Browse Tag by Construction
Bishop Construction, Construction, Pleating, SAGA, Smocking, Uncategorized

More Pleating Part 3

The next challenge in my pleating adventures is to tackle a method of bishop pleating that requires the pieces to be pleated before stitching the underarm seams.  I like to call it the Release and Rethread method.  It takes longer and requires a lot of concentration but it is a no fail method to totally hide seams.  Your bishop dress will appear totally seamless and smooth.  No ugly bumps that are created when the seams are caught up in the pleat during the typical pleating method.

The first step is to carefully lay your pieces in order.  Pleaters vary in the way the needles pierce the fabric in the rollers.  Some pleat with the longer stitches on top and other pleat with the longer stitches on bottom.  “Long is wrong” is the cardinal rule for pleating so it’s important that you understand how your pleater works.  The dress pieces should be laid out according to how your pleater pleats: right side up or wrong side up.

Pleat the first piece and clear it from the needles and unthread them.  With the right side of the fabric facing you, remove the threads and pull them out of the seam allowances, usually 1/2″ on each side of the pattern piece.  Make sure the pleating threads are coming out of the right side of the fabric.  You want to make sure your seam allowances will be falling to the wrong side of the garment.

Next, start pleating the sleeve, making sure the you have the correct sleeve piece.  For a back opening bishop, you will need the back of the sleeve to go through first so that it matches the back armhole of the first pleated piece.  The opposite would apply for a front opening bishop.  In that case, you have pleated one front already and need the front sleeve seam to go through the pleater first to match up with the front of the dress.  When the pleats start to build up on the needles, CAREFULLY pull off the seam allowance and flip it either up or down.  If you are pleating right side up, flip the seam allowance down.  If you are pleating wrong side up, flip it UP.  Be careful to have all your seam allowances on the wrong side of the dress.

 

Clearing the seam allowance from the pleater needles

 

Now that the seam allowance is free, carefully rethread the pleater with the same threads that are coming out of the first pleated piece.

 

Rethreading the needles for bumpless bishops

 

Make sure the pieces are all facing the same way and the pleating threads don’t get crossed as you rethread.  Continue pleating the sleeve and pull it completely off the needles just like you did for the first piece.  Clear the threads from the seam allowance, making sure the seam allowance will fall to the wrong side and continue the steps until the whole bishop has been pleated.

  1. Pleat
  2. Remove threads and clear seam allowance
  3. Pleat
  4. Pull seam allowance off needles and rethread
  5. Go to step 1 and repeat

When you are finished you should have no crossed threads, all the seam allowances on the wrong side and all the pieces in the proper order.

 

Bishop pleating without stitching the seams

 

Now it’s time to sew.  Basting is a crucial first step to sewing up the seam and making sure the pleating threads stay aligned.  Fold the seam so that the right sides are together and hand baste.  What I did to insure perfect alignment is to use the same needle holes of the pleating threads. I didn’t get a picture of just the basting but you can see it in the next steps.  Come up through the same holes in one row, go down through the same holes in the next row.  Then you machine stitch 1/16 of and inch from that basting line to form your valley.

 

Creating a valley for the bumpless bishop

 

 

 

I think you can see the basting line best in this picture.  Right where the pleating threads end, you can see a basting stitch between the two rows in white thread.

There are several options to finish the seams.  You can serge them, but if you are making an heirloom style garment you probably want to use on of the other methods.

Here I’ve done a Faux French seam by turning under the raw edges and stitching along the fold.

 

Faux French Seam

 

Here I’ve done a simple overcast edge.  The stitches are very tiny and hard to see but I think you can get the general idea.

 

Overcast Stitch on Pleated Seam

 

I’ve never worked with this method before but now that I’ve tried it, I plan to use it more often.  It’s definitely less stressful than pleating French seams and holding your breath as they go through the rollers.  You just have to concentrate and remember all the steps in order.  And even if you forget, you only have to go back and repleat one piece, not the whole dress! I call that a win right there.

