Simple Summer Skirts

 

 

Easter dresses

It was so fun bringing out a favorite smocked dress, my first, for Lu to wear.  Although I’ve definitely grown a lot in my sewing in the last 5 years, I loved it just as much today as I did five years ago on Bird.

 

And for the new addition.  It was amazing luck to find the same fabric four years later, after adding an additional girl to our family.  I believe it is a Japanese fabric.  It says it was produced by Junko Miyazaki and my very favorite fabric ever.  Lovely mill, sweet print.  The basic pattern is Vogue with some changes.  I love the back band.    

Smocking Finished

On this silly dress I’ve been meaning to make for Bird for 9 months now.  The matching dress does still fit Lu.  I checked before I did all those bullion roses.  Now to buy the details (buttons, piping material) and sew this thing up.  I wasn’t planning on this for Easter but I haven’t started the dresses I intended so it may slide into the role of Easter dress. 

I’m really quite pleased with the smocking. I love how the groupings of flowers look like scallops and although red was the obvious color to choose from the fabric pattern it isn’t overpowering.  It is startling to see how much my smocking has evolved from when I stitched the sister dress, which was my very first project.  I started the pattern without knowing what I was going to do and I didn’t center the lattice work properly.  I had to compensate for that lower down when I realized the pattern would always look off center without some adjustment.  Where two mirror images meet was 1.5 width of a repeat so at center it is more heavily embroidered.  I think it turned out looking intentional (good).