Monday, December 6, 2010

Wintertime Fun!

I designed this fun little dress for a customer who wanted a dress that could be worn all winter long, not just Christmas. I love the icy blue baby corduroy. Perfect for the winter months.

I altered some of the smocking designs from Little Memories "northern lights" for two of the characters and made up the snowman design.

A few tips when smocking baby corduroy:
It smocks up really well,so don't be afraid of breaking needles. It smocks up easier than a lot of broadcloths!
I recommend using more than 4 strands of floss when doing picture smocking. I like my pictures to cover the fabric really well and that can be a little harder to do on the thicker fabrics.
For this dress I used a larger needle and the full 6 strands of floss to do the smocking. I still stripped them as usual though, as this helps with the full coverage also.
However, be aware of sore fingers when doing this! I was on a deadline for this dress, so I smocked it for 4 days straight. My poor pointer finger and thumb were SO sore from this. I have never experienced such sore fingers from smocking!
I'm sure the fatter needle, more floss and thicker fabric all contributed to this! :o) Thanks for peeking. More to come soon!
Angela

4 comments:

  1. So cute and perfect for holidays and beyond! Hope your fingers feel better soon!

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  2. Sweet dress! Thanks for the info re: picture smoking on corduroy. Hope your fingers recover soon!

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  3. Thank you so much. The fingers are fine now :o) Just sore for a couple days! It probably wouldn't have bothered me if I could have taken my time and leisurely smocked it. I think it was the constant embroidery that did it! :o)
    Thank you again!
    Angela

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  4. Oh it is just lovely. I have never tried smocking babywale. I know Ahnalin would love it because she loves anything soft. I had better try soon! I love your little snowman too.

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