The Princess Makes An Appearance

Her Royal Highness the Princess made a visit here yesterday, and LOOK! She's wearing the LITTLE RED DRESS!!!



Did you notice how her eyes match the dress? What a wonderful grandchild! I can't wait to see her in Purple Passion! Here's another shot:



Not every Princess can instantly customize her eye color! It's amazing! (And no, her feet are NOT gargantuan! I obviously can't work a camera!)

Another shot from the back:



And now we have the jumping baby photo: (This one shows the actual fabric color well)

And check out the bloomers and gams on this gal, won't you?

And the First Round Goes to Amanda:

Meet Amanda, the Super 24 row Pleater my darling offspring presented me with on Christmas Day. She's a tough girl, and I've been whupped at this point.

Look carefully and you will see the four missing (broken to smithereens) pleater needles:

I gave up a peace offering of one stabbed finger and several drops of blood, but she wouldn't relent. She flat out REFUSED to pleat Purple Passion.

It may well be that all those muffled cuss words may have offended her somewhat.

So I'm just ignoring her for the time being, and spending my time drooling over this instead:

Yes, dear readers, something new has appeared in the mail. Strange how this keeps happening. My husband may have some harsh words for the mailman before this is over.

But look at the necklines! I love them both--it guess this must be what having twins is like, not being able to choose a favorite one. This is a very elegant look and the V necklines would make any lady look taller and slender, since it draws the eye vertically. (I sure need that to distract from the not so svelte waistline area, but we'll let that be our little secret).

Added to all this gorgeousness is the three quarter length sleeves. Check out the buttoned cuffs. A definite Go Buy Fabric Now dress. Here's the pattern back:

Click on the picture and you can see the pattern pieces more clearly. I haven't opened this one up yet, but the bodice pieces are very interesting! If you've made this one, I'd love to hear how it went together.

And no, this one is actually too BIG, so I'll be grading it down quite a bit. I heard all that snickering going on out there.

Seams Ala French

The little red dress is on the machine again, this time going for the French seams. Begin by pinning the WRONG sides together at the side seams:



This next photo shows just how skinny this first seam will be. I will only take up the width of the fabric peeking out from under the measuring tape. We're talking teeny-tiny here, between 1/8" and 1/4":



Stitching the seam, with the needle in the far right position. Line up the right edge of the presser foot with the edge of the fabric, and away we go!



Why, yes dear, I did notice all those smocking threads hanging out there! Why, you ask? Because I am going to stitch that seam, sewing those little devils down for good, before I whack them off! Seams stitched, whack! whack!

Another shot of those skinny little seams:



Now press it to one side (any side, doesn't matter, but I usually go towards the back). Turn it and press it again. Stitch it together using 3/8" seam with the right sides together. Done!

Now for the hem. Measure and mark a 2" hem. Measured:



And marked:



Now turn the hem up with WRONG sides together and pin. Stitch on the center front line (the creased line in the photo):



After stitching, trim just the hem allowance to 1/4". Leave the seam allowance on the front facing side--it adds body and a more "solid" look to the finished product.



Turn and press, and this is the result, seen from the side. Click for a larger view:



Which gives a much neater, more professional finish than if I had done it this way, which is the method most commonly used (or misused, as the case may be):



The opening edges are often seen on garments. Why not choose a method that gives the cleanest looking results, eliminating hand sewing where possible?

And I almost forgot to show you the bloomers!



Oh, waiter? Could I order some elastic now?

Little Red Dress neck binding...

Next up is the bias neck binding. Here I have pinned the neck to a length of 12 inches, my desired neck measurement. Be careful not to stretch out the neckline. I have cut the bias to 12 1/2 inches (this gives me 1/4 inch seam at each end.





I line up the raw edges of the bias binding and the neck edge, leaving 1/4 inch free at each end. I match the center point of the bias with the center of the neck, pinning the two pieces with right sides together. I haven't removed the pleater threads yet, because the trick to an even edge on top is to stitch ON the pleater thread line. Works every time. Here's the pinned neck edge:






And here I am basting the two edges together. Put the bias side down. It is easy to see the pleater thread--just go slow. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR BASTING. Baste first and don't cry later! Baste exactly on the pleater thread.

After checking the seam placement, stitch it for real. Trim the seam to 1/4 inch. Fold the bias twice, and pin in place on the inside, like this:

Here's how it looks from the outside (it's still pinned-that's why it's a little wonky looking):

Now to whip it down on the inside while I watch the football game! Leave a comment if you would like more explanations. Next up--french seams on the sides and sleeves, the hem, and the buttons.

Inspiration Comes in the Mail

A little package of inspiration has arrived, via the USPS, to wit:

You can click on the picture for a close up view.

What do I like about this?

The neckline in front (a nice lower, easy to wear style that is flattering on absolutely everybody), the neckline in back (so much better than simply mirroring the front neckline), the bracelet length sleeves, and of course, the button!

Other nice things--the princess seaming of the front bodice (for a more custom fit). Definitely a bodice to make up in muslin before cutting into the good stuff.

Things that give me pause? The tight little waistline (which I certainly don't have). It will need to be loose enough to look nice, because too tight will be uncomfortable and unsightly. Besides, I usually like to eat during the day and I want to be able to do that as well.

The kickpleat in back is a winner as well. This may appear in the cutting room soon!

Little Red Dress part 3

A picture of the completed neck smocking....

and a picture of the sleeve.

Little Red Dress, part 2

Work continues on the little red bishop dress. Here's a progress picture of the neckline smocking.....

I'm getting this done rather quickly, since I am being totally ignored by these two persons:

And this is the reason for the ignorance (ha, ha):











Meanwhile, this person is pouting with a big purple baby blanket .....













....because he's afraid he's lost his digital camera FOREVER!

Today is the first day of this blog.

Why have a blog?

1. To create a journal of sewing projects and techniques.


2. To explore design possibilities of children's wear.


3. To share pattern resources and ideas for vintage clothing construction.


4. To explore construction techniques in the ready-to-wear and handmade clothing areas.


5. To generate and share ideas for trims, embellishments, and sources for handmade clothing.


6. To develop and share pattern drafting skills.


7. To organize and create a career wardrobe.


8. To grant myself the occasional reprieve from a testosterone filled environment.

Project 1-Red Smocked Bishop Dress

Step 1: Basic construction of the bishop dress (sleeves seamed to bodice fronts and backs)

Step 2: Pleat dress

Step 3: Attach lace to wrists

Step 4: The Smocking Board!

The smocking board is a great tool for shaping the neckline of a bishop dress. It has markings for the center fronts and backs and sleeve seams. Simply pin the neckline of the dress to the padded board at the neck edge. Then pin again about four inches down each seam line.

Here you can see where I folded back the dress to show the pinning lines on the board:

The next step is to pull up the pleating threads EVENLY at the neck edge. I pleated eight rows on this dress. If you look carefully, you can spot the pins. You can see I have pulled up the pleats on the right side of the dress so far:

Notice how the pleated fabric looks different from the non-pleated fabric. This is a good reason to pleat your fabric before choosing embroidery thread colors. For this dress I am using light and dark rose and a pale-ish lime green.

Here the pleats have been distributed and tied off on one side. I always tie off in pairs. A little flash goes a long way, doesn't it?

The entire neck edge pinned, pleated, and tied off. This photo shows the fabric colors very well.

The reverse side of the board is next. It has great markings for scallops, diamonds, hearts, etc. Since it is padded and pinnable (is that a word?) it is useful for shaping lace and also for pressing. The hanging loop is nice, too. Worth the money. Buy one!