Native American Shirt

Store Bought...Hand Embellished - for my SWAP...

Well, Ran into a standstill on my SWAP...as my fellow swapper Syndi put it, the race was fun, but I got burnt out...  I lost my SWAP mojo....Until... DH showed me this website: Indian Village Mall  They have an enormous collection of Native American items... I am very drawn to Native American art and culture, and love the clothing.  I had just completed a Red Motorcycle Outfit In this Previous Post that had a Dream Catcher and some Feather embroidery on it.  Once I saw that website and the denim shirts they show, It all of a sudden hit me...I could build my other half of SWAP into a southwestern/Native American collection - I already had two tops and two bottoms for that side. (Once I cleared that my vest was a top, too, since it is worn that way, with no indecency.) So I could make one of these shirts and have that as my third top, then make the bridging Native American Poncho which would also go with all my moto gear on the other side of my collection, and Poof! my SWAP is done.  So, I couldn't summon the courage/energy to find a pattern and fabric to make the shirt I wanted, so I purchased a denim shirt and will embellish that.  the SWAP rules allow for a purchased item, so it will be legal, and the embellishing is what makes it fit the collection. And I can't wait to make it!.

Bought the shirt - a burgundy - so it goes with my made jeans as well as my made skirt.

Now to choose the embroidery designs... OK, I love wolves, so there's been a Wolf Design that I've wanted to do for a long time. what better incentive than a SWAP piece to encourage me to put the time in....

The design is larger than my hoop size, so I will have to shrink it.  It is not suggested to shrink/enlarge designs at whim, because it alters stitches, etc.  I've never had disasters yet, so let's go for it.  This one is 51K stitches and 34 thread changes! Yikes!!! but I'll settle in and go for the long haul.

So let's import it into DRAWings software to shrink it.  Now it fits in my hoop...

It is too large for one file, so I'll need to save it as two.  One plus is that it is now approximately 45K stitches.

I decided I'd like to put fringe on the shirt, so part of the fringe is going along the back yoke, as such.  So I needed to measure so that my design would fall below the fringe.  First mark the bottom of the fringe line

And then mark the middle of the design for where the hoop center is going. 

Then to pick out all the threads - I write the colors out so I don't get confused as I go.. I use Sulky threads.  I only really use them by default, because when I got the machine she had a huge collection of threads and they were Sulky, so I just kept up the tradition.  If any machine embroiderers out there have any other opinions, I'll listen :-) ....

The first file... 93 minutes , but only 13 color changes, so that's easier than all those little changes that will come near the end in the second file...

Well I got hooped and set to press start at 7:30 last night, lasted about 1/2 hour before I was wiped out. Figured I'd pick it up this morning

All done with the first file... It took forever.  I was also very nervous, because do you see the border above? The white diamond? well it's closer on the right than on the left.  I was real nervous that it wasn't going to fit.  If you recall up in the photo of when I was re-sizing the file, the hoop in the software was horizontal, so I was a little less critical of centering the image left to right, than I was top to bottom. After all, I only shrunk it a minimal amount and pushed it to the edges as much as possible. So, when the design got saved, it saved it into a vertical hoop direction, and I didn't think anything of it, UNTIL it had already stitched quite a ways out and got to an outline and I noticed it was off center!  It was only a little bit, but I'm a worry-er... I couldn't stop now, I was too invested at that point. So I had no choice but to keep going and pray for the best.  Wouldn't you know that final border wouldn't be stitched until the very end of this file which turned out to be around the T minus 12 minute mark and 25K stitches.  BOY was I thankful that it made it!!!!!!  Lesson learned: Just make sure it is saved dead center, so it makes no matter how the file saves itself!

On to the 2nd file... this one's only 59 minutes, but 21 color changes....

I survived!!!!! And gee the result was worth it!!!! I'm so happy with this design.

So with the fringe it will look awesome...

So far so good on my shirt.

Now onto the front pockets... Still need to decide on the embroidery... I will look around at The Library, and at Designs  I already have some, but let's see what else is out there...

OK, I want Kachinas one for each pocket. Decided on a Rain Maker and a Sun Dancer.

So now to take off the pockets.. It seems that I can take them most off and leave the top on where it is reinforced. It seems to hoop okay.

I'm up for sewing out another one, what d'ya say? 71 minutes 14 changes. Let's go for it.

We survived another one!

Once the pocket gets sewn back on... I will also add fringe to the shoulders.

My other Kachina...

Well I started this one got a little into it, and couldn't go another stitch!  Total wipe out.  Been at it for 9 hours... Yikes!  That might be all I have in me for the day, or.. I might just need a rest for a few hours, and then pick it back up, just finish this design after dinner.  It's 4 pm now.  (been bloggin' for an hour)... Well, more later on....

Well after Dinner and a Movie (Collateral with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx) had some energy and finished up the Sun Dance Kachina.. Ahhh yes..

So When the pockets are sewn back together...

And the fringe is added...

All in all not a bad sewing day.. Got a lot accomplished...Tomorrow will have fresh eyes and pick up with designing sleeves and yoke, and that should do it.

Niters Gracie...

Okay All ready to power onward...

So I selected the print to go on the yoke, so let's line that up with the fringe and give it a stitch line...

Line up the sides, and the front of the yoke with the front fringe.  I basically did this all as I went - no measuring, cutting to a pattern, or anything like that...Just lining everything up and pinning... I sewed the cotton onto the the shirt, as opposed to replacing the yoke with the cotton piece; the denim was much stronger and heavier weight, so I wanted to keep that together.

Well there was really nothing much left to take pictures of as I finished it up... I double stitched the cotton yoke panel and that was set.  Then I opened up the arm seams to install the arm fringe, and sew it back up...That was so easy it was almost a crime. Then top-stitch the front pockets back in place, and that's it.  All Done...

SWAP Piece # 10! Two collections completed, now just the bridging poncho, which is also so easy it's also almost a crime.

Here are the pix of my Native American Shirt

From This to This:

And This to This:

And in Action:

 Hip Hip Hoo-Ray!!!

Cheers, 

Jo