Browse Tag by SAGA
Classic Style, Construction, Embroidery, Forever Classic, Heirloom Sewing, SAGA, Sewing Techniques, Silk Ribbon Embroidery

Variations on Big Sister Pamela Pattern

I wanted to share my granddaughter’s Christening Gown.

 

I made it using my Big Sister Pamela pattern.  Even though it is featured as a smocked yoke dress, it can be transformed into any basic yoke dress with a few tweaks.

I wanted to make an heirloom style gown without smocking.  It was inspired by a scrap of hand embroidery I had trimmed off of Carol’s First Communion Dress.  I had just enough to fit into a yoke so Big Sister Pamela fit the bill perfectly.  This was also my first project using Nelona.  What a delight it is to work with.  It’s just so gorgeous and easy to sew and press.

First, I traced off the Yoke pattern piece and the Blocking Guide for the smocking.  I overlapped the seam allowances across the front and traced off a whole bodice piece.  Now, I had a template for laying out my  heirloom laces.  I added the V shape in the center to feature more of the embroidered piece and add some visual interest.

 

The hardest part was mitering the entredeux into the V shape.  Next time, I will just draw a separate template for the shaped seam line and hand stitch the entredeux pieces together first.  I think it would be easier to manage.

Next, the sleeves were finished with lace insertion and the hemstitch on my sewing machine. Gathered lace and entredeux are used for the armband.

 

The next big decision was concerning the skirt treatment.  I knew Carol wouldn’t want a huge skirt, so I chose a 36″ width.  I also liked that the number is divisible by 3 for the Trinity.  Then I calculated the lengths I would need for the lace band and stitched the laces together.  The ruffle is double the width of the skirt with lace insertion and pintucks on each side, with lace edging along the bottom.  I added the V shape in the middle and added seam allowances for stitching to the entredeux.

 

I also wanted to embroider a cross for the skirt and coordinate it with the embroidery on the yoke.  I tried to shadow embroider the cross but it was too large and I couldn’t get it to look nice.  So, then I tried a chain stitch.  My dear friend Lori suggested silk floss and my goodness, it was lovely to work with.  Then I used some floche for the vines and I even found some of the same white silk ribbon that I used on the original dress!  Same patina to match the roses on the yoke.  Sometimes it pays to not throw things away! LOL.   A lace insertion oval and it was complete.

 

I’m pleased with how it turned out even though my heirloom sewing skills are a little rusty.  It took almost 2 months to complete, which includes all the mistakes and Plan Bs, but it was still fun.  I think I’ll submit it to Show and Share when I go to the SAGA convention next month.

 

Happy Stitching!

 

 

 

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, 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.

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.

Pleating, SAGA, Smocking

ANOTHER HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Another lesson arrived in the mail for my SAGA correspondence course on pleating.  This one has assignments for plaids, stripes and gingham! Oh my!

Well, the first fabric I tried was a lavender and white stripe, the stripes being about 1/8” wide.  I thought that would be ok because the depth of the gears is about 1/8” so I might get a solid result.  WRONG!  It was a nightmare to pleat on grain and I felt like I was going cross-eyed.  Plus the light lavender color didn’t really help.  Not enough contrast against the white.  I got a pretty result, it looks like a kind of water-color effect, but not grain-perfect for SAGA standards.

 

 

So, back to the internet I went to pick out another striped fabric.  This time I chose a stripe ¼” wide with red and white stripes.  Nice contrast and so much easier to manipulate through the pleater.

 

 

After you insert the fabric perfectly straight, the secret is to position each stripe before you turn the crank.  Turn the pleater around so you can watch the back and put your magnifiers on too. That’s one accessory I didn’t think of at first, but I found it makes all the difference in order to see the threads in the fabric.

Just before the little teeth on the gears clamp down and pull it through, stop and give a tug or a little push to make sure the stripe is parallel to the gears.  Then just turn the handle a little but, just until the next set of teeth are ready to grab the fabric.  Tug, adjust, re-position the gathers that are sticking out of the end pieces.

If you notice one side feeding in faster, grab your dowel at that end and provide a little resistance.  If the ends are slagging through, then grab the little fabric handles and help the end through the gears by moving it along as you turn the crank.  It’s a little harder to grab the fabric sticking out just below the handle so you have to kind of reach over and cross your arms.

It’s slow, but I look at it like a challenge.  And it was so rewarding to pull the piece out to find the pleating threads coming out of the fabric within the 1/16” margin that SAGA allows!

 

 

Here’s the gingham sample.  For some reason, this fabric cooperated much more than the stripe.  Maybe because it is a poly blend, or a little softer.  But I’m pleased with this result too.  I used the same method.  Alternating adjustments, one crank at a time.

 

 

Last assignment is to pleat a plaid.  I was worried that this tartan might be too small, but I’m please with the result once again.

 

 

The plaid is on grain and straight going into the gears.  If the fabric droops a little or seems to be dragging at the end of the pleater then just lift up the fabric a little.  Grab it right where it is going into the gears, outside of the handles.  Pull slightly to the side to create tension and lift it until the grain is positioned parallel to the gears.  Alternate sides.  If one side of the fabric seems to be going in at a faster rate then add resistance by pulling on the dowel a little to create some resistance.

 

 

Here is a close up of the fabric coming off the needles.  On grain.  You can also see on the bottom edge how it went into the pleater straight.  This is what it looks like when the threads are tied off.

 

 

So, I’m amazed at the difference in my pleating skills so far.  To sum up, allow yourself plenty of time.  Pleat from behind the pleater.  Basically place the fabric in each groove before the teeth of the gear clamp down.  And most importantly, walk away!  Take frequent breaks and rest the eyes.  Take a breath, then come back to pleat a few more inches.  It is worth the extra effort.

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.