Some of my uses for decorative stitches:
a vertical row between widely spaced pin tucks on a blouse or child's dress
across the yoke of a child's dress instead of smocking
to decorate the front of pillow covers on throw pillows. I change mine with the seasons to change look in the family room so I have done that with plain fabric pillow covers. Make them envelope style on the serger.
down the center of a narrow strip of plain fabric on a wall quilt inner border
make rows of them on front fabric then back it with plain fabric to make a bookmarker
And last I have to tell you what my late mother did after I gave her my first Singer Touch and Sew with the cams for decorative stitches all the way back in the 70s.... she made a pot holder but on the front of the fabric she sewed 1 inch strips of gross grain ribbon in a wide diamond design and then sewed down the ribbon with decorative stitches. Then she continued to make the pot holder using two old washclothes to "stuff" it against heat. She had never heard of batting but wanted some thickness in it for protection.
With that Singer she thought she was, as my father would say, " the cat's whiskers"... I wonder what she would think of our 15000 machines.
Pardon the old lady reminiscing... but your uses for decorative stitches made me think of that.........
Just use your imagination when you look at something you make or want to embellish and think of it as a blank canvas.
Pat in MD
