Threads Design Challenge VI

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Mac Berg has a background in costume design and a mind like an engineer. With a big smile on her face, she calls this project "weird embroidery."



	For the luncheon ensemble, Mac designed a reversible silk tweed jacket with button-off sleeves to wear over a skirt full of lighthearted embroidered appliqué. Her hat folds in half and zips closed to stow discarded garment layers during the cocktail party.

A major transformation takes place from day to evening with Mac's outfit: she starts out with a silk tweed jacket and long, blue skirt (accessorized with a clutch purse and wide-brimmed hat), and ends up in a short, yellow two-piece halter dress with a multicolored pieced vest and fan-shaped bag. The embroidered skirt border? It's her name.

Initial reaction: "When I received the fabric, I was happy as a clam. I love these colors and immediately pulled a perfect silk tweed from my stash for my extra fabric."

Word list: "'Tiles,' 'geometric patterns,' 'patterns of letters.' Chanel and stylish boxy jackets."

The pucker factor: "After I finished the yellow outfit, I saw that the fusible interfacing on the halter's waistband wasn't smooth. I added another embroidery pattern to the front center and stippled the band, so that any puckers look intentional."

A vest appeared: "I created a new fabric by cutting and pasting scraps from the other garments onto a lightweight interfacing, leaving the edges raw. I sewed words all over in a scribble style to hold everything in place."



For the cocktail party, Mac removed the raglan sleeves that were buttoned on, reversed the sleeveless jacket, and uncovered a spectacular embroidered vest (left). Under the vest was a halter top in yellow with brown piping and matching skirt (right).



	Mac's pieced vest contains all her leftover scraps stipple-quilted and densely embroidered with letters in gold metallic thread. Photo: David Coffin.

Lessons in tension: "I used metallic thread for the hundreds of words and letters on the vest, and it took several tries to set the tension correctly. I dropped it way down low and used a Schmetz Metallic needle, but the bobbin thread kept showing, since the metal stretches as it sews. I finally used Sulky rayon thread in a matching color in the bobbin."

They did what? "The dry cleaner lost my yellow ensemble the week before the show. They quickly found it."

Her extra $35: "Balsa wood, 30-weight rayon thread for the button embroidery, software, and metallic thread for the vest."

Mac Berg runs a sewing machine dealership in Waukegan, Illinois, and teaches workshops on creating unusual wearables.

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