Hello lovelies,

During my time of quarantine I decided to finish a few of my projects as it was hard to get materials for new projects.
One of these UFOs (unfinished Projects) was a linen chemise I started a couple of years ago. Curiously the side panels go all the way up and over the shoulder and the sleeve is fixed to it.
I was almost done, only the seams needed to be done and I wanted to shorten the sleeves. The sleeves would have been fine for medieval dresses but I wanted to white work embroidery it and use it for 18th century gowns.



At the neckline I added two holes and then made a draw string. It worked much better than what I had planned a few years earlier.


The bottom seam was made with a mantua maker seam. I embroidered the seams only in the front and it worked out really well. At first I only made the small triangles with a four sided stitch but then I added the small loops and an outline in a trailing stitch and it looks so much better with it.




The was very nice to do and once I had mastered it, I changed directions of the stitches, going from left to right instead of right to left. I had to take notes because I got so confues but after a while my brain managed both ways. That was amazing.




 This border is the trailing stitch. It is made by going over one or more threads of thicker yarn. This actually blew my mind because not only was ist super easy, it also made the embroidery presentable.


 The loops are definitely not all the same size. But I am a beginner at white work embroidery and not a machine, so the loops will all look different. At least that's what I told my brain.

Btw, I got these japanese fabric markers and they are the best; bright pink and wash off so easily.



And here is the finished chemise. I did not do a picture of how it looked earlier because it was a real mess.


For the first parts I had no idea what I was doing because I am still a newbie at white-work embroidery. I tried to find classes near me but the only class that was offered was in another country, which would be a 6h drive with the train. I know that probably doesn't sound like much for my American readers, but my fellow Europeans know, that this would be too much for a day trip. I literally would have to cross the borders into Germany and then drive to a small village by train. And everybody knows that the Deutsche Bahn is not the best, no offence.
I am using the book whitework by Lizzy Lansberry and it is a step-by-step kind on how to embroider. This book is my recommenation if you are interested in this kind of embroidery.


And now with my chemise and the short stays ready, I finally started my own regency dress in white with small embroidered flowers. It was on my to-do list for such a long time.

All the best,

Auris Lothol