A Coming Home Dress

 

Well a new baby needs a new dress to come "home"; so that is the next project in line.  I am using again a new fabric to me called Sea Island Diamonds in a pale pink. Scrumptious fabric. I got this from Jan again at Bessie Mary. This fabric is a kind of jacquard/damask I guess. It has a subtle woven texture in the diamond pattern and the diamonds have a bit of a sheen to them. Very pretty. Soft, soft pink color. You want the dress to be beautiful, but not so out there that you lose the beautiful baby inside the dress. In my mind this calls for subtle color, smocking ans embroidery. While it may not be the most inexpensive fabric, it only takes a yard for a baby dress. So in the scheme of things, not a large investment. The laces I had in my stash, so in my mind, they are free.

I of course pre-washed my fabric but was still a tad concerned how it would go through the pleater with the woven texture. Don't even try to write me and tell me that pre-washing isn't necessary. I won't listen. After my god daughter's First Communion dress made from Swiss batiste and heirloom laces shrank three inches; no one will be able to convince me again not to pre-wash my fabric. Ever. I digress as usual. 

 

Back to pleating, it went through that pleater like soft butter. I LOVE my pleater. I have a Super Amanda Jane pleater. I have had it about 12 years now. I love it. So my fabric pleated like it was its job. (Those two extra needles in the pleater serve no purpose other than saving the time to remove them.)

Emma's Smocked Baby Dresses by

Old Fashioned Baby

I am using a lacy version of this pattern. A new pattern for me. 

 

Mommy gave me permission for some lace but not over the top. This is a simple fancy band at the bottom. It will have edging attached after the dress is constructed. I was told no vertical lace on the sleeves. Yes ma'am!

 

For the smocking design I am using the plate provided in the pattern. At least I think I am. I was too lame to walk up the stairs last night and retrieve it. Sooo the smocking is how I remember the plate included in the pattern. Either way I like it. I only used two strands of floss. I wanted a delicate tone on tone look. It was also quick! On a newborn basic yoke it only takes about 5 or 6 rows of smocking. This much was stitched during a one hour episode each of American Idol and Project Runway. So I should finish the smocking today and can move on to the embroidery on the yoke, sleeves and skirt.

First posted at Bessie Mary

I have to give a shout out to Jan of Bessie Mary, the heirloom shop, she has entered blog land. So drop by and pay her a visit at Bessie Mary's blog. Now how in the heck she got 16 stinkin' followers overnight is beyond me, but drop by anyway as she gives you a virtual tour of Charleston. 

Speaking of followers, I noticed that your humble servant here has 99 followers. I will offer a giveaway once we reach 100. Hmmm, what to offer?

A link to the past

Julie from Smocked Clothes commented #2 DD's birthday post that she hadn't heard of picking up gingham squares to smock the fabric. It is similar to the picking up iron on dots.

There are two ways to use iron on dots, since I think they are evil I haven't used them in 27 years. One way is as I described, you pick up the dots as I did the gingham and that creates your pleats and smocking design as you smock across the fabric. This method has been referred to as American smocking. Not many people have heard that term, like many people from England have never heard it called English smocking. English smocking can be done with iron on dots as well. This way to use the dots is the truly evil evil side of those &^%$# dots. You pick up each dot with a tiny stitch to form pleats across the fabric that you then go back and stitch the smocking on. (I am sure my oldest daughter and my friend Jan are cringing at the grammar in this paragraph. Sorry girls.) I pleated ONE dress with those dots, never finished it. I was so done in by pleating it by hand, I had long lost interest by the time it came to smock. I love the smocking part, not the prep part.

I think I found the pattern that I used to make that little blue gingham dress. I found it at "America's Garage Sale" aka ebay.

It is the same smocking design. This pattern is from the 70's the seller stated. I may have bought when my oldest was born. I thought I still had the pattern. I still have the pattern I made my sister a toaster cover with, why I have no idea, but I didn't keep this one. Anyone want a pattern for a toaster cover? In the description for this pattern it states that it has the transfer dots included, but I am sure it has the gingham directions as well. I wouldn't have used those dots twice.

I pondered re-making the same little dress out of this blue plaid, and Children's Corner Lee. I am sure the embroidery would be light year's better, I would pipe the yoke, pleat it before I smocked it on one of these handy dandy gifts from the gods, the Super Amanda Jane pleater,

and surely the construction would be immensely better. But I stopped myself. I loved that little dress, love that picture, I loved that I had made it for her and so began the legacy of taking pictures of my children in their mommy-mades. If I remade it, it just wouldn't be the same dress made by a young mom with two tiny children, little to no time on her hands, working full time to help put her husband through school; but loved her children enough to wrap them in stitches of love. Sewn while babies napped or everyone else had gone to bed. That little dress really can't be replaced. So I walked away from the project. Its better that way.