I hope you’ve been enjoying the Customizing with Oliver + S series of blog posts as much as I have. I’ve loved hearing from everyone who has contributed to these posts, so thank you for being part of the series. We plan to continue it; it’s been so much fun.
I thought it was about time for me to contribute a few ideas, and I’ve been wanting to show you a few easy embellishments that you can add to a pattern. These techniques don’t alter the pattern itself, but they give you the opportunity to add something extra special to whatever you’re making. I’ve been working on a few easy projects, like raw-edge applique and cross-stitch, and I’m eager to show them to you because, as always, I know you’ll do some terrific things with them.
Anyway, as I was thinking about these posts, it also occurred to me that there were a few hard-to-find products I really loved and wanted to share with you. These are all products that I use and wanted to make available to you in one location, since it can sometimes be hard to find them or you might need to order from a variety of places to get them. So we have started to carry more products that you can use when you sew with our patterns in the Supplies + Tools section of the Oliver + S Shop.
We’ll continue to expand the number of products we carry, and add really good instructions on how to use them, but it’s important to us that these are things we believe it and use. My sewing space is tiny, and I’m not really a gadget girl. So it’s important to me that everything I use and own is really useful and worthwhile. I would imagine it’s important to you, too, no matter how much space you have or what your budget might be. There’s no point in buying products that you won’t use or that don’t make sewing fun! If you’re like me and don’t have a lot of time to sew, you want your sewing time to be enjoyable and relaxing. I think it helps a lot to use the right tools and materials.
We’ll be continuing to add more sewing products over time. Right now I’m busy searching for my favorite pins and a few other notions and tools that I want to share with you, and if you think of something you’d really like to see us carry, please feel free to drop us a line or leave a comment here. We’re always open to ideas.
So, later this week it will be cross stitch. Have you ever tried it?
Cross stitch was my gateway craft, the first of many thing my Mum taught me. I’ve done plenty of cushions and pictures but never tried it on clothing – yet!
Cross stitch got me started on the hand sewing journey! Although we did a small project at school and my teacher said I was doing it wrong! I really don’t know how you can do cross stitch wrong but it is something I did a lot of once and haven’t done in a long time. So I am intrigued to see what you come up with.
Love cross stitch. I’ve been doing it since grade school, when I was more patient with long, tricky designs. Now I use it to quickly make gifts and cards.
Cross-stitch is something that I take with me every time my huband has a hospital stay or long rocedureI also like doing ‘waste canvas on sweatshirts as gifts.It’s a gift from the heart and keeps my hands busy!
I do a lot of cross stitch to keep my hand busy while sitting at baseball games and gymnastics practice. I have a bunch of finished ones in a box because I never know what to do with them when they are finished. I also make a lot of kids clothes and would love to mix the two. Incidentally, I have seen some beautiful cross stitch on even weave ribbon which would make it easy to attach to a lazy days skirt, etc. but cannot get my hands on the stuff. Not on amazon, not locally. Any suggestions?