My next lesson is double pleating.  As my daughter’s got older I had to figure out that technique all by myself.  This was almost 30 years ago and limited resources were available!  I  muddled through and got the dresses made but now maybe I can learn a few new tricks to make it easier!  Stay tuned.

Bishop Construction, Construction, Pleating, Smocking

More Pleating Homework- Part 2

By | On August 14,18 | 0 Comment

The next chapter in my adventures with the pleating course concentrated on pleating seams for bishop style dresses.  This has become a concern lately because so many of us have pleaters that are no longer manufactured and therefore, the original needles are no longer available.  There are generic needles on the market but they bend and break at the slightest turn of the crank.  Plus they are very expensive!  My solution is try to bend the pleating rules (better than the needles!) a bit and think of a new plan.  In the previous post on this topic, read here, I described how to get a VERY tiny french seam.  Now to talk about getting that little seam through those rollers.

First, I rolled the fabric on the dowel, keeping each seam parallel to the dowel.

 

 

Next, I made sure the fabric was started through the rollers on grain.  My method is to turn the crank until there is a tiny opening between the teeth of the rollers.  Then I hold the fabric edge at the top and bottom of the pleating area and slide it into the rollers, keeping the  inserted edge taut.  I wiggle it in until I see that the grain is parallel to the rollers.  Then, with my left hand I spread my fingers and hold the fabric against the bottom roller to make sure it doesn’t slip out of place as I turn the crank.  If your opening is small enough, you should only have to turn it a little bit before the teeth grab the fabric and it is secure.  Make sure everything is on grain and start pleating.

Pleat slowly and stay on grain.  You might have to make small adjustments on each side of the fabric as it goes through the rollers and pull the pleats off the needles often.  Just turn one crank at a time, tug and pull as necessary to keep the grain parallel.   As the seam comes off the dowel and approaches the rollers it must be parallel or you will hear that dreaded crunch!

 

 

Push the seam into a groove on the top roller just before it goes through the pleater with a screwdriver.

 

 

If you work slowly, have patience, and stay on grain, the seams should come out of the pleater free from the pleater threads.  Your bishop will be bump free from the right side and the smocking will be continuous and GORGEOUS!

 

Mini French Seam

 

In Part 3 I will talk about pleating before seaming – what I like to call the release and re-thread method.  It is suitable for heavier fabrics and it guarantees no needle breaks!  It takes more time but in the end you will have a beautiful no bump bishop to show off all your beautiful smocking!

 

Bishop Construction, Construction, SAGA, Smocking, Uncategorized

More Pleating Homework

Mini French Seam for Pleating
By | On August 04,18 | 2 Comments

My next assignment for the pleating class from SAGA was focused on pleating over seams.  I had to pleat two samples using two different techniques.  One was pleating over tiny French seams. The second involved pleating the pieces in a continuous manner without stitching seams first.  These two methods are used to pleat bishop style dresses.

I had trouble with the French seams which is a direct result of the pleater needles.  I have seen several complaints about the pleater needles being sold on the market today and I have to agree with them.  I never broke this many needles when I was pleating for my daughters 25 years ago.  That being said, I decided to think outside the box in order to save my needles.  This meant that I had to disregard the conventional pleating wisdom of using a tiny 1/8″ French seam.  I went smaller if you can believe that.

I had to get creative in order to do this and I decided my goal would be to create a French seam closer to 1/16″.  Such a tiny seam is basically like stitching over piping when you consider the bulk of the enclosed seam allowance and stitching so close to the edge.  The bulk would slip out of the bottom of the presser foot while stitching and this would create precise stitching.  It would be impossible to get an accurate seam. Also, this would only apply to lightweight fabrics such as batiste or lawn.  Anything heavier would just not work for this technique.  I realized I should treat this tiny seam just like piping and I searched through my presser feet to find one with a tiny groove that would hold the enclosed seam allowance in place as it traveled under the presser foot.  The regular piping foot had a channel that was way too big.  The closest I could find was my manual buttonhole foot and a pintuck foot.

