The Bodice Embellishment

After marking the cutting line of the bodice pieces on your fabric, you will need to do the embellishment. (It is best to cut out the pieces after all of the decorative stitching is finished.)

My jumper was made to show off the beautiful Japanese embroidery known as Sashiko or Shi-shu. The basic principle is to work a heavy line of white stitching into gridded designs or motifs. This type of embroidery is traditionally done onto a dark blue, heavy fabric; this is why I choose denim for my jumper. There are a few very good books on the American market that explain in detail how to do this style of embroidery with your sewing machine.

I worked my jumper by first marking grid lines onto the front pieces of the bodice. I used a 1 1/2 inch grid and placed it at an angle for a nice effect. On the right front, I did the grid on the top half of the piece; I use two spools of rayon embroidery thread and a three-step straight stitch to create the heavy lines of stitching. This stitch is also known as a stem stitch or a bean stitch. On the left front, I did the grid work on the lower portion; I used a decorative, star burst stitch from my sewing machine to stitch over these lines. For the area on the lower right front that I had not yet stitched, I simply used a variety of different decorative stitches in random flowing lines. I used two spools of thread for all of the decorative stitching and I used a brand new needle when I started the embellishments.

For the Shi-shu embroidery (motif designs), I turned to my embroidery machine and DHD disk #122. I used the single cho-cho (butterfly) motif on the left front bodice. I used the triple cho-cho motif three times on the back, being careful to place them exactly for a symmetrical affect.