This Blog is Being Consolidated With Modern Tradition Quilts

Hello to all two of my blog readers!  Just a reminder, that this blog is now consolidated with my quilting blog and all posts will be on that blog.  Please join it as a follower to get more heirloom sewing updates.  Here is a link:

http://moderntraditionquilts.blogspot.com/2013/04/tutorial-assembling-square-yoke-to.html

This post would be of interest to you as it is a tutorial about attaching a square yoke to a smocked bodice. 

Happy Sewing!  :)

I'm Consolidating My Blogs

Hello my few and precious followers!  Thank you for following my smocking blog.   Because I have so few followers and am pressed for time and because my quilting blog followers seem to like my smocking projects just as much as you do, I am going to consolidate this blog with my quilting blog. 

From now on, all of my smocking blog posts will be at:

http://moderntraditionsquilts.blogspot.com. 

Please join me there as a follower.  I have all but sewn on the sleeves to the sailor dress and have photographed  a tutorial of how to construct the square yoke with the smocking.  However, this will be posted on the other blog as it has more followers and I am getting short on time due to my quilt designs & marketing.

Thanks for visiting!

--Shannon

Sailor Dress

Here's my current smocking work in progress to share with WiP wednesday at http://freshlypieced.com.

Well, I've got a new dress in the works too for my little Pinker.  I've always thought that little girls "need" (ahem, my husband would argue how great the "need" actually is) a sailor's dress.  In truth, a complete smocked sailor's dress pattern was very difficult to find.  I finally found one from Country Bumpkin.  Unfortunately, they no longer publish their Australian Smocking & Embroidery magazines, but some back-issues can be purchased from their website.   I purchased back-issue #33, at a reasonable cost--until I saw how much it was to ship the magazine from Australia to the United States!  Oh well, at least I have what I had hoped for. 

To create the dress, I am using the Sea Urchin pattern in pages 36-39 of Issue #33 from 1995 (C) Country Bumpkin. 

I chose an eyelet fabric to create the skirt so there would be no need to hem the project.  I've always loved eyelets!

Due to the cost of shipping the old magazine and the un-availability of other patterns, it leads to the question: Can this dress be re-created from a basic square-yoke McCall's home sewing pattern?  I think so, you would just need to ensure that the pattern includes the pattern pieces for the sailor's collar and attachment directions to it's neckline.

To be able to do this, the standard McCall's pattern would need to be adjusted to include the smocking.  I admit that I haven't done this yet while I am typing this.  To adjust the pattern, you would need to measure how deep the smocking is.  Generally, each smocked row measures one centimeter (approximately one-half inch).  This measurement would need to be ADDED (plus 5/8 inch seam allowance) to the skirt's length and then SUBTRACTED (plus 5/8 seam allowance) from the length of the square yoke.  Additionally, if the square yoke is curved (as in the photo below), it would need to be squared.  Then the pattern would be sewn together according to its directions.  Just to be on the "safe" side, measure the skirt pattern and ensure that it measures 3-4 times the width of the yoke.  This will ensure the appropriate density for pleating and smocking.

Photo of adjusting the square yoke of a standard McCall's pattern.

It's gonna be fun to try this out!  Have fun smocking everyone!

It's Been A While

So it's been a while since I've updated this Smocking blog.  I've had too many quilting projects to complete.  However, I never shared a picture of my little one wearing her "Tiana" dress.  So here it is.

In other news, I finished the smocking on her sailor square-yoke dress and will be sharing its construciton with you in the upcoming weeks.

My Daughter's Christmas Dress--Tips

My daughter and I went shopping together to choose fabric for her Christmas dress.  She wanted one that would look like "Tiana" from Disney's "Princess and the Frog" since she already had dresses in the other princess' colors.  Little girls are so too funny!  She chose a beaded polyester organza which I over-layed onto a polyester crepe.  Now, smocking is normally done on cotton and cotton blends that are at least 60% cotton so the fabric will hold the iron-set pleats.  Well, lets face it...that's not the fabric she wanted and explaining fiber content isn't something toddlers understand.  So...I bought it much to the delight of my sweetie.  What's a mommy to do?

So...I went for it and here's a photo to prove it:

 To make this work, I had to deviate from some of the normal smocking practices written in patterns.

