Browse Month by March 2017
SAGA, Smocking, WeeCare

SAGA Love

I spent the whole lovely weekend concentrating on SAGA projects.  I recently joined the Keystone Smart Smockers chapter of SAGA and their annual fundraiser is coming up on April 8, 2017.  It consists of an 18″ doll complete with a wardrobe piece contributed by each member.  It will be raffled off at the Mercer Museum’s Doll’s Day Out.  Here is the dress I made.  A red and white gingham dress with scalloped red belt and short puffy sleeves.

 

 

I used a doll sloper I’ve had for years from a class I took at a local heirloom shop.  It was taught by an lovely woman named Doris who had many granddaughters, and she knew EXACTLY how those lovely doll dresses were “handled” lol.  And remembering how my own daughters would dress their dolls, I was in total agreement.

 

Doris developed techniques to strenghten the weak spots and reduce the ripped seams that seem to pop up on so many purchased doll clothes.  Little girls will jam those dolly arms into sleeves and those little dolly fingers end up going right through underarm seams, cuffs, and sometimes they rip the whole sleeve off.

 

So Doris taught us how to line the dress bodice and totally enclose the armhole seams.  This creates a very strong armhole/underarm seam and adds another line of defense against those dolly fingers.  Even the collars are totally enclosed and protected.  And my own personal experience proves that she was right.

 

None of the dresses I made with this method ever ripped whereas dresses I bought at doll shows and fundraisers with serged armhole seams always came apart and I would have a tearful little girl asking me to fix it.  I have to admit that making this dress brought back some bittersweet memories of all those American Girl dolls and accessories all over the living room.  I have to apologize for the poor lighting and lack of model though.  I took the picture at the last minute and it was dark outside.

 

I’m going to make another one because I’ve decided to publish it as a pattern on my etsy shop.  Along with the baby clothes I’m developing, I will have a doll section.  I already have the models and props upstairs in my daughters’ rooms! lol.  Might as well put them to work!  So look for it soon as well as other designs.

 

Next, I finished a WeeCare gown and I photographed it on my smocking board so you can get a better idea of how tiny it is.  One part of SAGA’s mission is participation in the WeeCare program and donating preemie clothing to NICUs all across the country.  Chapters can donate directly to their local hospitals, and some chapters will bring donations to our national convention once a year for distribution.  This is the smallest size for a one pound baby.

 

 

Here are all the lovely things created by our members at our convention in Hampton, Virginia last September.  It is really a touching thing to see up close.  All the love and perfect stitching that goes into these gowns.  And all the parents and hospital nurses that are comforted knowing that these tiny babies can have some dignity.

 

 

We make all different sizes from one to five pound babies.  Of course the littlest ones are used for Bereavement Gowns, so these beautiful little dresses are the only piece of clothing that this little person will ever own.  And it is a huge comfort to Mom and Dad, who are grieving over their loss, to see their baby presented in a beautiful little outfit.

 

Some parents will take these, along with other mementos from the hospital, home in Bereavement Envelopes made by us. These are padded folio type of envelopes, made from pretty fabric and decorated with lace or embroidery, tied with a pretty ribbon.

 

The larger sizes are used for the preemies that are going home.  Often, parents are suddenly faced with an early delivery and they are caught with nothing in which to dress their little angel.  So the NICU nurses can dress the baby in these little pictures and the parents have one less thing to worry about.  Some hospitals even use them as graduation gowns when the baby moves up from the NICU to the regular nursery.  Here is a picture of the different sizes.

 

 

 

I always try to make every stitch perfect out of respect for the parents and the baby.  It is such a tough time and anything I can do to help is a blessing.  It’s a ministry that I am proud to participate in.  If you are interested in learning more go the the SAGA website at www.smocking.org.  There are many members who are eager to teach you how to make these gowns, so join us!  You will not regret it.

