I love that you have developed a process for making a smocked dress for an adult. I learned smocking when my daughter was young and loved it. I found it very relaxing. It also nourished the creative part of my mind. However, 99% of what I've found in the way of smocking projects is for babies through little girls. I guess that may be because the time required for smocking for an adult would be much more than for a newborn. At any rate, I really want to get back to smocking, both for myself and my adult daughter. Thank you very much for this.
My Mom smocked all my dresses when I was little. I learned how to do it when my daughter was little. You are lucky to have found a pleated. I did it by picking up the dots.
Loved your work on the gingham. I have two pleaters which is crazy and a 1940s pattern book for adults included working with striped fabrics. I’ve made adult nighties with Bishop necklines and doll and baby clothes. A completed dress with scattered grub roses and a fine linen petticoat awaits a future great granddaughter but it might outlive me.
Beautiful! Your first smocking video plunged me down the rabbit hole of this hobby, and I recently made a smocked bishop style dress for my newborn daughter. I love the idea of a bishop style dress in an adult size, it has my wheels turning now. 😊
3:34 please know that this wasn't a fail moment. I love that you chose a bold print fabric and that it didn't line up...that's not a failure, it's a lesson and not only did you learn something but you shared your experience with us...thank you...great job 😊
Yes, I agree to redo it. Shame it happened but life is about learning. I missed an opportunity where a friend was going to teach me how to do smocking nearly 30 years ago. I love the look of smocking.
I remember little girls’ smocked dresses back in the 60s and 70s. I thought they were so cute, but I was never inclined to do that much work. I’m impressed with your smocking! I think you did the right thing in redoing it, although it was a ton of work. I wonder if a small ruffle at the bottom of the dress would give it a little more shape?
It is lovely to see smocking return to the dressmaking seen. I too smocked our girls dresses for many years. I bought a READ brand pleater. It was made in South Africa I was living in USA at the time and goods from South Africa couldn’t be imported. Lucky for me. I could get one in Canada as they were a member of a commonwealth country..sounds long and complicated….it SAVES hours. I am using smocking again on the top of a raglan sleeve I plan to smock the fabric across the shoulder and then let it be the part of a full sleeve. Wish me luck as what is in my head doesn’t always work in practice. Joh
I noticed it right away, but sewists see those things. When my mom came to visit my new house and I had made the drapesx for one of the rooms as she was next to the one set, I could tell that she was checking to see if the patterns matched between the two curtains. I was so glad that I hadn't flubbed them. 🤣 Such a cute dress. Make it even shorter it would be a great top, also great for maternity wear for those that need it. While pregnant with my second munchkin, I had worked very hard to make a perfect Peter Pan collor on a black and white gingham top. It was looking so great and I was on the home stretch and had to leave my sewing for a few minutes (probably a bathroom break) and came back to find my 2 years old had gotten a hold of my scissors and cut a huge hole in the abdomen area. I just wanted to cry. I had to make all my maternity clothes and didn't have many so it was devastating. I think that is the last time I tried sewing gingham for me.
Ahhhh!! The smocking and the dress turned out so beautifully!!! I think it was definitely the right descision to include some colour in the smocking stitches 😁 love it!
Yes I would do it in one colour but if you want some colour add shadow stitches in side the larger boxes or finish off with some hearts which allows the smocking pleats to do their work. Joh
It's amazing! You have the patience of a saint 😇 I'd have given up at the needle threading stage... But it was totally worth it, and using the colours was a great call 😊
Always wondered how this was done! It’s beautiful! Can’t wait to see what else you smock! You have more patience that I as I may have given up and taken a hiatus on the project after noticing the error in the beginning.
OK, so question what’s the difference between smocking and shearing because couldn’t you just shear the fabric and the detail? I LOVE this!! The first piece you did that didn’t come out right actually didn’t bother me because I liked how it was uneven. I would just use that for the back so you don’t see it but I’m sure by the time you post this your dress is already made.😄 Thanks for another great video! I can’t wait until I can make my own clothes as good as yours.
Basically, shirring = lots of mini crunches and smocking = fewer deeper crunches. The difference with hand stitching over shirring is that you don't get the depth that you do with smocking. It's basically the same physical process, but you'd need a sewing machine with a 10mm stitch length to get the same depth as traditional shirring. Plus it would be very difficult to get the peaks and valleys to all exactly line up. That said, my sewing machine instruction booklet has a page on 'imitation smocking' with shirring elastic, so it's a real technique. It's just an aesthetic choice. Hope that helps!
Almost, the pleats just won't be as deep. To get the deep smocking ruffles that look like an Elizabethan collar turned sideways, it's much easier to use smocking. But if you just want hand stitching over some crumples, then shirring is way faster. It depends on the look you're going for.
Has anyone tried the square space trial? I thought it was confusing and it didn't go through many steps. Maybe I did it wrong but I wasn't totally ready to launch my site so I didn't look into it further.
