The blue bishop is also sewn using Ellen McCarn bishop pattern, but is done with a shoulder closure instead of a back closure. The smocking plate is “peyton” from creative Needle Mag. The fabric is lawn.

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• Smocked Purse:
• 1. Cut fabric 8″x20″ I am sure you could do a different size, so I will leave that up to you, it just happens that’s the size of fabric I had to work with.
• 2. Sew lace on the top edge if you wish, I used a small zig-zag stitch W-2.5 L-2.5
• 3. Press seam up and top stitch.
• 4. Pleat six rows, again this is your choice.
• 5. Pull up pleats to about five inches.
• 6. Smock your design, I used the sleeve design from Glacier Blue, to match the dress.
• 7. Run two rows of gathering stitches across bottom and pull as tight as possible.
• 8. Fold purse in half, stitch side seam and across bottom of purse.
• 9. Cut ribbon and stitch to each side, tie in a bow.

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Step 3.
Roll and whip to attach lace on both long sides.

To Roll and Whip: Place right side of lace to right side of fabric about 1/8″ from edge (lace on top). Set zig-zag wide enough to just catch lace heading on the left swing of the needle and clear off the fabric on the right swing, this will roll the fabric over the

lace heading. My setting W 4, L 1 1/5.

Open lace out and top stitch over the seam with a blanket stitch, straight stitch, or zig-zag, see sample picture.

The project my friend and I chose to make trying this technique was a pillowcase style dress. My friend’s dress was about a 3 mo. size, and mine was about a size 3. These are the general steps we followed to complete the dress.

1. Determine the finished length the dress should be.
2. Determine how much of the finished length the hem would be and the insertion would be. In my case, on a size 3, I used a 3″ hem and the extra large rick-rack was 1 ¼” tall.
3. Subtract the combination of the items in #2 (the finished hem length + the length of the insertion) to know how long to cut the piece for the upper dress, adding back ½” for seam allowances.
4. Cut the strips of fabric for the upper dress and the hem section for the dress, making sure to add ½” to each section for seam allowances. Remember that your hem section will be double the length of the finished hem because it will be folded in half, wrong sides together. Serge one side seam on both the upper dress and the hem section.*
5. Press the hem section in half, wrong sides together. Open the hem section out and press under ¼” on each long edge so there are no raw edges on the inside of the dress.
6. Iron Heat ‘n Bond or Steam a Seam strips to the folded down seam allowances on the tops of the inside of the hem band and remove the paper backing. Slide the very tips of the rick-rack into center of the folded hem section, pressing them together to bond the rick-rack into the center of the hem edges. Stitch very close to the top edge of the hem, making sure to catch both the front, back, and the rick-rack tips in the stitching.
7. Do a rolled hem edge on the serger for the bottom of the upper dress section and then press it under to make a 1/8″ seam allowance. To that edge iron on Heat’n Bond or top side of the rick-rack insertion, making sure to keep the side seam area lined up on both the upper dress and the hem band. Once that is bonded, take it to the sewing machine and sew very close to the edge catching the turned under rolled hem edge and the tips of the rick-rack. Now you have the insertion completed.
8. Serge the other side seam making sure to catch the rick- rack in the serged seam.**
9. Cut out the arm holes of the upper dress using the measurements on the Pillow Case Dress How To http://www.everythingsewing.net/pillowcase_dress_how_to.htm. Fold the dress in half and match the side seams to draw out the curved armhole on one side seam before cutting. When you cut along this line, it will cut out both of the armholes. Open out the dress.
10. Cut a piece of bias tape the length of the cut armhole. Open out one side and stitch right sides together with raw edges flush. Turn bias tape right side out and press well. Clip curves of armhole, and turn bias tape to inside of the arm; press down well and top stitch it to the dress.
11. Attach the satin ribbon to the upper edge of the front and back upper dress sections with the ribbon on the right side of the upper edge falling toward the hem with raw edges even. Stitch a box the width of the ribbon by 7/8″ down from the top on both sides. Turn down ¼” at the top of the upper dress and press. Press the 5/8″ casing down and stitch, making sure not to catch the ribbon ends in the casing. Insert about 7″ of elastic into the casing, stitching across one end and pulling the elastic to the other end and securing that end with machine stitching. ***
12. Tie satin ribbons into floppy shoulder bows and stand back and admire!

*On the infant sizes, a full width of fabric would be too full. My friend used about 36″ of the width; so she trimmed away about 9″ of width on both the upper dress section and the hem section so that they were both the exact same width. Her dress had a center back seam. On the toddler size 3, I felt that using just the 45″ width would be too skimpy; so I cut two widths and had the two side seams. However, I only bought 2 yards of the rick-rack trim, so I too cut my panels down to 36″ in width before seaming the one side.