After stitching the first seam, I trimmed VERY closely to the stitching; less than a 1/16″.  Remember: we want to reduce bulk as much as possible to make this seam fit into the tiny groove of the pleater gear.  This line of stitching doesn’t take any stress in wearing, it sits at the top of the seam allowance when the garment is finished.  It’s only purpose is to keep the raw edges of the fabric turned under, so trimming that closely will not cause any problems.  It is the second row of stitching that takes the stress because it is directly in the seam line of the garment.

To stitch the second part of this seam, I experimented with the two presser feet and the pintuck foot was the winner.  It has the tiny groove to hold the little bump of the enclosed seam allowance and the needle position can be easily adjusted for a 1/16″ final seam allowance.

 

Mini French Seam for Pleating

It’s a little wider than 1/16″ but it’s pretty darn close. and it went through the pleater with no broken needles.  I was able to pop the seams so that when the fabric came off the needles, the seam was standing upright.

 

Mini French Seam

 

Next time I’ll post about the second technique for pleating a bishop before the seams are stitched.  That was Assignment #2 from this lesson.

Bridal Heirlooms, Construction, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Smocking

Smocked Bridal Purse- the Next Steps

By | On July 29,18 | 0 Comment

So, I’ve completed the smocking and the backsmocking on the bridal purse.

 

Backsmocking on the bridal purse

 

Now, the next step is to attach it to a stay.  It is very similar to underlining a dress.  A stay is a sturdy piece of fabric that serves to support the smocked piece so that it keeps its blocked shape.  It will be easier to place the silk ribbon embroidery once the pleats are stabilized.   It will also control the fullness of the pleated fabric at the bottom of the purse.  I can arrange the gathers and stay stitch them in place before constructing the rest of the purse.

To attach a stay, merely cut a piece of fabric larger than the pattern piece.  On the stay fabric, mark the center of the frame and mark both ends.

 

 

Lay the smocked piece over the stay, matching up the center the center of the smocked design with the center marking from the frame. Place the end of the smocking rows within the end markings you made from the frame.  You want to make sure all of the smocked area is within the width  of the frame. Fan out the edges a little and pin it all around the edges.

 

 

Baste around the smocked area to hold the two pieces together.  Now the embroidery area has been stabilized and is ready for stitching.

 

 

Here is the reverse side of the basted layers.

 

Reverse side of basted smocking

 

Now to stitch on beads and silk ribbon flowers.  When the embroidery is finished, I will stitch some gathering rows along the bottom and arrange the gathers.

 

 

Classic Style, Construction, Forever Classic, SAGA, Smocking

An Updated Smocked Bonnet

Recently my good friend, Lisa Hawkes, owner of Pink Hollybush Designs, asked me to test a new bonnet pattern for her.  I had such a good time completing this project.  It was quick, easy to put together, and absolutely adorable!  It’s the perfect project if you want to learn to smock.  She includes a detailed stitch glossary with the pattern that will help any beginning smocker.

 

 

Pink Hollybush Designs Smocked Bonnet

 

 

She starts with the traditional smocked band framing the face and adds an updated touch at the back by enclosing it with a lined inset.  This provides a more tailored look in the back while offering an updated, more modern look for babies.  This way grandmas can still smock away, and mommas who don’t like the old-fashioned bonnets can be happy.  The best of both worlds.

 

 

Pink Hollybush Designs Smocked Bonnet

 

 

Traditional smocked bonnets are usually made of batiste, which could be a little too lightweight for colder northern climates.  Lisa has addressed those issues with this new pattern.  It can be made from the cutest cotton, or poly cotton prints.  It can be made with a more casual look, perfect with a sunsuit.  It can also be made with a heavier fabric for those cooler days here up north.  It’s such a versatile design, you can use it with a wide variety of fabrics and prints.  This is definitely going into my Grandmother’s Hope Chest.

