That Personal Touch
Rolling fabric on a wooden dowel to get it ready for the pleater.
My Amanda Jane pleater. Fabric gets fed through the rollers. Several threaded curved needles are used to make the pleats.
Pleated fabric. See the yellow running thread. This helps hold the pleats together while I’m smocking and is also used as a guide for the placement of the pattern. Once the design is complete, the holding threads are removed.
Close up of the design on last year’s Christmas dress
This week I’ve been trying to get Danielle’s smocked Easter dress started. In the past I have been much further along at this point, but I sent my fabric through the pleater nine times before I was satisfied with the result. The gingham I’m working on demands extra precision, since it accentuates any mistakes or irregularities in the pleating.
A friend at work let me borrow one of her daughter’s old smocked dresses just in case I don’t get Danielle’s finished in time. It’s this borrowed dress I’m using as inspiration for one I’m making. So if I already have a dress to use, you may be wondering why I’m trying to make one just like it. Well, I have to return the dress I borrowed and I want one that I made that’s just Danielle’s to keep. Sure, I can buy a cute little smocked dress at a specialty shop, but it wouldn’t have that personal touch. This project is yet another confirmation I’m a little crazy and more than a little sentimental.
I had to finally admit last year that there was just no way I could keep up with making Danielle’s birthday dress, Easter dress, matching mother/daughter outfits for Mother’s Day, and Christmas dress. I wish I had more time to make all of Danielle’s dresses, not just for special occasions, but realize I’ll only be able to make three dresses a year and keep my sanity.
My mom made most of my sister and brother’s clothes (including pajamas) while they were growing up in the late 1950’s and 1960’s, and she wasn’t a stay-at-home mom. When I came along in the early 1970’s, Mom had pretty much given up sewing. Lana is now in her early 50’s and really wishes she had some of the clothes that Mom made – especially ones that were made for her baby doll. Fortunately, she at least has all the handmade Barbie and Skipper clothes Mom made (with the original Barbie and Skipper dolls to go with them) and we have quilts Mom made from leftover scraps of fabric.
Whether it’s meaningful to Danielle later that I made her special occasion dresses (or ever have granddaughters to pass the outfits to) doesn’t matter; it’s important to me that I did it.
posted by Jen at 8:12 PM
2 Comments:
Yes, some of my smocked dress patterns have sashes, but I haven't made any of them yet. I've mostly made bishop dresses so far because they are the easiest to sew together. (A bishop dress is where there is smocking all the way around the neck.)
I took classes on how to smock when Danielle was about 5 months old, but haven't had much formal training on sewing. Most of what I've picked up along the way has come from learning to read patterns. I'm sure I'll make a few sash dresses for Danielle in the future, but dresses that have multiple pieces are more time consuming and complicated.
Don't worry so much about misspellings, Jane Jane, it just means your brain is working faster than your fingers, not an age factor.
Love you.
Your background sounds a lot like mine, with no real training in sewing. :D I began smocking 20+ years ago when my oldest dd was small. I had a terrible Sears sewing machine that gave me nothing but problems, so I quit smocking and sewing. Skip ahead 15 years and my last baby, a dd, was born and I just had to smock again. Bought myself a good machine and couldn't believe the difference. And I think I mellowed some over the years too, lol! I also joined the SAGA group then and found lots of feedback and help from some superb smockers/needlewomen.
Keep up the good work, Jen!
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