Ready To Smock

 If anything can go wrong, look my way. While pulling up the threads on the smocking so I could arrange the pleats nicely, one of the threads broke. It had frayed somehow. I was devastated but recovered from it. I pulled out the threads, pressed the pleats flat, threaded up the pleater, and got the job done on the first try. I am officially ready to start row 1 of smocking. 

I need to look at the instructions and video so I can start on it. I am going to use purple embroidery floss for the smocking as I have purple fabric in the stash for the dress. 

I have been reviewing my plans for the dolls and have to pull up my boot straps and move forward. I was looking back at my posts and I saw that I had stated I would sew from the doll's stash until the end of this year and do another purge. That is still in the books but it made me start thinking about what I need to do to sew down the fabrics I will keep. 

Another thing I had said was I will be giving away some of my dolls this year. I retract that statement as I have a new plan formulating in my mind. Maybe it's an old plan that is resurfacing. I am going to make each of the dolls a wardrobe so that when I decide to give them away they will something a someone can enjoy. I wasn't well planned for doing this but have decided that I need to make a plan and follow through. 

The first doll to get a wardrobe is Kit. I need to go through all the outfits I have made and pull out the ones I have made for her. Once that is done, I want to make some "missing items" and a quilt. I need to get a tub to put all her items into which I will label. It needs to be deep enough for her to go in when I "package" it up. 

When I am happy with Kit's wardrobe and have it in a tub, I will choose another doll and work on her wardrobe. Repeat until all the dolls have a wardrobe. 

I hope to sew one piece a month and knit items between socks and other projects. It is one way to keep busy when I am at home. 

Happy Doll Sewing.....................................................

The Woes Of February's Project

 February's Sewing With Cinnamon project has been frustrating hence why I haven't blogged about it. It put me into a tail spin and I was at a loss as what to do. 

The project is a chemise that has smocking at the neckline and wrists. I wanted to do French seams for a more couture look. I sewed them and when I put the chemise through the smocking pleater I had nothing but issues. I tried everything only to realize that some of the old needles were bent out of shape. 

I took the seams apart, put in new needles and successfully smocked the neckline. I looked at it each day and could not figure out how to do the French seams and get the under arm gusset in correctly. Though mentioned, it is not shown. Frustrating to say the least. 

I finally worked on the chemise yesterday and cut the extra 1/4" off that I had added for the French seams. I fray checked the seams so they won't fray. I snipped one thread but can fix that easily when I go to shape the neckline. A knot will work. 

I am now ready to sew the arm seams to where the gusset goes in. Once they are sewn, I can pull up the threads and shape the neckline on one of the dolls and start the smocking process. 

This project will not be done by the end of the month. There is still too much work to do on it. As March is about closures, I will work on the chemise in March so I can start the dress in April. 

I have to say that the information in the pattern is not complete. I had to watch one video twice to find the tiny bit of information I was looking for. The Facebook page has very little activity on the project. The page has questions asking about projects from the past (how to download the videos) and projects not related to Sewing With Cinnamon. 

I put what I have been doing on the FB page and it finally sparked some conversation from an experienced smocker and the designer. I wish that more people were posting their projects so we could have some lively discussions. We can learn from each other.

I will continue to make the projects that have been planned for this year and then decide if I will renew next year. I have been downloading the videos and getting the free materials for each course so I can go back and look at them if I decide to make them again. 

I will post my progress on the chemise as I do plan on finishing it. I do know how to smock which is going to be helpful. This will allow me to smock a bit quicker. On the up side, I will know how to pleat the sleeves with very few issues. 

Happy Doll Sewing..........................................................