 

 

18 inch doll, 18 inch doll clothes, Classic Style, Construction, Doll Clothes, Forever Classic, New Pattern, Quick Projects, SAGA, Sewing Techniques

The Scalloped Belt Dress

My first pattern is finally released today.  It is the Scalloped Belt Dress, designed for the 18 inch dolls.  It has classic styling suitable for the 40s, 50s, or 60s time periods from the American girls.  It has short puffed sleeves, a peter pan collar and an attached belt with scalloped details.  Piping is optional and should be omitted for beginner sewists for best results.  It fastens in the back with hook and loop tape and the bodice is fully lined, which encloses the armhole seams for added strength.  Here are a few variations for inspiration:

 

 

 

Please give it a try and let me know your thoughts and suggestions! I would love to hear from you and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I can be reached by email at smockermom@littleheirloomangels.com and smockermom319@gmail.com.  You can also send a message through my Facebook page, or through the Craftsy or Etsy platforms.  I am here to help if there’s something you are struggling with.  I really have a passion for sewing and I want to encourage the next generation of sewists by sharing my knowledge.

Construction, Quick Projects, SAGA, Sewing Techniques, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Smock Alongs, Smocking

One of the Perks of SAGA Membership: Smock Alongs!

One of the nicest perks of my membership in the Smocking Arts Guild is the SAGA Smock Along page on Facebook.  Various projects are posted that feature different skills.  We are given a supply list and we’re allowed to choose our own fabrics and color combinations.  Each week is a different lesson and we post our progress to the group as we go along. The variety of fabrics and colors used is so inspiring.  If someone is struggling with a step, we all help and offer advice.  It is a great way to build your skill set and it can encourage you to think outside your sewing box to explore new ideas.

Even though the projects are called Smock Alongs, they can feature any embroidery technique.  The last one I participated in was an adorable Silk Ribbon Embroidery Tissue Case.  It’s designed by Wanda DeWitt, who does beautiful silk ribbon work.  She is a great teacher and her instructions make it so easy to get the best results.  This little tissue case was such a quick project to do and yet it looks like it took hours.  It’s the perfect gift to use scraps, or when you need a last minute present.

 

 

Some of the Smock Alongs are for members only, and some are open to the general public.  Membership is pro-rated after July 1st until the end of the year, so now would be a good time to join.  Check us out.  We would love to get to know you and share our love of smocking and embroidery.

Construction, Doll Clothes, New Pattern, Sewing Techniques

Finishing Touches

I’ve been working on the final touches of my first pattern and it’s really cute.  It’s a dress for the 18″ dolls and it will be available for purchase through Etsy, Craftsy, and my website here.   I also have a Facebook page where I will post any updates.  Please visit and like the page to be notified of the pattern launch.  Here’s the link:

https://www.facebook.com/littleheirloomangels/

 

I designed the first version of this dress for my SAGA chapter’s fundraiser, Doll’s Day Out.  Every year the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA has a fundraiser for kids and their favorite dolls.  There is a tea party and various other activities.  My Smocking Arts Guild chapter, Keystone Smockers, buys a doll and we all contribute items to build a complete wardrobe for it.  We raffle off the complete set to raise money for our chapter activities.

 

 

The Scalloped Belt Dress features short sleeves and an attached scalloped belt.  The bodice is fully lined and the armhole seams are completely enclosed for strength.  That is the area that takes the most abuse when children are forcing those little doll arms through the sleeve!  It’s a quick project and can also be used for beginners if you skip the piping.

Here is a peek at another version in progress.  This one is just one last test to make sure everything is accurate before I finalize the file.

 

The launch should be announced in a week or two.  My next pattern scheduled for release will be a front button bishop top and diaper cover for preemies through 6 months.  It is the perfect Take Me Home outfit for the new arrival in anyone’s family.

