July 18, 2019

Embroidered Tulle Capelet and Dress

This easy sewing project will make you the talk of the town! Perfect for an evening occasion, this embroidered tulle capelet and dress are both easy to make and fun to wear.

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Evening Wear Envy

We rarely have an occasion to dress up. I miss dressing up in fancy clothes for dressy events! This year we have two weddings to attend, and I am excited to make some dressier clothes to wear for these special days.

This ensemble is easy to make, but it looks much more complicated than it really is. The embroidered green and grey tulle (mesh) fabric came from Mood Fabrics in New York. They are excellent designer quality materials and my go-to source for evening wear fabrics.

The tulle came with the floral machine-stitched embroidery. I simply used my embroidery machine to match the scallop on the finished edge. It’s not as hard as you think and added the perfect finishing touch. I had a lovely time exploring my favorite local botanical garden and taking photos on a hot summer afternoon.

The capelet is open on the sides for a flowing loose fit. I considered adding some ties to it, but in the end, I decided that I like the loose flowing style of the top.

Without the capelet, you can see the underdress. This simple sheath dress is made from crinkle scuba knit and is super comfortable to wear. I know it will be a favorite in my closet for many occasions!

Supplies Needed:

1 yard embroidered tulle fabric, from Mood Fabrics
bright green embroidery thread
Superior Threads: The Bottom Line bobbin thread for embroidery
11″ wide Tear Away Lite embroidery stabilizer
embroidery sewing shears with a curved tip
2 yards 58″ wide Crinkle Scuba Knit Fabric in black for underdress
black all-purpose thread and serger thread
Chambray Blues Capelet Dress Sewing Pattern

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My sewing machine has several different scallop hemstitches. Most modern machines have a few options for this heirloom stitch. I was able to adjust both the length and width of the scallops to closely match the original selvedge of the fabric.

Machine Embroidery Sewing Tips:

Use high-quality embroidery thread. My embroidery top thread was a generic purchase from Amazon. It wasn’t a perfect color match, but it worked well enough. I recommend purchasing the Robinson-Anton Rayon embroidery thread for the top thread in this project. My generic thread did an okay job, but it would look even better with a higher quality thread.
Try a lighter weight thread for the bobbin when embroidering. This is the difference between a so-so homemade look and a professional-looking embroidery. Your machine embroidery design will turn out so much better when you use a lighter weight thread in the bobbin. You can order a color card from the manufacturer to have on hand so that you can match just the right shade. I used #644 Lime Green Polyester Bottom Line Thread from Superior Threads.
A good quality embroidery stabilizer is a MUST! Evening wear fabrics are incredibly delicate and can be difficult to sew. By using a stabilizer under your fabric, the fabric is supported and is easier to feed into the sewing machine. My favorite stabilizer has a sticky backing that you can stick to the fabric and tear away after stitching. (No ironing involved!) Tear Away Lite Stabilizer is my go-to for all of my delicate embroidery projects.
Choose an embroidery needle. Schmetz makes great embroidery needles. I always keep a couple of packages of them on hand. I used a size 11 for this project.
Use curved tip embroidery shears for cutting threads. This is an optional item, but I must tell you that I love my embroidery shears and can’t live without them! The curved tip makes it easy to snip fine threads in just the right places. It is much more difficult with regular sewing shears. Embroidery threads are slippery and have to be clipped close to the fabric, the shaped shears make all the difference for cutting in the right place.