Children's Corner Mary De

I have been busy in my workroom and have had very little time to post.  I think I'm nearly caught up now, so I thought I'd show you a few things I've accomplished over the last few weeks.

This is a Children's Corner Mary De.  This pattern is one of my favorites.

I loved this print fabric but didn't have enough for the entire dress, so I added a black band along the bottom and trimmed it with ric rac.  I also used a smocked insert.

The smocking plate is from Ellen McCarn -  It's called Ladybug Family

This is the first time I've smocked into the arm holes on the Mary De.  It was a bear.  All the bulk made it impossible to turn that seam allowance to the inside.  So I chose to put a bias binding around those edges instead.  I like it. Just remember to cut away the seam allowance if you do this.  This is also the first time I've done double piping.

This has to be the best collar I've ever done.  I used Gail Doane's method of adding the piping and cutting it out.  I've never done it before and it took me two tries, but I love it!  I'll always use this method.

I had these sweet little ladybug buttons for the back closure.

I added little ladybug buttons to the sleeves.

And of course she had to have matching socks.  Laurie at Southern Stitches has a great tutorial for these.

Creations by Michie' Bubble pattern #142

This sweet baby girl turned 1 Saturday and she had to have a birthday bubble.  So her surrogate Mimi went to work.

I love bubbles on little girls and thought this pattern would be perfect.  I used ric rac to adorn the angel sleeve version.  I made the 18 mos, because there wasn't a lot of difference in overall width from the 12 to 18.  I thought she could use the extra length and make it last longer than a season.

The smocking plate is "Happy Birthday" by Ellen McCarn.  There were three candles on the cake in the pattern, but I used only one. I had to omit some rows to make it work for this little bishop.

The colors are so bright and cheerful, don't you think?

I'd definitely make this bubble again.  It was really easy to put together.  I used Martha's seamless pleating method and liked it a lot.  I need more practice but it will become my new favorite method to pleat.

Feel free to leave comments or ask questions below.

Thanks for stopping by.
Angela

Lila's Easter Dress

I know these are a bit dark, but our we had rainy weather and I couldn't get this outside for a really good picture.

This is an Ellen McCarn Bishop dress with a Pat Garrison smocking plate.  I've used the dress pattern many times but this is a first on the smocking plate.  Both were very easy.

This dress was very long, so I added 4 growth tucks at the hem to be let out as little bit gets older/bigger/taller.

I am very out of practice on my picture smocking but hopefully we are going to rectify that little problem, since I have so many more ideas swirling around in my head. LOL

I also smocked some matching socks but totally forgot to get pics.  You can find a tutorial on that here.  They really are super simple to do and I suspect I'll be doing many more.  :)

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to get some modeled pics on Easter to share with you.  Lila looks adorable in her Easter dress.  She'd look cute in anything!

Glad you stopped by.  Feel free to leave comments or questions below.

Enjoy the weekend!

Maja's Heirlooms Larkin - review

A member of our Threads of Love group just had a baby girl.  You can find the bishop here.  She is such a huge help to us, that I wanted to do something for her.  I chose to make matching dresses for the baby and her older sister. This is the Larkin by Maja's Heirlooms.  It was recommended to me by Kathy Dykstra.  It is a great dress for an older girl.

I found the smocking plate in issue 105, 2006 SB magazine.  There were a ton of beads in this pattern, and if I don't ever see another bead, it will be too soon!  LOL  My bullions still need a little practice, but they are getting better.

This is the back.

The sleeves are probably my favorite.  I love lace!!

See the review below for the modifications I made.  I struggled with the neckband and the back facings, so I did them the way I've always done them.  It's a great pattern, and I recommend it.



Pattern Description: Smocked dress for older girls who've outgrown traditional smocked dresses.

Pattern Sizing: 10, 12, 14, 16 (I made size 12) NOTE: the pattern runs small.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, mostly

Were the instructions easy to follow? Not as easy as I would have liked. I had some difficulty with the neckline and back facing which I address below.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It is a great pattern for older girls. And it's beautiful one made.

Fabric Used: cotton batiste main fabric, cotton lining
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I chose to do a traditional neckband like I've always done on my bishop dresses. The pattern appears to fold the pleating over to the back. This really distorted the pleats. So the traditional neckband worked better for me. I simply cut the bias band to 2 1/2" to allow for the extra. She actually makes this adjustment in issue 105, 2006 SB magazine. I found it after the fact when searching for a smocking plate.

