I finished Ellie’s ‘smocked dress’ from Weekend Sewing (since I’m busiest in the summer I am trying to get all of the summer clothes that I want to make for her done in the winter). But before going further I will say that this isn’t a smocked dress, it’s a shirred dress…and if you don’t differentiate, even though the pattern is called a smocked dress, it seems that people get really mad about it and curse all your future projects to hell (seriously–I’ve seen some really nasty arguments about this on other blogs).
It was so easy and fast and as I made it I thought “this would be such a great method for making myself a skirt” and then I was cruising through my google reader today and saw that Anna Marie Horner just posted a tutorial on just that very thing. So now I’m planning on trying to bust out a couple of skirts for me and some dresses for Ellie, because we just booked a trip to Disneyland! I am so excited to leave the land of temps in the negative!
(In the interest of full disclosure, not only is it not REALLY smocked, it’s also not REALLY done. I am going to use a rolled hem edge to finish off the raw ends of the straps, but I wanted to save it for a day when I’d be pulling out the serger for more projects than just four tiny hems.)
I didn’t have the heart to ask her to model for it since it was blizzard-ing all day (though it probably wouldn’t have mattered to Ellie, the child who refuses socks and hats no matter what). She’s getting to be such a big girl, though–check her out! And while I was upstairs I believe that Will witnessed her first long period of time unassisted stand because he shouted up “MOM! Ellie’s BALANCING all by herself! It’s amazing! I let go and she’s BALANCING! You have to see this!” but I was cleaning up the pee he’d left for me all over the toilet seat, so I missed it.
(And as a side note, this is my third project from Weekend Sewing and I couldn’t be happier with the book. There are still a ton of patterns that I want to make and I love the illustrated instructions. I’m really happy with it and highly recommend it as an awesome general sewing and pattern book!)
Lee - That’s so adorable! Good job! The shirring or smocking or whatever it is looks difficult.
Jenniffier - I too saw the tutorial and now I have a desire to sew up some skirts for myself. Cute dress!
tutorial: easy peasy shirred skirt with 1 yard of fabric » Stolen Moments - […] think I mentioned that as I made Ellie’s “smocked” dress it dawned on me that it would be a great adult skirt. The next day I saw that Anna Marie Horner […]
Shirring…. » Susanne Loves….. - […] saw this shed shirred dress and remembered that at the very beginning of winter I bought all sorts of […]
Amanda Snyder - Hi I was wondering if you could help me I have the Weekend Sewing book and I can’t seem to find the pattern for this smocked sundress- I would love to make it! It’s not included on the pattern sheets?
Thanks!