A Pocket And A Petticoat

I have finished two more costuming projects!  I'm on a roll for this month.  :)  First is my embroidered pocket:

I finally learned how to do French Knots!  

And second (although actually finished first :p) is my new brick-red petticoat:

Pay no attention to my messy room - or the cat.  

Pocket Progress and Pillowcases

I've always heard that the French Knot was a difficult embroidery stitch to master - and now I believe it!  I can't seem to be able to stop it from unraveling as I pull it through.  Nevertheless, I have made some progress on my embroidered pocket sampler:

A Completely Hand-Sewn Pocket

I know I haven't been updating lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working on costumes!  I just haven't had time to blog about them recently.  I am having a lot of fun with my latest project, though, and I wanted to get in a quick post about it.

This is my new Historical Sew Fortnightly Embellish project.  I still haven't decided how I want to embroider the yellow shawl, and I need to figure that out before I go buy gobs of embroidery floss.  However, I do have a small stash of lots of random colors, and I also need to learn some embroidery stitches and techniques before I tackle such an extensive project.  What better way to hone my skills and use up miscellaneous colors of floss than to make a sampler?  I already had the perfect candidate for such a job:

An 18th Century pocket!  Shown here nearly completed.