERS GALORE!

Day 27 of FLOWERS GALORE!

dyed ribbon corsages

dyed ribbon corsages

dyed ribbon corsages

Corsages to Dye For

This is a series of classes that I taught on-line for Joggles, Corsages to Dye For I, Corsages to Dye For II, and Corsages to Dye For III. The student learned how to mix colors and dye her own ribbons. The flowers and leaves were made with ribbonwork techniques, and a little bit of embroidery. Many of the techniques can be found in my two ribbonwork books by C&T Publishing.

Ribbonwork Gardens a book by Christen Brown

Happy Stitching, enjoy~ Christen!

Day 26 of FLOWERS GALORE!

Day 26 of FLOWERS GALORE!

Pretty In Pink

Pretty in Pink

This is an ensemble that I made using a vintage tatted reticule and crochet collar. I used silk ribbon for the flowers and leaves, and added in acrylic flowers and leaves with beaded stitches. This can be found in the gallery section of my book Ribbonwork Flowers by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching, enjoy~ Christen!

Day 24 of FLOWERS GALORE!

Day 24 of FLOWERS GALORE!

Mariposa Fall

This is a small wreath that is comprised of flowers and leaves made from hand-dyed silk ribbon, Hannah silk bias ribbon, vintage grosgrain ribbon, vintage jacquard ribbon, taffeta ribbon, and satin ribbon. The wreath is also adorned with vintage buttons and butterflies, lots of butterflies! The techniques can be found in my book Ribbonwork Flowers by C&T Publishing.

Happy Stitching, enjoy~ Christen!