** If the rick rack is “suspended” within the insertion area after sewing the side seam (or center back seam on an infant dress) you can hand “crochet” a little bridge of chain stitches to both the top section of the dress and the hem to hold it in place at that point .

*** If you prefer, instead of using elastic in the casing along the top of the front and back sections, you may run the satin ribbon through the casing and gather the sections tightly and stitch across the ends of the casing to keep the ribbon from pulling out. My friend did this on the infant sized dress. I chose to use elastic since my dress was nearly 72″ in diameter.

Rough dimensions of our dresses

My friend’s 3 month size:

• ” Finished length=13″
• ” Finished hem=2 ½”
• ” Jumbo rick-rack= ¾”
• ” Satin ribbon= 1 yard split into 2-18″ pieces

My 3 Toddler size:

• ” Finished length= 19″
• ” Finished hem= 3″
• ” Extra Large rick-rack=1 ¼”
• ” Satin Ribbon= 2 yards split into 4-18″ pieces.

Step Two:

With pillow panel right side up, center ribbon or rickrack over the seam. If using lace, stitch to edge piece before stitching to main pillow piece, so lace is in seam. Press seam to one side.

Lacy Easter Bonnet

You will need 5 yards of lace (eyelet might be cute too).

This bonnet is the same pattern as the scalloped one on the How To page.

While it is flat after pleating, sew flat lace to the top front between the last two pleating rows (away from the front) being careful not to catch the threads.

Turn over and on the front ruffle inside stitch flat lace between the first and second rows of pleating threads.

Cut off the fold back fabric both front and back almost the width of your lace. For instance, if your lace is 1″ wide, cut off 3/4″ before attaching. If you like, you can cut off even less for a taller ruffle (like the pictures are)

Pull up pleating threads and complete bonnet as the scalloped one.

Easy Underlining

by bunny

Underlining is when the lining fabric is attached to the fashion fabric and treated as one.

·        Place the fashion fabric piece with wrong side up. Carefully lay on top and smooth out the lining fabric, matching edges and right side up on lining. Roll back one of your vertical edges for a few inches. Get your Sobo glue handy.

·        Put small dots of Sobo glue about an inch apart on one edge of the fashion fabric. You will only be gluing vertical seams!

·        Line up lining edges with fashion fabric, doing one edge at a time.

·        Firmly press the fabrics together. Be careful not to get glue on the rest of the fabric or your surface.

·        You now have your garment all underlined and ready to sew together. Treat these two layers as one. Only glue vertical seams. Finish seams with either serging, zigzag, or a Hong Kong finish, my favorite. Your garment will have better support, hang better, and last longer.

Step Five:

Stitch close to zipper teeth, using a zipper foot, stitch only through zipper and right fly extension, stitch again close to edge of zipper tape, stitching only through zipper and extension.

TERRY TOWEL BIB by Betty

1. From small towel cut a 6″ diameter hole a few inches from the back of the bib, centered from the sides.

Cut ribbing 2 1/2″ X 11″ long.

2. Sew ribbing together, fold in half with wrong sides together to form circle. Divide both ribbing and towel cut out into quarters and pin (right sides together)

3. Serge or sew ribbing into the neckline, stretching the ribbing as needed. If your machine has a “overcast stretch stitch”, use it. Or zig zag the edge after stitching.

4. Finished towel bib.

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• Smocked Sundress:
• 1. Measure across front of chest, from under arm to under arm. Mine was 10″
• 2. Triple that measurement-I had a total of 30″
• 3. Measure from collar bone down to the desired length plus amount you want for your hem. I wanted a small hem of 2″.
• 4. Cut your front and back to those measurements, also cut four straps 2″x12″.
• 5. Make a tiny hem on front and back edge. I did 1/8″ fold twice then sew.
• 6. Measure down 1 1/2″ from top for first pleating row on front and back, pleat according to your plate. I used the smocking plate Sarah Joy from Martha Pullen’s book “Joy of Smocking”.
• 7. After smocking, block to the desired size, mine was blocked at 9″.
• 8. Sew up side seams leaving about 5-6″ open at top for arm opening, I left an opening of 6″. Hem the raw edges of arm opening. You may have to try on to see how large you need to leave open.
• 9. To construct straps, fold straps in half lengthwise, sew across short end, turn continue to sew along long edge using a 3/8″ seam. Leave one end open for turning. Turn and press. Repeat for all four straps.
• 10. Sew straps to dress front and back about 1″ in from edge of dress.
• 11. Hem and you are done.

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