1. To put an organza overlay on this dress it was necessary to baste the organza to the crepe under-layer prior to pleating.  When the dress was pleated, both layer of fabric were treated as one.
2. Because polyester will not set pleats, I chose to do the gathering pleated stitches in the same lime green as the fabric and not remove them as traditionally done.   Yes, now the smocking does not stretch, but we were going for looks anyways.
3. I must emphasize:  PLEAT....VERY...SLOWLY if using a Pleater.  I only broke half of the needles on this dress (thankfully I had bought a new package) and had to hand-gather the rest of the bodice.  I tested a piece first and it went well through the Pleater, but none of the organza's beading hit the needles on the test piece.  So...the beads broke the needles.  The next time I pleat organza, it won't be beaded with glitter.
4. Polyester/special occasion fabrics fray a lot which isn't good when you're manipulating the fabric using tiny smocking stitches.  To protect the dress and prior to smocking, I traced the square-yoke bodice to the pleated dress then sewed zig-zag stitches around the neckline and armholes.  This differs from the traditional method where you smock the entire dress, then cut away smocking (such a waste of extra stitches and hand work).   I started all smocking hand work inside these zig-zag stitches and discarded the rest.
5. Last but not least...my daughter kept telling me that Tiana has flowers on her dress.  So..I made three fabric roses from the leftover organza.  We tried them out as a bunch on the waistline, but she ultimately liked one on each sleeve and one in her hair.

• To make fabric roses:
• Cut a strip of fabric 8 inches long by 3 inches wide and press in half with right sides together.
• Leaving a 2-inch slit in the center for turning, sew around the three open sides, then turn right-side out and press.
• Set your sewing machine to a long stitch length for gathering and sew this along the  turned under yet open edge gathering the entire 8 inch length.
• Pull the bobbin thread to create gathers.
• Starting at one end, roll the fabric up and it will create a rose.  Thread the gathering tails through and needle and baste the rolled gathers together.  Voila!  A puffy cute rose.

Here is a close-up of the smocking:

I chose not to do a full tutorial on this one because it was so difficult.  When the Pleater needles broke, I almost chucked it and considered re-doing the bodice without the smocking.  I am glad I stuck with it.  Of course it turned out to be my daughter's favorite dress and she sat by me a majority of the time while I smocked---handing me each and every bead on that bodice.  Isn't it great to be able to do something as a Mommy that your children appreciate and treasure?  I remember the dresses my mother sewed for me (and still have many) because it meant something to me to see her do that for me.  I'm glad it means something to my little one too--she names every dress I sew for her.

Until next time, Happy Smocking!

Smocked Bishop's Dress Tutorial Part Three

Yay! The dresses are complete....and here's how to finish them.

 

My daughter and her "baby" wearing their pink bishop's dresses.

This is a smocking plate--or a graph representing how the embroidery should be done. As you recall in tutorial 2, the 18 inch doll dress used a simple heart embroidery. This is a smocking plate of the hearts.


SEWING THE SIDE SEAMS--The side seams can be sewn as a domestic machine zig-zag stitch or an heirloom french seam. I will show you both. The doll's dress was done using the zig-zag method while my daughter's dress used the french seam. They both work equally well, most heirloom sewing patterns direct the seamstress to use the french seam. In all of my studies, as far as I have found they are interchangeable. This seam may also be done using a serger, but I don't have one.

Pin the front to the back at the underarm opening with right sides of fabric facing each other and the wrong side of fabric exposed to the seamstress. Sew a straight stitch 5/8 inch (needle plate #10) down the length of the seam.

Adjust your sewing machine settings to its standard zig-zag stitch and sew with the left hand side of the presser foot next to the straight seam. It is important for the zig-zag to not cross over the straight stitch to prevent puckering.

Grade (trim) away any excess fabric to create a straight seam and press with an iron. Repeat with the other side of the dress.

FRENCH SEAM METHOD:

With wrong sides of fabric touching, and the right side of fabric facing the seamstress, pin the front to back at the armhole. Sew a narrow straight seam. Most books say for this seam to be 1/8 inch. I like it a little wider so it won't pull out so I use the width of my presser foot.

Iron the seam flat.

