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Apr
14
The time has come to share a little bit about CL’s Easter dress….
You see, it too has a story {with similar characteristics to her big sister}!
Approximately 15 years ago, Ashley {frances} had the grand idea that the two of us take an heirloom sewing class. Well, the class obviously has come and gone, but the dress was far from completed at the end of it.
So, I shoved it in an old college bookstore bag, along with my Australian Smocking and Embroidery volume 43 and DMC thread, then pushed it in my closet.
EA’s time for the dress came and went….we talked about getting THE dress out and finishing it…but that is as far as we got….talking about it….
As 2012 ended, we made a few ReSEWlutions for the 2013 year. One being: FINISH THE INFAMOUS DRESS FOR CL…..and while we were at it, why not make it her Easter dress!?!? There was no turning back….we were committed to finishing this dress once and for all!
My “sewing Oscar” speech would go something like this, “Thank you, PR&P, for once again coinciding so nicely with our pre-planned sewing events! Thank you, spring break, for allowing me ample time to complete the many bullions the dress entailed.”
The ‘skeleton’ of the dress was completed during the Heirloom Sewing Class,
and prior to my picking it back up years later.
What was left? More than I originally thought….
Smocking on the areas between lace inserts was completed.
Bullion after bullion after bullion was added among the smocking. Green leaves were also handstitched around the bullions to complete the look {picture taken prior to green leaves being added}.
The neck band had to be completed, as well as the back placket.
Ribbons were added to the sleeves.
Entredeaux and lace was added to the hem of the dress.
Side seams were sewn. Embroidery was added above the pintucks {at the base of the dress}, complimenting the smocking.
Feather-stitching came first, and then more bullions and buds were added….making my appreciation for French knots grow even greater {once I finally got to that stitching detail}!
And, then a few photos to document that we did indeed complete another sewing reSEWlution!
Of course, for every ‘keeper’ picture, we had about two dozen like this…..
We think it is a keeper in its own right! Momma just had to be nearby, otherwise someone would have taken her share of tumbles. Capturing pictures like this make the ‘out-takes’ worth the effort!
CL did wear the dress on Easter, and has many more months of Sundays left in it before packing it away. SUCCESS!
For someone who typically gets the short end of the stick, CL must have been living right!! And we couldn’t have asked for a happier recipient! What a doll…..*aunts can say that, right??
Dare I ask….what is the longest running “WIP” {work in progress} in your sewing stash? Anyone willing to confess to a 15 year {+} WIP of your own???
And, for your final viewing ‘pleasure’….a few shots of both nieces. This ‘pleasure’ about did us in during the photo shoot…. Once niece was tackling the other (or rather, strangling), while the other was only interested in pinestraw!
All the adults involved had one of the following two faces at the end of the day: one of extreme exhaustion, tongue hanging out…..OR one of serious, furrowed brow. Tell us it will only get easier!!
43 Comments
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Oh. My. Lands. I’m awe-struck. And inspired. I want to do something like this SO BADLY. It’s phenomenal.
CL is gorgeous, and she’s blessed to have such talented aunties.
You could sooooo do this…. Anyone who sews for herself would conquer this, easy peasy
I am in awe of you guys too! I wish I had your talent! And yes, Aunts are allowed to say how adorable they find their nieces (and nephews)! Which yours are pretty adorable, so you aren’t really biased at all! 😀
Ha ha! Thanks for the encouragement on both fronts :).
Wow.
Love how delicate the dress looks. Amazing work!
She is so lucky to get such a beautiful dress and it’s not even a hand me down! (Second sisters unite haha)
But seriously the hand work is just gorgeous. I love the bullions. Well worth the effort!
Being the middle child…. I like it (second sisters unite)!!!!
Yes, your niece is a doll- both of them, actually. =)
The dress you made is lovely, and really impressive! I can’t even think about spending so long on one thing right now, but you really make me wish I could!
My longest running project is 3.5 years, a knit throw that I began with too thick a yarn, and am too stubborn to unravel. I’m guessing that I don’t have any older works-in-progress simply because I’m only 22… they just haven’t had enough time to sit. =)
I plucked a few gray hairs out after reading your comment!!! You baby you! LOVE your enthusiasm for sewing….
It’s jaw-droppingly wonderful! Love the lace insertion! And the featherstitching! And, everything, really! 😉
This dress is just so stunning and your niece is truly a doll. I love the ‘gummy’ grins! I’m sure this dress is destined to become an heirloom…it is just so beautiful! Very impressive indeed!
Gummy grins are the best!! Our nieces have both cut teeth late, so it just prolongs this cute phase….
Oh my word…………Breathtaking. Your construction, smocking, embroidery. All of it. I am sad to tell you though, it pales in comparison to that gorgeous baby wearing it. :clap: :clap: :clap: Much applause for a job well. done. And if she is anything like my granddaughter, she will wear that beautiful bishop for the next year. Don’t save it just for Sundays. Tell Mommy to let her wear on it Mondays, Thursdays, any day. It is well worth it.
My longest surviving UFO? How about two cross stitch pillow covers that are about 30 years old. Cross stitch is complete, just never made it into the pillow. Another cross stitch is a Stoney Creek Noah’s Ark that is 24 years old. 90% complete. Smocked/heirloom ufos? I had a nightgown yoke with tucks, bullions and shadow work that was sitting in a plastic bag for about 30 years old.I just recently cannibalized the contents and released it to the universe.
