3/28/2015 0 Comments Little girls dress with smockingCruzing my local craigslist and I come across an add looking for someone to finish a sewing project for hire. I reply and set up a meet to learn more. Well, this mans mother has recently passed. He's been going through her belongings and came across a half finished little girls dress. He has the idea that it would be a brilliant gift for his sister who has a daughter, rather than leave it unfinished. Sort of like one last present from grandma, from beyond the grave. It's actually a sweet story, it's almost enough to get past the ugly fabric. Lol Well, I had never worked with smocking before, and there were no instructions, and some of the pieces were missing. So beyond this being a cheery little project, it transforms into more of a brain game. Cue mortal combat music and narration: SEAMSTRESS CHALLENGE So here's what I get... There's a yoke front cut, a random piece with smocking, a skirt back cut, two sleeves, and a yoke back. There's no collar, no indication of how it's going to be pulled over a head, and no clear indication of where the smocking goes and why it's so much shorter than the front yoke. So I search the Internet for examples. Sometimes the smocking is found in the top yoke. Sometimes it's below the yoke in a band, and sometimes there are additional pieces on the sides where it attaches to the arms. The band below the yoke from armsye to armsye is the most popular, but it seemed too short. I asked around and my cousin said she thought I could cut the gathering stitches (which I was hesitant to do). BUT IT WORKED! Well, it had to be stretched and ironed, since it was a bit springy. I decided to use a lining fabric to use as a guide, and to keep the lumpy smocking from being itchy. And to save you from the rest of the brain storming and sewing issues, I finally got it finished. I promised a week and took a month and a half. But most of that was procrastinating. It was quite the teaser, and I wish I had handled some of the issues differently, but it's done and he was happy. So I should be content.
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