The Bunny Dress

What a joy and privilege to sew for children.  A lot of planning and time goes into a dress made by Nana, but it would be hard to decide which one of us gets the most pleasure from it.  

She loved her bunny dress which made Nana very happy indeed.

Michie'

Picture Smocking On A Bishop

 It is always nice when the dress you envisioned turned out like you...envisioned!  A green gingham bishop style dress, trimmed with pink rickrack and pictured smocked bunnies.  Picture smocking works well on this style dress as long as you limit the number of pictures, which in this case would be the bunnies.  Three is a nice number without being overwhelming.

Things to note:  The bunnies were centered on the front and close enough together that I didn't have to picture smock on the shoulder seam.  Instead of a row of cable stitches right below the neckband, the cable row was moved up and is covered by the neckband.  Not only did this give the dress an uncluttered look, it was much easier not having to line the neckband up perfectly to a smocked row.  A five step Trellis stitch was used for the pink and white smocking at the bottom and a cable stitch was used for the back smocking on the wrong side of the fabric.

Michie'

Featured Patterns #107 and #109

The  banded bubble,  is  a one-piece bubble with a two-piece  look.    Choose from two classic collar styles or a simple neckband.  Mock suspenders attach at the shoulders and at the front waistband. Collars may be trimmed with piping or embroidery.

The infant shirt and diaper cover includes a traditional shirt with a Peter Pan collar which may be trimmed with piping, lace, faggoting or a simple neckband.  A soft pleat in the center back provides fullness for comfort.  The diaper cover has elastic in the back and at the leg openings and buttons in front.  A selection of embroidery designs are included.

Michie'

Spring Sewing For My Granddaughter

Spring will be here before we know it, so it is time to get busy smocking and sewing for my four-year-old granddaughter.  The bishop style dresses are still very sweet on her and the green gingham will give the dress a fresh look.  Ellen McCarn's  "Precious Bunnies" is one of my long time favorite smocking designs and with a few adjustments will work well.  To adapt the smocking design to the bishop style dress, I will only smock three bunnies on the center front of the dress and change the bottom row of smocking to a suitable trellis stitch.  Not only will this allow for the smocked pleats to spread out as needed, but I also like the idea of smocking three bunnies instead of a bunch!  I'll be sharing more photos of the dress this week as it progresses.  

* A special note to Grandma's and Nana's-  When sewing for the grandchildren, I refer to what would obviously be an Easter outfit as a "Spring" outfit.  This gives Mommy the freedom to pick out something herself without worrying about offending me.  It is my goal to respect Mommy by letting her choose HER child's wardrobe.

Michie'

Featured Patterns #101 and #102

We will be featuring a few patterns each week to show off our new look and share some sewing inspiration.  Our new website is still in the works, so although the patterns on the website show the old version everything sent out is now the new look!

A daygown is a lovely addition to baby's wardrobe.  The pattern offers the choice of either a plain yoke suitable for embroidery or a smocked version. Three different sleeves to choose from and a drawstring version adds variety for the sewer to choose from.
 *The smocking design shown is Ellen McCarn's "Mo-stroloy".

The pleated bubble features a center box pleat and is suitable for baby boy or girl.  Choose from two classic collar styles or a simple neckband.  Embroidery designs for the round collar of front pleat are included in the pattern.


Michie' 

A Smocking Variation

Blue and white, always pretty and sweet.  Whether on the bishop bubble #142 or on the bishop dress #143, the smocking design presents well without being overpowering.

The smocking design is still in the works, but in the meantime another design could be used.  And the variation?  Simply start and stop the bottom rows of smocking at the sleeve seams.  Not only does it give a different look, it also allows the angel sleeves to stand up a bit more.

Michie'

Smocking With Pink and Gray

 #142

 

Choosing  floss colors for smocking on pink fabric can be a bit tricky. I often use white along with other shades of pink, but for this project I wanted something a bit different.  Pink and gray are a popular color combination for clothing and home decorating, so why not for smocking?  DMC #415 gray and #604 pink looks nice on the pink Imperial Broadcloth fabric without being too bold or too pale.

The bishop bubble was made using pattern #142 and the smocking design is included in the pattern.  Smocked hearts, just right for Valentine's Day!

Michie'

New Patterns Ready To Ship!

We are happy to announce that we have added two new patterns to our collection!  #142 is a bishop bubble and #143 is an updated version of our popular bishop dress pattern which now includes a angel sleeve.  Both patterns include clear instructions and illustrations, along with a basic smocking design.