Thanks for sharing your UFOs…. Cross-stitching, smocking, and quilting are prime candidates aren’t they??!
I have a wall-hanging quilt that has been unfinished for about 12 years. I also have a partially done smocked bishop dress size 3 mo that was meant for my 9 year old. 😀 ~Major Moma
Maybe they’ll be finished one day….baby gift? Grandchild (long time…. But EVENTUALLY)???
Stunning dress! I’m so glad that y’all finished it.:) My longest partially done project is a quilt I started when K was a couple of years old…every year I swear I’m going to finish it. Maybe this is the year!
YES!!! Do it!!! And then post it on your blog for everyone to admire :).
I have a cross stitch that took me almost 20 years….I try not to have too many WIPs anymore, so I finish more things that way…
You. Go. Girl. We are getting better at finishing what we start…. Slowly but surely.
beautiful details. Heirloom sewing really is an art! (pretty quilt, too!). what a treasured family heirloom that dress is/will be!
Absolutely gorgeous!!!!
And CL is a doll!! Of course, so is your other niece!!!
And I’m having a hard time believing you could have started this project 15 YEARS AGO!!!!! From the picture I saw (somewhere on one of your posts???) you two look to be in your mid 20s. Which brings me to another thought. Maybe you should start creating a mothers hope chest? Of course you can always pass these gorgeous dresses on to your own children.
VERY well done ladies!!!
designdreamer
Ooooh, you flatter us!!! Thanks for making our day….
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful little dress! All of the details are stunning, and I can’t imagine how much patience it must have taken to complete. I am very impressed, and congrats on finally finishing it!
Beautiful work!!!it is amazing you are very talented. This is a dress to keep for years on.
This dress is simply stunningly beautiful! Aren’t you glad that you finished it for your this little sweetheart?! The photos are super, too. I have two smocked dresses that I started when my daughter was 5 and 6 that have the smocking begun. One wasn’t completed because I just didn’t like the colors I chose and hated to pick out so very many rows. The other was put aside to make something else and when I went back to it she had grown. My daughter is now 19 years old so that makes these UFO’s 13 and 14 years old. But I think I have you beat in sheer numbers of UFO’s. I am embarassed to say how many are in bins in my sewing room! Shameful, that’s what I am!
You aren’t a bit shameful!!! Your completed work is amazing…..and one day those UFOs will decrease :).
Gorgeous! When my daughter was six months old, she had her portrait made in the same dress duplicated from Australian Smocking & Embroidery… she’s about to turn fifteen!
How neat!!! Bet you still have it too!!!
This is STUNNING! I’m a sucker for this style of dress, but my daughter has to settle for store-bought, which isn’t nearly as intricate and gorgeous. Love this!
Absolutely Gorgeous!!! What amazing work!
Gorgeous. I wish I knew how to smock!
First of all, my apologies for this comment taking so long. I was so amazed with this dress and I found myself speechless. I went ahead and continued commenting on the other PR&P projects around and still have no idea what to say to you. Great job. This is truly amazing. Way more impressive then Ty’s concentric circle dress. You ladies inspire me to want to get more into hand stitching. I loved that you used a variety of techniques and finished a WIP. Unfinished projects are sad to me because so often they never get finished. Way to stick with it and make something incredible!
And about the photo shoot with two young siblings, it will definitely get easier. Heber is finally reaching a point of appreciation and adoration for his sister Ty (instead of fear for his safety) so he is more trusting of her to be with him while pictures are getting taken. Although we still have to be fast about shooting the pictures.
It tops the books in amazing dresses.
-Al
No apologies please….especially after all that flattery!!! It was a relief to complete this WIP… Thanks for the reassurance on the photo shoots too (there was some strangulation during the process – sister to sister). **side note: sister momma was drooling over Ty’s dress the other day!! Brought it up to us out of the clear blue :)…
I swear I say this to you like all the time but this time I really mean it—THIS is my favorite thing you’ve ever made. I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove this…a lot! It beautiful!
liZ
ps—Love your award winning speech!
Sorry, I’m a little late to this party, but I’ll bite anyway!
Too cute on that last picture, and too gorgeous (as always) on the dress!
As far as a WIP (or UFO as we called them back in the day. . . .) oldest dd is now 25, and the VERY FIRST thing that I smocked for her (the piece I learned on when she was a baby) still lays (somewhere?!) incomplete. When, or IF she ever has her own little girl, I could finish it for my granddaugher!
Designdreamer
Looking forward to your upcoming “FLIP” series
Where do you find these fabrics and this lace?! This is absolutely lovely!
We got the items at a store when it was going out of business. HOWEVER, Martha Pullen’s website (http://store.marthapullen.com/sidewalk-sale) is having a HUGE sale on these sorts of fabrics and trims until June 23! 75% off several items! Use the code, SEWITALL for an extra 15% and free shipping over $75.
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Well, I have been thoroughly inspired!! My little girl has a Baby Dedication the end of May so it looks like I’m going to be VERY busy! Thank you for an amazing walk through on this.
I am so in love with dress! I want to make it myself and was wondering if the magazine had complete pattern and instructions? Found a copy on eBay I thought I may purchase. Thanks!
YES! The magazine has both the pattern {embroidery, smocking plate, etc} AND instructions!! Just double check on the ebay description to make sure it has everything included, and that nothing has been taken out . . .