Several months ago, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and ran across a stunning image of a social media influencer on her front porch. She was surrounded by beautiful flowers and with her gorgeous two young daughters. While the scene was absolutely gorgeous, I was fascinated by her dress…It. Was. Smocked!!! If you want to take a peek at her gorgeous pictures, I’ll link them, here. Immediately after seeing the dress, I started down the rabbit hole of discovering who made it, where it was purchased, etc. etc. It should not shock you, that much like some of my previous favorite garments, it is crazy expensive. So I hatched…
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Smocked Tunic Pattern Now Available!
Some time ago, I was gifted a vintage pattern called “BJ’s Gown and Blouse” by Albe’s Creations. I made one up in a beautiful Liberty of London and posted it to Instagram and Facebook. I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback and questions about the pattern. On a whim, I started searching for the pattern designer, Brenda Raker. I was hoping she may have more patterns in her basement somewhere as it was impossible to find any for sale online or anywhere else. I reached out to my followers with her name, did some googling, and asked around in an attempt to find her. You all came through (as usual!)…
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Picture Smocking on Corduroy, my Solution to Carpool Line Entertainment.
Its been a minute since I’ve done a blog post. Life has been wild around here! We’ve purchased land (nineteen acres) in my hometown and are slowly starting to take the steps toward building a house. I’ve found myself spending a ton of time in carpool lines with Robby and Maria in different schools and keeping up with John Luke is a full time job….see the picture below for his personality in-a-nut-shell. I’ve discovered the best way to spend my time in the carpool line is smocking…otherwise I get sucked into social media and yucky news. Soooo these outfits are the fruits of the carpool. I’m going to start with…
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Smocking-want to try but not sure where to begin?
disclaimer: all of the following applies mainly to smocking done on pleated fabric. Not smocking done in which you pleat the fabric by hand using dots. Personally, I haven’t done that type of smocking. Ahhhh smocking. One of my favorite forms of sewing, smocking can add beautiful detail to an outfit. The act of smocking can also provide a sewist an outlet through which to pour love into a garment. Are you interested in adding smocking into your sewing repertoire? There are TONS of helpful books, patterns, magazines, YouTube videos, and people. I hope to provide a list of the sources that have been most helpful to me. These are…
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You mean it’s not all just called “lace?”
Heirloom sewing can be daunting. REALLY daunting. Not only is there no real pattern out there that shows you how to do it step by step, there are so many different components to purchase! If you’re fortunate enough to have a locally owned fabric shop near you, it may not be as scary a task, but shopping online for laces can be tricky if you’re not sure what exactly you need. In this post I am hoping to create a quick beginner’s reference of the different types of trims I have used in heirloom sewing. I will preface this by saying… I have made several heirloom garments but am, by…
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Snowdrift Nightgown Pattern
Liberty of London lawn fabric makes everything better. Sometimes, when I’m having a bad day, I’ll just stare at my stash. Often, I find myself having a hard time cutting Liberty, its so pretty. When you add gingham and smocking, it just takes this fabric to a whole new level. Recently, I ordered this liberty from Farmhouse Fabrics. I fell in love with it because the colors are so perfect for Spring and Summer. Originally I thought it needed to be an angel-sleeve Bishop. After staring at it for a few weeks, it became clear that wasn’t what it wanted to be. I combed through my patterns and narrowed it…
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Gift Guide for Smocking Friends
Need a gift idea for a smocker in your life? Any of these items will be definite hits. It can be so easy to accumulate smocking plates and not so easy to keep track of them. The sheet protectors and the binder are a perfect fit for smocking plates…bonus points if you organize them for your recipient. The other items are my favorite small scissors, needles, plates and smocking aids. Some of these would make great stocking stuffers! Sheet Protectors: these are the perfect size for your smocking plates. Binder: Perfect for smocking plate organization-throw in some new smocking plates for an extra special gift. Embroidery Scissors: sweet, pretty little…
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Children’s Corner Maggie: The Smocking Saga…
Have you ever had a project that almost made it into the burn pile…I mean trash can…multiple times? Well; this project was that for me. These sweet little teddy bears have a dark-side, people. Like all masterpieces, they required discipline, perseverance, and what I recently heard referred to as, “power words.” Feel free to use your imagination. Many power words have four, blunt letters. Lets start at the beginning, shall we? Robby’s outfit basically made itself. I found this adorable lace insertion at Textiles in Nashville. If you’d like some, give them a call, last time I went, they still had it. It’s a Children’s Corner Johnny that I modified…
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Smock ’em Straight: Smocking A Bishop Straight
When I first learned to smock I remember being taught about blocking, having no understanding of what I was doing and then assuming that smocking was too hard for me. This prevented me from smocking for quite some time. When I finally regained the courage to do it, I purchased a million pre-pleated inserts and just practiced. After that, I was hooked, and I was already smocking straight. I stuck to inserts (give me all the Michie Playsuits and Alan’s bubbles!) and did not venture out. When I finally attempted a Bishop, I did so with help. My friend Margy and I pleated the Bishop below using the methods I…
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Part Three of Sewing Curriculum-Hand Embroidery and Smocking
This is the third post in my most recent series of posts. Click here to find parts one and two. My goal for these posts is to create a list of patterns to sew that gradually build sewing skills while increasing confidence through repetition. A sewing curriculum of sorts. In this list you will find patterns that I find particularly challenging, introduce a skill that has not been previously covered, or continues to reinforce previous learning objectives. I’ll be including learning objectives for each pattern beneath the options. I’m a former teacher. I’m all about some learning objectives. I’ll also be linking up all the patterns to various shops. Hopefully…
