Mary Corbet recently published a series of articles and tutorials on chicken scratch or gingham lace embroidery. I made an apron a few years ago with this type of embroidery had never tried it on clothing. I was itching to make some summer tops and the Roza pattern was specifically designed for embroidery so I took the plunge.
Chicken scratch embroidery involves making cross stitch, double stitch and running stitches over gingham squares then running the thread through the top stitches to create ovals or circles which results in a lacy look. This type of embroidery is traditionally done using one color, usually white, but Mary took gingham lace embroidery to a new level by creating floral patterns in multiple colors. I took her lead and combined white and green threads to create a lace border down my latest version of the Roza blouse. 
I love how this turned out and already have another one using turquoise and red in the works. If you have never tried embroidering your clothes, chicken scratch is a great place start!
As a child I remember my grandmother doing a similar stitch on her blouses but never knew how, it looks great. I have seen were some crafty people also use gingham squared fabric to smock, another technique I have not tried. Love your version of the Roza pattern.
Thanks! This one was made using 1/8″ gingham but the one I’m working on now uses 1/4″ gingham so it should be much faster. I plan to make a gathered skirt with gingham lace at the border some day but all the new indie patterns are distracting me. I got the Belcarra blouse pattern from Sewaholic this weekend and plan to try that one out some time this week.
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