When life gives you holes…

After my foray into machine-embroidered lace described in my last post, I’ve been experimenting again, this time in an effort to camouflage some holes in the front of one of my favorite tee-shirts.

Since the holes were located in the front lower half of the tee, I originally thought it would be nice to create a paisley border design along the hem.

I chose two layers of “no-show mesh” for stabilizer and a thin, water-soluble “topper”. So far so good.

Kind of mesmerizing to watch this pretty design emerge before my eyes. I was concerned about potential “hoop burn” so I used a metal hoop with magnets. Such a worthwhile investment and game changer when embroidering on already-assembled garments or other hard to hoop items.

The crosshair placement lines for the second design I used yielded somewhat unpredictable results. So I decided to change my game plan from a border to an asymmetrical paisley cluster. Again, not perfect placement, but I will definitely wear this tee in future. Suffice to say, it’s now an original.

Just prior to soaking away the water-soluble topper. (See shiny bits)

I’ve learned a lot in this process, including embracing the notion of random imperfection as a thing of potential beauty, a stretch for my perfectionist tendencies to be sure.

Final takeaway? It feels wonderful to have prolonged the life of this simple garment in a fun and creative way.

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