Michie'

Fabric Organization

I like to give my studio space a bit of cleaning and organizing at the beginning of each season.  I have taken the time over the last few weeks to tackle the fabric storage problem.  I have kept fabric folded on shelves or baskets for years, but find that some good pieces can get lost in the stack.  

I have been wanting to try the hanging file method for quite some time and am thrilled with the results.  Not only is it neat and tidy, I even found some fabric that I had forgotten about!  

There was just enough twill frog fabric for a jumper for my granddaughter.  Frogs just happens to be the theme of her classroom this year!

What you need

*A hanging file box 
*Hanging file folders (I cut the folder part off of the metal support)
*Neatly press each piece of fabric.  Not necessary!  Fold the fabric to the size of a hanging file and drape over the metal support.

I now have four boxes of neatly displayed fabric sitting neatly on the shelves.

Michie'

Fall Bishop

 

 

Deep Fall colors gave this bishop style dress a rich look. Choosing the floss colors was a bit of a challenge and after several false starts I remembered to follow my own advise and "take it outside." Natural light will show the true colors so that I could finally make a decision and stick to it! I wish that I had the smocking design to share, but I was feeling pretty free spirited at the time .... and just smocked.

Michie'

Little Pumpkins For Fall

Inspiration for the "Little Pumpkin" smocking design can be found in the latest issue of Sew Beautiful magazine. I love that pumpkins are suitable all through the Fall, not just one holiday. The lovely orange of the pumpkins also works nicely with many different colors of fabric.

The smocking design can be found in the magazine or on the blog.  The dress is made by pattern #135 and the bubble by #115.

Michie'

Angel Sleeve Turtorial

 Pattern #135

Smocked bishop dresses are so forgiving in size, that it was not a big surprise that they still fit this year.  Bright yellow gingham, sleeves trimmed with pink rick rack, and smocked with Ellen McCarn's "Tulip Garden" made a lovely summer dress.

Angel sleeves are an easy variation to a bishop dress.  Click here for the free down loadable instructions.

Michie'

Smocking Makes The News!

If you have watched any news at all over the last few weeks you might have noticed that a certain famous baby has been spotted wearing lovely smocked outfits.  Although smocking is a very old technique' it became very popular some 30 years ago when the baby's daddy appeared in public in smocked outfits.  Those pictures way back then, and the fact that I had 3 little boys had a lot to do with my learning to smock. 

Because "classic" never goes out of style, these designs have been in my collection for quite some time along with a sailboat smocking design.  The bubble is pattern #115 and the dress is pattern #131.  Click here for the free down loadable smocking design.

Michie'

 

Sew Beautiful "Favorite Heirloom Sewing"

What a thrill to have been picked for the latest Sew Beautiful publication "Favorite Heirloom Sewing."  The photos of my garments appeared in the magazine several years ago soon after I started the business.  I was so excited to receive the call that they wanted a selection of garments to choose from.  What an honor it has been over the years to work with the magazine and staff and how sad to hear this week that the magazine is being discontinued this Summer.  It was a corporate decision and I don't believe a reflexion on the interest in sewing. 

I will continue to create and inspire with classic children's  designs in an effort to keep the craft of sewing for our little ones alive and well.

Michie'

 Pattern #111



 Pattern #108, pattern #104, and pattern #119.

 Pattern #106, pattern #124, and pattern #111.

Pattern #114, pattern #113, and pattern #107.



The Easter Dress

The Easter dress for the girl is finished.  The dress is made from pale green and white Imperial Broadcloth.  The trim has been tucked away for a very long time patently waiting for the perfect dress.

The collar is hand embroidered with Shadow stitched bunnies.  The bunnies have a special meaning since I'm often asked to make shadow bunnies on the sidewalk.

Michie'

A Jumper Made By Nana

A visit after a morning at pre-school.

 A snack and time to play.

A jumper made by Nana.

Michie'

New Slip And Panty Pattern

The "Slip and Panty" pattern is all packaged and ready to ship!  A much needed addition to her wardrobe.  

I'm getting ready to make a size 4 for our special someone!

Michie'

Baby Bunnies To Embroidery

Is your Spring sewing all planned out?  I'm still making a final decision on a special Easter dress.  In the meantime, here are some ideas for a simple baby bunny embroidery design. 

Classic dress #131

Classic Bubble #115

Baby Dress #122

Dedication Bubble #126

Pleated Daygown #119

A smocked version of the bunnies is almost ready to share.  :)

Michie'

A Bullion Bunny

A bullion stitched bunny from the "Heirloom Embroidery" book, is a great way to add a special touch to a garment when time is short.    Try stitching a few bunnies in a row or in different colors!

A few tucks along with a bullion bunny makes a special Easter outfit.

Michie'