My granddaughter, the Princess of Sparkle, will be turning one in a few weeks. This isn't specifically a birthday dress, it is just something I've wanted to do for a while. I learned to smock 30 years ago from a woman in an adult ed class. She and I became great friends, an unexpected bonus to learning how to smock a snowflake Christmas ornament.
I no longer smock often for various reasons. The last few items I've smocked have been purchased as "ready to smock", meaning the garment is complete except for hemming. The pleats where the smocked stitches go are held in place on gathering threads which are removed after the smocking is completed.
An explanation of the process and my source for ready to smock garments (Meredith's Closet) is
here on my previous blog. This dress has fewer lines (rows) of smocking so I decided to keep it all one color, using a pink that nearly matches the fabric.
Once again, I look at my photography skills and find them lacking. I was rushing to get this photographed before guests arrive and didn't notice that I should have straightened this up a bit. Some pleats look popped but could have been taken care of with a gentle tug. Oh well, once this is on a child in motion, it will become a blur anyway.
If the Princess of Sparkle is like her brother, the Prince of Sweetness, garment tags will annoy here. I stitched her name, a heart and my name onto the placket of the dress.
My husband asked what if she doesn't like dresses when she is old enough to express an opinion. That is fine with me. I can paint a tiara on a football helmet if that is her desire.
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