Speaking of smocking, I used the pattern in the same issue of SB designed specifically for this pattern. The tiny beads are seed beads I picked up online. They are smocked into the design rather than added later as is done quite often. I think they hold up better when smocked in. Bullions are embroidered at the bottom of the last row of smocking.

I used french lace on the sleeves using a machine technique to stitch lace to lace and lace to entredeux. I think the sleeves just needed a little something extra. The sleeves are also smocked with a tiny bullion added in the center of the design.

I didn't like the way the back facing was done. The pattern calls for folding the placket to the wrong side then stitching down the facing. I didn't like that edge showing. I chose to fold the placket to the right side, then put the facing down right side, then fold the lining placket on top of that, basically sandwiching the facing in between the placket and placket facing then flipping to the wrong side enclosing all the raw edges. Then to keep the facing in place, I ironed a small piece of heat bond in between the placket and facing.

And I put piping where the skirt front joins the bodice.  I just thought it needed something there too.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I think it's a great pattern with modifications.

Conclusion: This is a very sweet dress for older girls. It was relatively easy once I figured out some of the instructions.

This has been entered in the sewing for children contest on pattern review. 
I would love your vote.  See the badge to the right.  

Thanks for stopping by!  I am happy to answer any questions.  Just email me or post it below.

Angela

Baby Bishop

One of the ladies who helps me tremendously with our Threads of Love Ministry is expecting her second child.  I wanted to do something really nice for her, so I made her girls matching dresses.  This is the baby bishop.  I used Ellen McCarn's pattern and have for years.  It is my go to for bishops.  I used a smocking pattern I found in Sew Beautiful issue 105, 2006.  It is a pattern for Maja's Heirloom's Larkin pattern which is the dress I made for the older girl.  I'll have that one posted very soon as a review.

The pattern called for beading......lots of beading.  In fact, if I never see another bead it will be too soon. LOL  The smocking itself wasn't difficult except for the bullions.  I always struggle with those.  I also still struggle with pleating those seams. Grrr....

I added lace to the sleeves with entredeux.  It's been a very long time since I've done that!  But I found it's like riding a bike.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please feel free to ask questions or share comments.

Angela

Smocked Pillow Case

I am making a pair of these for a Christmas gift for the daughter of one of my best friends.  The pattern is from an old AS&E issue and the smocking plate from an old Sew Beautiful magazine.  The floss is DMC but I can't remember the number.  I'll look and update this post later.  The fabric is a cotton sateen that I picked up from a fabric shop in Savannah called Fabrika.


The pattern called for piping between the case and the smocked panel.  I decided to use a satin ribbon.  It really didn't have the affect I was going for, so I'll rethink that on the next ones if I decide to make anymore.  I had quite a few issues with these and won't go into a lot of detail.  But many ugly words were said and tantrums thrown.  And I even walked away for a week at one point. LOL

The pattern calls for doing a simple scalloped hem, but I wanted a little frill, so I stitched on some lace with a little entredeux.  I hadn't used this method in I'm guessing 10 years or more.  I definitely need some more practice with this technique.  But I will add more projects to get the practice, because I'd forgotten how much I enjoy heirloom sewing.  The entredeux is from Capitol Imports and the lace I had in my stash.

I hope Gracyn loves her new pillow cases.  Despite all my problems with them, I really enjoyed them after the fact. Lol

Happy Tuesday.
Angela


Linking up with:

Show and Tell Tuesday
Sew Many Ways

Christmas Bishop

Meet Everlee.  She is the daughter of fireman I met at my gym.  He and his beautiful wife are the proud parents of this sweet little angel.  Isn't she adorable??  Daddy says she is always happy.  I can tell!!  I think firemen, policemen and teachers are all terribly underpaid, so when the opportunity comes to do something nice.........Shouldn't we all help when we can?

I made this bishop sometime ago just waiting for a very special little girl to come along to wear it.  When I found out that they were having a baby girl, I was ecstatic.  I knew it would be too big last year, but it's perfect this year, and she may get away with it next year too.  I was so happy that daddy sent me a modeled picture.  It's a rarity to get photos, so it made my day to get this one.

This is an Ellen McCarn Bishop pattern, but I cannot remember for the life of me the name of the smocking plate.  It may be Ellen's as well.  The sleeves are smocked with a simple 2 step baby wave.

On a side note, Robbie's costume is coming along nicely, and I hope to have it finished today or tomorrow. I'll post a tute on part of the costume.  Wish me luck getting it finished in time!