Bridal Heirlooms, Construction, Sewing Techniques

Wedding Dress

WEDDING DRESS

 

Finally, I’m back and as promised I’ll write about the wedding dress journey.  The bride wanted something simple and considering she lives in Chicago, I determined that we wouldn’t make any style that required any inner corset or boning.  Too many fitting challenges with that and the duct tape mannequin wasn’t working out as I had planned.  I really should have filled it with foam but didn’t have the time.

 

Here is the dress finished.  The bride was on her way outside for pictures before the ceremony.  Unfortunately, the photographer neglected to take the traditional wall portrait pose and this is the closest I have of the dress and my beautiful daughter.  It’s not a great picture, not worthy of the wall portrait, but you can see the dress clearly.

 

It consisted of an underdress made of duchess satin.  I made all my fitting adjustments on this, intending to mold the lace over it.  The bride wanted allover lace, so I chose a wide one that had a nice pattern and border for the skirt, with designs that I could cut apart and applique on the bodice.  Unfortunately, in a moment of insanity, I chose beaded lace….so that as I cut apart the lace for the bodice the beads came apart.  Beads all over the house.  This led to endless hours hand stitching the appliques and replacing the beads.  I think I spent about 600 hours of hand stitching on the lace.  But she loved it and that’s all that counts.  I also made a detachable train out of netting and pearl trim to give the effect of a ghost train.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t show in the picture.

Here are the construction steps:

First I just draped the lace to figure out the placement of the designs and how the skirt would look.  I needed to work from the bottom up and the top down, blending in the laces at the waist, so lace motifs at the waist line to hide the seams was very important.

 

Next, I cut square of lace large enough for the front skirt and the back skirt.  They had to be cut around the motifs and a little larger because I needed to overlap them at the side seams and blend them together.

 

I pinned the skirt pieces over the underdress and draped the side seams.  I pulled the skirt out at the side and pinned the lace in place on each side of the side seams.

 

Next came the hand stitching.  I laid the skirt flat and overlapped the two lace pieces.  I hand stitched around the motifs and cut away the excess on the back.

 

Then I started on the bodice. I cut out the motifs and placed some soft netting on top of the underdress.  I arranged the motifs until I had a design I liked then I took the netting off the mannequin and stitched the motifs to the net using a fell stitch.  I traced the bodice pattern pieces on some medical table paper and put the net on top to insure that the design would maintain the proper shape.  All the hand stitching was done on top of the medical tracing paper.

 

Here, I am working on the back.

 

Here is where I blended the skirt and bodice together to give the dress a seamless appearance.

 

I also devised a method for an offset zipper underneath the bridal loops for extra security.  I’ll have that available in a separate post.

This was the biggest challenge of my sewing life.   There were many panicky moments that I wouldn’t finish in time, but I eventually did and she loved it.  I’m glad it’s done and I’m glad my youngest daughter found the wedding dress of her dreams at Kleinfeld’s for her wedding next November.  She didn’t want to put me through that stress again so instead, I’m making the veil, flower girl dress and a surprise that I can’t tell about yet.

Bridal Heirlooms, Construction, Sewing Techniques

Wedding Update

The bride will be coming home for a fitting next week.  I have the underdress all ready.  I’ll post pictures after next week when she has it on.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there are no major fitting issues.  I’m a little concerned because the duct tape mini-me hasn’t turned out as accurate as I would have liked.

After checking the fit then I just have to sew on the lace.  Appliques on the top, and a lace overskirt.  I bought lace with beads, so it will be a lot of hand sewing.  But working with the lace should be the fun part.

In between working on this, I’ve been tweaking my Baby Bishop pattern and it should be ready for a testing call soon.  I also have an American Girl doll dress in the works also.  It is so nice to get away from wedding stress and work on my patterns and designs.  The business has been put in a holding pattern with the wedding dress project, but I’m still plugging away and I’m anxious to start offering my patterns for sale.

I’m also still waiting for my model to arrive.  I purchased a life-like baby doll from Ashton Drake and it’s taking months to ship it!  Hopefully it will arrive by the August 15th date they promised.

I’ll be back soon with pictures!

Next Posts