 

Bishop Construction, Pleating, Smocking

Bishop Pleating Revisited

I’m always trying to come up with foolproof methods for the construction techniques used in Heirloom Sewing.  Working with very malleable pleated fabric and laces can be a challenge and not taught in conventional sewing lessons.  You want that piping to be perfectly parallel to the first cable row on an insert.  The bias band on a bishop has to be stitched the same distance from the first pleating row all the way around the neck.  The seams on a bishop should be invisible and the tension has to be adjusted on the outer rows. Back in the day, before the internet and all I had was a copy of Sew Beautiful or Creative Needle, I would find that some of the instructions just didn’t work for me.  So I came up with my own way of doing things.  Not conventional, but I got the job done (usually at 3 am on Easter or Christmas lol).

In the spirit of “going rogue”, I have an update on that new pleating method I mentioned in a previous post.  Sometimes we want to pleat cottons, or poly cotton broadcloth but still want French seams, which can be very tricky to pleat.  Batiste, being so lightweight, is usually not a problem.  But cottons and broadcloth are a little heavier and create a bulkier French seam.  If that seam is not fine enough, or your pleater is very fussy, then you could end up with a lot of bent and broken needles.  This wouldn’t be so much of a problem if you have a Read pleater because they are still being manufactured.  However, if you have one of the others that are no longer manufactured, such as Sally Stanley or Amanda Jane, then you have to track down needles that will work in your machine.  Not an easy task considering some of the generic needles are just not the same quality as the original needles made for your specific machine.

Of course you could do a mock French seam, but that involves a lot of hand sewing for four armscye seams.  So what I decided to try was to split the French seam process.  First, I stitched the wrong sides together, 1/8th inch seam and pressed.  I trimmed the seam and ran it through the pleater.

 

Stitch 1/4″ seam wrong sides together, then pleat.

 

Now, here is the new step.  After blocking into the desired size and tying off my threads, I finished the French seam process.  Carefully lift up the bishop one section at a time being careful not to redistribute the pleats.  Locate the first seam and push the pleats flat, but only enough to give you space to stitch a ¼ inch seam.  Make sure the pleating thread is not too tight and bunching up your seam allowance.  Everything must be nice and flat.  Once you have a nice flat seam, pin it in place and carefully roll back the bishop to the next seam.

 

Push the pleats out of the seam area and complete the French seam.

 

Once all the seams are pinned this way, stitch the second pass of your French seam.  You will find that your seams are anchored in place and your bishop stays blocked.  You will have a much easier time trying to keep the right tension on the outer rows and you won’t end up with a turtleneck.

 

This is what it looks like on the right side.

 

Now depending on how straight your seams were pleated you might end up with some pleats that are not perfect around the seams and this is where we can fudge our stitches a bit.  As you smock and approach that first seam, just stop and take a look.  Look at all the rows and choose the side where most of the pleats fall.  If they are not perfectly parallel to the seam then just adjust the amount of fabric you take up with your stitch.  But stay consistent.   Always stitch on the same side of the seam.  It will disappear into the valley and never be seen.  If your seams have stitched over half a pleat on the other side, skip it and stitch over to the next full pleat. That little half a pleat will never be seen.  This is the only tricky part of the process.  Here are some examples:

 

Here is an example of the pleater threads not being joined evenly at the seams. Just place your needle in between to create a smooth line of stitching.
Here is an example of pleats varying in size. One the last row, where the needle is pointing, you would take up a tiny bit of fabric with your stitch.

 

When you are finished smocking and blocking your piece, snip the pleating threads in each seam allowance and  remove, section by section.

Snip the pleating threads in the seam line and remove by section.

 

It takes a little more time but you have beautiful French seams and a perfectly shaped bishop that drapes beautifully around a child’s shoulders.

Now I have to get back to my homework.  Lesson 2 of my SAGA correspondence course arrived.  I’m terrified…it’s all about pleating stripes, gingham and plaid! Oh my!