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Happy Wednesday!!
Angela

Creative Keepsakes Smocked Nightgown

I made this one for a friend's daughter for Christmas.  She has outgrown the first one I made and wanted another.  This is my "go to" pattern for nightgowns.  It's super easy to make and super quick.  It has a variety of styles including a robe pattern.  I like using lace for the sleeves.  I just think it adds a little something extra.

I used Ellen McCarns Allison Leight smocking plate.

I wanted a little more color on the back, so I chose to weave floss through the top two cable rows.  I'm not sure I like it though.  I may take that out before I wrap this up.

You can see other versions of the dress here and here.

Have a happy Wednesday!!
Angela

The Grim Reaper

This is the costume my mom made me for Halloween, The Grim Reaper. And yes the handsome model in this picture is me, the famous Robbie.  But my mom made all of this except for the stick.  The cardboard thing she made.  But i had to cut down a tree for the actual stick.

Robbie

Okay, mom's turn.  Robbie designs his costumes every year for Halloween.  And mom is in charge of making them. :)  And it's a lot of fun especially when he is so involved in the process.  The one thing I totally forgot was his hands. :(  I told him to wear gloves, but dad nixed that idea since he would be the one keeping up with them tonight. lol

Once he decided what he wanted to be, we went online looking at all sorts of pictures so I could see how easy it would be to make.  I found a cape pattern here.  But I only wanted the hood.  Then I found a tute here on how to make the actual robe.  I opted not to use fleece, because it is so hot here in South Georgia. 

I found a cotton sheeting material at Joann's and bought 2 yards.  That was plenty to make this.  I cut out the hood, then had him lay down on the remaining fabric to trace the shape of the robe.  I followed the instructions for the robe just for that part.  I cut a hole in the top of the fabric where his head would go.  Then I made a slit about 6 inches down at the center front.  I lined the hood before attaching it to the robe.  I wanted extra fullness there. I had to gather the back of the robe to get the hood to fit properly.  That gave me extra fullness in the back which was perfect. 

He did not want me to paint his face, so I found a mesh material at Joann's and cut a big square.  I stitched it to the top of the hood all the way around to the top of his ears.  Then I just tucked the bottom into the robe. I know the face cover won't last all night, and I wanted him to be able to pull it up and out of the way to be comfortable.  I used a velcro closure in the front to keep it all in place.  I cut 2 slits up both sides of the robe about 10 inches up so he'd have plenty of room to run around.

Robbie literally went into the woods and cut down a small tree for his scythe.  I cut the blade out of cardboard and used a metallic paint to finish it.  Then I just drilled a hole in top of the stick and secured the blade with a small screw. 

This was by far the easiest costume I've made.  If you have any questions about how I did it, feel free to email me.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Robbie and Angela a.k.a. Robbie's mom :)

Finally Finsihed!

So this is the dress I made for my little friend, Gracie.  This is a dress I found in Sew Beautiful Magazine made by Kathy Dykstra.  You can find the original here.  Be sure to check out all her creations while you are there.  She is amazing!

The lace alone for the original would have set me back about $300.  I couldn't justify that cost any way I tried!  So I left out the lace and made my own tatting to adorn the top of the dress both front and back.

Don't pay really close attention to my bullions.  Some of them leave a lot to be desired, but I started on the less conspicuous ones and migrated to the ones that would be very noticeable as I got better at them.

I had some issues with the floche because it wasn't as bright at my dress fabric or the DMC floss.  But I liked the contrast and went with it.  But I had to change out my tatting to a slightly different color to match the floche on the front.  I thought the contrast looked much better matching the bullions rather than the brighter white floss.  I used the brighter white tatting on the back, since I had no bullions there, just geometric smocking.

I love how this turned out even if it is a much simpler version of the original.  This was by far one of the most time consuming dresses I've done because of all the bullions.  But once I figured out how to make them the right way, it went much faster.

Did You Know?

1. Did you know that an eye of a needle has a right and wrong side?

If you have difficulty getting your thread through the needle, try turning the needle around and thread it through the other side.  Threading through the "right" side is much easier.

2.  Did you know that floss has a grain?

Do you notice sometimes how floss will come apart at the end you are threading.  Try threading the other side of the floss.  Also make sure if you have more than one strand, they are all facing the same direction.


3.  Did you know that the needle number is printed on the shank of your machine needle?

If look closely, you can see it.  If you can't see it while it's out of the case, put it back in the case and look.  The top part of the case is slightly magnified so you can see it inside the case.

