As I attempt to do a better job at sharing my sewing journey with everyone, I realized that I haven’t shown all of my January “makes”. In our frigid weather, I managed to get one outfit completed each week!!! I’m sure that pace won’t hold up for all of 2024. LOL!
The second make of the year was another dress that I was working on to go along with our SAGA Dogwood “Slow-Along”. It was another one that didn’t get saved for demo purposes – I just couldn’t save it that long. I ended up finishing it and loved how it turned out!
For this dress, I used my Betsy pattern. It is a vintage reproduction and a style that I love. I had some mother of pearl blue buttons that I used on the front of the dress – so sweet!!! I love this style with the pleats in the front and smocking in the front & back. I made up an original smocking design for this dress.
My 3rd make of the year was the dress version of my newest pattern – Vintage T-Romper and Dress. This turned out as sweet as I thought it would!
I think that this would be the sweetest dress for beach pictures!!! Of course, it is just as sweet when it is made from casual fabrics. I’ve made the romper version of the pattern in both heirloom styles as well as casual. Of course, I love the heirloom versions!!!
I love that the romper is a unisex one and equally cute either way!
My 4th make of the year was a dress that I’ll be sending off to the Appalachian kids ministry (Putting Prayers To Action). I love being able to sew and support this ministry!!! After completing the dress, I add undies, socks, PJ’s and a blouse to go with the dress. This ministry supports the most vulnerable families with clothing, toiletries, food and more. If you don’t sew but would like to participate, go to the webpage – they have a link with all of the current needs as well as a way to donate funds.
In addition to getting these dresses sewn, I also finished up a handbook for sewing a smocked yoke dress. This handbook is to be used in conjunction with any yoke dress, shirt or romper. It covers every aspect of constructing the garment – planning, pleating, smocking as well as avoiding all the pitfalls of collar construction, modifying vintage pattern styles, showing lots of sleeve & hem options.
If you’ve struggled with constructing a yoke dress, this may be a great option for you!
Needless to say, January was a very productive month! I do hope to enjoy creating many more patterns in the coming months. Sometimes this process goes quickly, but most of the time it takes LOTS of time. I hope you’ve enjoyed some stitching time already this year!!!
This is a repost from 2014! My, the time has flown by!!! My little princess has her 11th birthday today!!!
I did have the opportunity to stitch out an adorable Snow Princess on one of my Annalise tops. I am thrilled with it and the little princess that will wear it immediately recognized it.
Update – Janet’s website is no longer available.
Fortunately I had some sparkly rick rack in my stash in both pink as well as white. I couldn’t decide on which one to use, so I used them both! Because the points were the same distance apart and only the height of the peaks were different, I was able to use them together and the end result was not only interesting, but I think that it goes well with the snow theme.
This went along so well with the snowflakes in the smocking – which I added one strand of silver metallic thread for sparkle effect. As you can see, the little princess O is adorable in her top!!!
The Annalise top is one of my newest SAGA approved classes. The top for the class is done in vibrant colors and has a cap sleeve. The pattern is also available in my Etsy shop with 3 different sleeve variations – angel sleeve, short sleeve & 3/4 length sleeves! It comes in sizes 6 mo. – 8.
The original pattern was called Temily and was in Australian Smocking and Embroidery magazine #80 several years ago. The original pattern had a 3/4 length sleeve which is perfect for our mild winters in the south. The Etsy pattern has all the sleeve variations!
I have smocked this top with the different sleeve options so many times and in so many sizes now that I have lost count. Each one seems to be my new favorite! It is quick to smock, easy to wear and a little more trendy. Both kids and moms seem to love it. I am thrilled to be able to offer the wider range of sizes in the pattern teaching kits.
I’ll share some of the cute versions that I’ve created over the past several years. I cannot chose a favorite – they are all favorites!
In the 2 samples below I added some width to the sleeves which made them fuller but allowed for a smocked ruffle at the hem. This isn’t included in the pattern, but it easy to adapt.
OK – I have to stop! As you can see, this is really one of my favorite tops and with the sleeve variations can be worn all year long. Different trims, smocking designs and themes allow this top to have unlimited creativity but still be a quick project. I hope that this will encourage some young moms to learn this fine art of smocking!
Today I thought I’d do a post with some tips specifically for the bishop dress. This is a repeat post as the original post was inadvertently deleted. 🤪 The bishop dress is the easiest to construct, so it is a popular style to make for baby gifts, for all the special holidays, etc. In a busy season, the smocking can be enjoyed and the dress made up relatively quickly.
Around holidays, I always enjoy seeing beautiful bishop dresses that are being made for the little ones. However, as I look at the creations posted on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, I have noticed a plethora of the dreaded “turtleneck” bishop dresses. If you aren’t familiar with the term, it is used for a bishop dress that has been smocked so tightly that the smocked area sticks up, like a turtleneck.