Turn the dress inside out and iron the seam open.

Feel with your fingers the width of the seam and pin. Sew the seam with a straight stitch just to the outside of the pins. This completes the french seam. I like how it fully encases the raw edges in the garment. I think it produces a better quality dress. Repeat with the other armhole.

BUTTON PLACKET INSTRUCTIONS: Sew the two back pieces together using the same manner listed above, leaving the top 6 inches of the 18 inch doll dress open and the top 9 inches of the toddler dress open.

Cut four bias strips two inches wide. For the doll dress, the neckline needs to measure 9 inches while the toddler dress needs to be 17 inches long while the placket lengths need to be 12 inches for the doll dress and 18 inches for the toddler dress. The remaining two plackets are for the armholes and can be trimmed down to size.

Fold the bias strip in half, then fold both raw edges to the center. Your strip will be pressed correctly for both the neckline, placket and armholes.

Open the button placket so it lies flat and pin the bias strip to the inside of the dress. Notice that the right side of the strip aligns with the wrong side of the dress. Sew a straight stitch down the outer bias strip fold--not down the center. The center of the bias strip will align with the dress' raw edge.

Using the pressed creases, fold the bias strip to the outside of the dress and pin in place.

With the dress opened, sew a straight top stitch down the outer edge of the bias strip. Note, a small pleat will be created at the back seam. This is normal.

Fold and iron the placket opening to the right side (for girl's clothing--note boys go to the left). Top-stitch the placket in place where the pin is in this picture.

FINISHING THE NECKLINE: Apply the bias strip to the smocked neckline in the same manner it was applied to the button placket. Tip--don't remove the uppermost holding row pleating thread. It will help the neckline stay in place and not stretch while the bias strip is being applied.

Folding the placket opening raw-edge of the bias strip in (see pin), pin bias strip with right sides facing the inside of the dress (look at my hand placement in the photo, the smocked neckline curled around in the picture making it look misleading that I pinned it to the front--it's not, it's pinned to the inside of the dress) along the smocked neckline. Sew down the bias strip's first ironed crease--not the center. The center crease will align and wrap around the smocking's raw edge.

Fold the bias strip to the front of the dress. It can either be hand blind-stitched in place (as heirloom sewing instructions state) or top stitched with a straight stitch into place. I top-stitched it in place.

BINDING THE ARMHOLES: Still, we're using the same bias tape technique!

With the dress inside-out, pin the right side of the bias strip to the armhole. Tuck in the raw edges. Sew in place along the ironed crease.

Flip the bias strip to the outside of the dress and pin in place.

Top stitch the arm hole closed.

FINISHING: Add button holes and buttons to the placket. Turn under the dress hem. The doll's dress is a one inch hem and stitch in place. I like to use my sewing machine's blind hem feature, but a straight top stitch will do as well.

Fold, press with a hot iron and pin the hem in place, then sew!

The finished doll dress.

My daughter's finished dress.

Does Sewing "Karma" Exist?

I've always wondered about the whole "Karma" idea--"what goes around comes around" thing...

I think it exists in the world of sewing.  In my spare time, I have been helping a friend prepare her daughter's wedding dress...and I've had a bit of good luck. 

As many of  you know, I like to do English Smocking for my young daughter.  A few weeks ago I was saddened that my favorite smocking magazine, Australian Smocking & Embroidery will be discontinued...their 100th issue will be their last.  As I opened my copy of issue #99--there was a photo of my little girl wearing a dress I sewed from one of their patterns.  I was so excited!  Her photo is number eleven, the middle light-blue dress on the bottom row.

 My other/new favorite magazine is Sew Beautiful.  As I shared with my smocking readers, they were giving away something every day during the month of September to celebrate national sewing month.  I got lucky there too--winning a one year subscription to the magazine!  How about it, I always doubted entering these "free" contests...but this time it worked!


On another note...for those of you following my smocked bishop's dress tutorial, I have finally finished the smocking part--the hand embroidery and have pulled the threads.  My next post will be the final post in the bishop's dress tutorial and will share the final construction details.  Until then, here are the photos of the completed smocking.

In case you haven't noticed, I've been enjoying using my black and white photo converter--it just gives everything such a classic, antique appearance.