4. Did you know on most good quality cotton fabrics, you can tear across the selvage to get the straight grain?

Snip about an inch with your scissors, then tear the rest of the way across the fabric. 

5. Did you know you can use your needle to get the perfect end knot on your thread?

Once you have your needle threaded, take the end of your thread and wrap it around the end of your needle holding the thread snug. 

Then slide that wrap all the way down the needle 

and continue down your thread to the end.  

 Perfect knot every time.  Adjust the number of wraps to how large or small you want your knot.

Just a few little fun things for you to ponder on a very dreary day here in Georgia!

Have a great Thursday!
Angela 

UFO Alert!!

This is a dress I've been working on since I forget forever.  I thought I would have it finished by now, but no such flippin luck!! hahaha.  I finally got the tatting finished and attached on front and back.  This is a little white sun dress I made for my little friend, Gracie.  It is a Kathy Dykstra dress from an issue of Sew Beautiful magazine. 

I think my big hold up was those bullions.  Smocked bullions are NOT the same as embroidered ones.  Well, they are kind of the same, but they don't behave the same way.  I could get the little bullions done with few problems, but those big ones took some practice.  A LOT OF PRACTICE!!  I found a tute on Laurie Anderson's blog and some helpful hints from LaSewista.  After reading those two, those bullions were toast!!  I wish I had seen those sooner.

Then I ran out of floche. HA!  It came in yesterday though, and I should have this one completed this week.  In my defense, this has been one of my carpool projects.  You know when you are waiting in carpool to pick up the kids with nothing to do.  Well this is what I've been working on.  I did not do the dress like the original, because, well, it is VERY expensive with all the lace.  So I went with a more simple look.  I wanted to try something on the bottom of the dress, but Gracie's mom always like extra room to let her dresses out to extend the life of them.  So I'll try it on another project.  Like I need another project!! lol

Have a great day!
Angela

Smocked Slippers

Finally finished both yesterday.  The colors of the fabric really look better in person.  The camera is doing something funky with the colors.  These weren't hard to make, but I have learned some things while making this pair that will make the next pair turn out much better.  I'll also be looking for one of the hooked needles, so I won't have to use the jab method to attach these.

I would love a pair of these for myself, but I usually buy closed toed slippers because my feet are always cold - especially my tootsies!

These are for my dmil.  I made her a smocked nightgown last year, and these should match.  If I can find the same fabric, I may make her a matching robe for next Christmas.

With the completion of these, I believe I only have 2 gifts left to make for Christmas, and one of those is well under way.

Happy sewing!!

Angela

Sneak Peak

This is one of the smocked slippers I'm working on.  I will do these again, but I'll do them a little differently to tweak some things I don't like about them.  I found the pattern in a very old issue of SB.  The instructions for the whole idea really frustrated me.  I finally just did it my way, then found another smocking plate in an old issue of Creative Needle.

I should have the other slipper finished this weekend and will post final pics.  I may even do a tute on these after Christmas.  I still have a lot to do before Christmas.  If you want to know how to do these though, send me an email.

Threads of Love Ministry

We are starting a chapter at our church here in Savannah.  Threads of Love makes burial gowns and preemie gowns for local hospitals.  It truly is a wonderful ministry.

I had to put together a display board for the church and for the hospital.  These are just a couple of items I've made for the board.  I'll post the burial gowns tomorrow.

This is the little bonnet.

And this is the little sleepy vest and hat that the babies in the NICU wear in the isolettes.

I have the vest fastened a little crooked.

I have another photo that I'll also post tomorrow that shows the comparison between the full term baby's gown and the preemie.

You can find out more about the Threads of Love Organization here.

Angela

Smocked nightgown finished!

This is a Creative Keepsakes pattern and I love it.  I've used this many, many times.  It is so simple.  Sometimes, I'll use lace for the sleeves, but this time I just used my machine hemstitch with pearl cotton floss.  It is just a sweet little added touch.  This is for my niece for Christmas.  Green is her favorite color, and this is nightgown number 2 for her.  She's outgrown the first.  This one should last a while!

Here is a close up of the sleeve.

I also made these little boxers for Robbie for Christmas.  He chose the fabric.

He is not being patient though and wants them NOW!  I don't know an 8 year old who is patient! lol

Happy Wednesday!  It is Wednesday, isn't it??  Yikes!

Angela