There are 2 basic methods of smocking a bishop. One method is to smock the bishop with the threads tied off straight, which I will call straight smocking. The other method is to smock the bishop with the bishop blocked, or fanned out, the way that it will be worn. I would put ready to smock bishop dresses as a sub category of this. There are pros and cons to both methods and both methods have avid followers that fiercely defend their method of choice. 🙃 Both methods will be discussed.
First, lets cover basic anatomy. I’m sure that everyone already knows this, but a picture review doesn’t hurt. Any child, doll, preemie, etc. has the same basic shape. Notice the angle of the neck and shoulders. A properly smocked bishop dress should sit at the neckline and fall over the shoulders.
Just as a brief reminder, the smocking should stop at the shoulder line – the same place that a set in sleeve seam would be. If the smocking falls further past the shoulder line, the dress will tend to look frumpy (my opinion).
Unfortunately, when a bishop is smocked too tightly, thus creating the turtleneck, it doesn’t sit that way. The bias band will be higher on the neck and will stand away from the neck. Not wanting to steal anyone’s picture and embarrass anyone, I have done a quick sketch/mock-up. I left the turtleneck style sketch so that the neck/shoulders underneath would be visible.
There’s a couple of problems with the turtleneck bishop. First of all, it will always remain that shape and will not sit properly on the child. Some will attempt to correct the shape by stretching and blocking it after smocking and before construction, which will make it look better for the short-term. Unfortunately as soon as the garment is laundered, it will return to its original shape.
I know many ladies that use the smocking straight method and have been able to create beautiful garments that lay perfectly once the pleating threads are removed. However, for many, this isn’t the case. Many that favor the straight smocking method will state that without a doubt, if a bishop plate is chosen for the smocking design, when the pleating threads come out, the dress will automatically fan out as it should. I disagree with that. All of the smocked “turtleneck” bishops that I’ve seen have been smocked with a smocking design designated as a bishop design. The problem lies with the tension – it is too tight.
The straight method is definitely easier to smock. However, just like with the blocked method, the tension on the stitches needs to be looser as you stitch the lower rows. If they are smocked equally as tight as the upper rows, the turtleneck is bound to happen. There’s no way that smocking a dense bishop design will end up well if the tension doesn’t relax as the lower rows are smocked. This takes practice. If you struggle with the turtleneck effect, it may be helpful to tie the straight bishop off at a longer length and smock the lower rows first and then tighten up the pleating threads as the top of the bishop is smocked. Regardless of how you choose to approach this, the tension has to be looser on the bottom rows to avoid the turtleneck situation.
The second method is to block the bishop, which just means that it is fanned out (sometimes over a blocking guide or smocking pillow) in the shape that it will be worn. Some will also starch it at this point. Blocking guides and starching seem to be quite time-consuming to me and I have never felt that this is necessary, but it certainly won’t hurt .
I find that the easiest way to block is to use a piece of paper as a guide and fan the bishop out around the paper. This is the method that I always use. It’s convenient, no special tools are needed, etc. and I can do this wherever I happen to be – I can always find a piece of paper. LOL!
If you prefer to use a guide or one of the smocking pillows that are available, that is certainly an option. However, based on the hundreds of bishops that I’ve made over the years, I don’t really feel that it is necessary. By the time that the band is attached to the top of the bishop dress, the pleats are so tightly packed at the neckline that it really doesn’t make a difference (again, my opinion).
Smocking while using the block method (or smocking a ready to smock garment) is a little more difficult. The pleats at the neckline are very tight and there is more space between pleats at the lower edge, which requires thoughtful tension as you smock. I always make my bishops as ready to smock because it gives the advantage of getting the first row of smocking to sit perfectly next to the neckband. That said, it can be challenging smocking all of the really tight pleats. But notice how close and even that first row of smocking can be!
It is important that if you are smocking using the blocking method that you don’t habitually squish the pleats together as you smock. It’s easy to do this without even realizing it, but it defeats the process of learning to loosen tension as you smock the lower rows.
My preferred method is to make up the bishop dress or romper as a ready-to-smock garment ( method 2). I also like to have 2 buttons on the back. I have found that buttons stay fastened while snaps do not. I also don’t like the buttons extending all the way down the back. In my mind, they may not be comfortable and the lower buttonholes can easily get torn with wear and tear.
It is easy to adapt any pattern to make the 2 buttons. I do sell instructions on this method in my Etsy shop (kathysheirloomshop) along with many other patterns.
Whatever method you choose to use, be mindful of tension – it matters.
I thought I’d offer a free smocking plate to encourage you to do some relaxing smocking over the upcoming holiday season. Click on the link below to download the Funky Flower smocking design.
This is a PDF download. I’ve used this to make a sweet bishop dress in the past.
The graph doesn’t show the detail of the smocking design, but after the smocking was complete, the flower and flower center were outlined with the outline stitch and 2 strands of floss and a French knot was stitched with 4 strands in each flower petal.
I hope that this has been helpful and will allow for everyone to be successful with their bishop smocking designs! I welcome any comments. Perhaps others will chime in with comments that help them achieve successful bishops!
