The Old Fashioned Baby Sewing Room: blue dotted Swiss fabric

Fine Heirloom Sewing, Smocking and Hand Embroidery

Friday, July 31

Emma's Smocked Baby Dress in Blue Dotted Swiss

Emma's Smocked Baby Dresses as seen in Sew Beautiful Magazine.

I've shown you these pictures before.

But I am so excited that Emma is available again that I decided to post some pictures this week.

This is the Classic Emma.

I did some cute things to it for the magazine article.

And made this dress in exquisite Blue Dotted Swiss!

(the real thing!)

I attached a lace edging along the skirt.

I stitched it with a small running stitch right over where the hem was stitched to the skirt. Using a Madeira #80 thread, you can't even see the stitches. Always use the same color thread as the lace.

Smocked and accented in my favorite color combo - pink and blue

And to answer the question about pleating Dotted Swiss.

I pleated it just like I would have pleated anything else. I didn't have any trouble at all. I just pleated slowly in case I pleated through a dot. NO TROUBLE!

I would never have considered removing the dots. Way too much trouble.

I did a sweet collar treatment. I found this on a baby dress shared with me by a student. I named the dress in the Sew Beautiful article "Larsen Kate" after her Granddaughter.

I added a little cuff to the dress too.

Toot Sweet!

Monday, August 16

Blue Dotted Swiss Smocked Baby Dress

Pattern is Baby's Smocked Layette.

This is a sweet little dress that is quick to smock as there is only a little bit.

Close up of the smocking. Click for a larger picture.

Someone called me and asked how to pleat the dotted swiss. She asked if she needed to pull out the Dots. Hmm, I just pleated it. Slow and careful. I didn't know enough to be afraid of it! And I didn't have any problems. I can see that it would be easier to smock with out the dots. But there wasn't enough smocking to bother, anyway.