Eclectvity

Euphemia’s version of this…

The Ingredients

Fabric- Quilting Treasures (by Karen Neuberg 2005)

Floss-  DMC 745, 798, 562

Pattern-  Australian Smocking & Embroidery’s  The Fragrant Garden- (Issue 82)  by Cheryl Davidson

I’ve misplaced my bag of embroidery floss so I’m workng on this one.  Not the best move perhaps but hey!

I got the first five bullion roses done tonight!  I need to add leaves.

I am loving this dress.

Sweet Provencal is coming along nicely.  I have rows 1-9 done with the exception of row 3.  I don’t care for the lack of symmetry in that one so I’m considering redesigning it… maybe a nice row of bullion roses… like I need that kind of headache.  Oh well, it’d be pretty.  The rest is shaping up nicely!  Don’t you think?

Voila!

 See this stuff? 

It reminded me that I haven’t smocked in a while…

Ok, so I found this fabric… and a coordinating one (blues, greens, and a smidge of yellow!)  I fell in love, imagined gorgeous smocked things, and bought it.  I do that.  It’s kind of my thing.  Then I was in a quandry.  How do I divvy up this great fabric?  For Lorna?  Andra?  Jenna?  Emma?  Uh… uh… uh…

Well, finally my dear friend Kirky decided that Emma and Lorna needed matching dresses.  That was easy.  Kevin said the pink over the blue.  After I picked myself up from the floor, I said, “That was easy.”  Lorna concurred.  That was easy.   Hey, maybe the smocking and millions of bullions will be easy too!  (one can dream)

So, here she is….

The Ingredients

Fabric-  Quilting Treasures by Cranston (Karen Neuburger 2005)

Floss-  Anchor 875 (green) & 25 (pink)

             DMC 3746 (Purple)

Smocking Plate- Provencal by Cheryl Davidson (Sew Beautiful Issue 112)

Prettified huh? 

So I started pleating…

See how those pleats build up on the needles?  You have to pull them off.  Now this fabric is very buttery so it almost slides off without help!

Aaahhh  the needles can breathe again.  Those pleats are huggers and the needles are kind of like me.  We’re a bit prickly about people (or pleats) getting in our space.

All ready to get started.  There is a lovely herringbone looking stitch that starts it off.  (WHY can’t I remember the name of that stitch and WHY am I too lazy to look it up?)  Oh, Wheat… I think it’s called wheat.  Whatever, it’s pretty and I’m off to have a date with Jessica Fletcher and my wheat smocking.

I’m creating a sweet baby gown for my new grandbaby.  Since her name is Euphemia Christiana, I decided that I’d name it after her.

The Ingredients:

Fabric:  Swiss Flannel

Floss:  Anchor 271

Pattern:  I have no pattern but the dress will be similar to this

around the neck.  However, I intend to have long sleeves and gown length.

I cut a 25″ piece of the Swiss flannel and then cut it again down the middle.  I pleated both of these pieces.  I pulled 8 pleats from the center of each.  The center of the front will be ebroidered and I’ll put a placket in the back piece.  This will allow me to have a completely smocked front and back bodice to this sweet little dress!

Here is a taste of the gown to come.

I can’t wait to show what happens next!

Jenna’s dress is almost smocked.  I have everything except for the actual bow and flowers smocked.  I’ll try to finish that tonight.  However, I thought I’d show an example of backsmocking and show how beautiful this is turning out!

And the back smocking…

The reason I smock on the back side of the fabric is because of this design.  Look at the design plate again.

If you look carefully around the bow, you can see the pleater threads.  Those threads aren’t staying.  When I’m done smocking, I’ll pull those threads out.  So, you need a pleat on almost every row and on every pleat or when you pull out the pleater threads, it’ll “cauliflower”.  What this basically does is create a puffed mess that hides all the work you did on that bow!  To have a lovely looking bow on a flat (but pleated) surface, you have to smock behind it so that each pleat is held in place by something permanent.

 So… think of me today as I make that bow…

Act One- Cut out the skirt.

Act Two- Serge the skirt pieces together.

Act Three- Stitch the gathering threads.

With the blessing of my new machine also came the ability to continue working on Andra’s dress!    So, one of the first things I did was to put the gathering threads in Andra’s skirt ruffles.  There are miles and miles of ruffles but it’s going to be gorgeous when I get them done.

Did you know that ruffles require upper body strength and that you will get a work out (that some of us need but shouldn’t have) just by pulling the little suckers.  I pull a section and then put it away… for several hours.  I expect to be able to move onto Act Four sometime this week.  Lord willing.

Smocking Mathilda… We’ll go a smocking Mathilda with me…

Euphemia’s spring dress is smocked.  I went for an understated look.  I didn’t want the smocking to compete with the beautiful simplicity of the Kaufman floral.  Oh goodness that sounds pompous.  I liked the flowers and didn’t want to make the whole dress look gaudy by over doing it.  So I didn’t.  The watery mustard colored floss stands out against the fabric just a smidge.  The little pink flowers look as if they grew from the fabric… oh ick.  There I go again.  I can’t help it.  This fabric inspires the poetic side of me.

So… Now I have to choose piping, embroider collar and cuffs… and maybe a pretty band for the bottom.  I’m not sure.  I’ll start Lorna’s counterpart soon but…

Well… see… I found this piece of fabric I pleated a few years ago and…

I love to smock.  I really enjoy watching the design grow under my fingertips.  It’s beautiful how each row builds upon the last until the final design emerges.  I started matching dresses for Euphemia and Lorna today.  I think they’re going to be exquisite!

The Ingredients:

Fabric:  A springy floral from  Robert Kaufman

Design Plate:  Angel Wears “Lindsey“

Floss:  DMC 3047, 3731, 3052

Pattern:  Chery Williams Baby Square Yoke 

In case you’ve never seen fabric pleated, I thought I’d share how it’s done.  My pleater, as you can see, is a bit dusty.  I wiped it off but since I’m sitting around in a chair all day, doing a thorough cleaning wasn’t exactly something I could manage but at least it kept the dust off of the fabric! 

This is your basic smocking pleater.  The threads are stored in a box under the pleater itself and are pulled through the black bar there and then threaded up under the pleater needles.  I’ll have to get a picture of those soon.  Those funky bent needles (to lay perfectly on those rollers you know) are cute!

You simply roll the fabric around a dowel rod (or unused curtain rod as I have here) and then feed into the pleater like so:

And when you’re finished… Voila!  A perfectly pleated piece of fabric waiting for a marvelous design to accent it.  Since working on these and hand sewing Euphemia’s dress, I am now considering completely hand sewn layettes, gowns, blankets, etc for eBay.  Why not?  It’s not like I don’t have the time.

And ready to work on… drum roll please…

Shh…. I started smocking this before I posted this… I’m almost done!!!  EEK.