::a little smocked dress::

I remember my mom making smocked dresses for me when I was a little girl. They were my favorite dresses in the world! I would spin around in circles, making the skirt of the dress raise high into the air (I did wear shorts underneath, ;)). Those dresses were very special to me.

One of my joys, is sewing for Molly and I hope that she enjoys what I make for her.

Recently, I ordered Weekend Sewing, by Heather Ross. I LURVE IT! It is full of fun and simple projects, including directions for making a smocked dress. My mom was out of town, so having the directions in the book was very helpful.

Sewing the elastic on. I wound it on the bobbin, by hand. Worked great! Drawing the lines on the fabric is a MUST.

After the elastic is all sewn. It's not "scrunched" up yet - just you wait!

All "scrunched" up! Spray the smocking with water and press with a hot iron. Then, like magic, the elastic contracts. This is my favorite part.

My beautiful model! I did add an appliqued bird on the front, but that pic is stuck on my phone ;).

Sweet shoulder straps.

I'm considering posting a full tutorial on smocking a dress, or even a shirt. Humm...