The Mother Daughter Project

 This is what The Embroidenator and I created together. She did the smocking, I did the construction. We have a smocking contraption in the shop, but because of its pattern, you need to 'pick up' gingham the hard way, following the squares. That was part of HER job, thank goodness!

 Little blue dress has yellow roses and bumble bees. Sorry about the slightly out of focus photos. Note to self, learn to use the fancy camera!

 Mauve dress has heart and flowers. Awww...

Matching hats - mauve is from a modern pattern, blue from a vintage pattern.

Why? A lovely customer asked if I could make these. I said yes and it took 7 months to finish them. YES. More work in these two outfits than the last wedding dress I made. They fought me all the way, just like a stroppy toddler. Partly because I was winging it with a mash up of a vintage pattern that had an unsmocked central panel, and whose sizing had me suspicious, and a modern christening gown. Partly because I was so busy I tried to do bits and pieces of it, which means no continuity. Hopeless with a make requiring focus.


Each dress had two rounds of sleeves, and at least three unpickings of sleeves, two collar remakes, and endless other problems. But we got there in the end and thank goodness gingham is cheap and plentiful!
I wish I had thought to photograph the insides before handing these over! Not a single raw edge anywhere - french seams, yokes and bias binding finished them all off.
I am proud of them but immensely relieved to have them off my table.  Class samples and some new clothes for myself are now able to flow more freely. :)