The "Carrie" top

Sex and the City is my all-time favorite show and the guiltiest of all guilty pleasures (including, I'm ashamed to admit it, both movies). I've a completely different body type than SJP so I there's no point for me to ever try to mimic Carrie's style. But there was one little blouse that she wore in Season 3 that I always loved and could totally imagine myself wearing.

Well, :) now that I've learned how to do ruching - here it is, VOILA! The neckline is a bit higher than on Carrie's top, but I can continue playing with it. I can lower it by an inch and I can try adjusting the bobbin holder screw a little less tightly so that the gathering will turn out looser. But imho, it's fine as is and I'm very happy with it :) And this embroidered white cotton is amazing - must go back to JoAnne's and pick up some more.

And here are some screenshots I took of the episode in which this top appears :)

Playing with Border Embroidery Designs

I've been playing a lot in Embird (embroidery software) lately and my latest effort was modifying border designs. Here's an embroidered top I made, using a cross-stitch border pattern that I edited in Embird to fit the neckline and the sleeves. And since I recently learned how to ruche and how to do a blanket stitch, I threw those elements in as well.

This top was my inspiration. 

Unfortunately, my embroidery machine has size limitations (13 cm in width and 18 in length). I would need to re-hoop in order to achieve a design that is wider than 13 cm. Next challenge! :)

Ruched Sleeves and Blanket Stitch

I've been playing with ruching for the last couple weeks and I also finally gotten around to mastering the blanket stitch. It's a very nice decorative stitch that can be used on all sorts of edges, necklines, sleeves and hems. I figured out how to do it on my serger but wasn't quite satisfied with the size of the stitch, so on this cotton top I did it by hand (couture). The sleeves feature machine embroidery and ruching. It's a light, breathable summer top :)