What I Made This Week-How to make a smocked sundress

This week my allergies have taken OVER! I have had no energy to do any sewing until today, and so I thought I would share how to make a smocked sundress. I have been wanting to share for a while, but I always am so eager to start sewing I forget to bring my camera with me. 

What you need:

*Elastic thread

*Regular thread

*Fabric

*Sewing machine

*Scissors

The elastic thread needs to be wound onto the bobbin by hand.

This is a scarf I found in with my fabric. I have decided to make this into a sundress. I cut the measurement I needed. Which would be the chest measurement plus 2-4 inches then the length you would like the dress to be.

I used one piece of fabric, and folded it in half. You can also use two pieces of fabric.

Sew up the seam

and iron down the top hem

pin it to keep it in place

and sew as close to the finished edge as possible

Now change the bobbin thread to elastic thread, and sew right side up, so the elastic is on the inside, sew straight lines. You can use matching thread or contrasting thread for the outside. Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end of the row. Also, to conserve thread and save time, I don't cut the thread after each row. I just move to the next row. You can see the elastic thread starts to gather right away.

I use the foot to measure the distance between each row.

This is what it looks like without cutting the thread after each row.

This is what the elastic thread should look like on the inside.

Once you are finished your rows you can go through and cut all the adjoining threads on the inside and outside of the dress.

This particular elastic thread doesn't gather much after sewing

so I steam iron it

and it scrunches up nicely.

For the straps cut 4 strips. I used 1.5 inch by 15 inch, but you may want a wider strap.

I used the instructions from Lil Blue Boo in her new tutorial today, because I also do not love making bias tape. Check out her tutorial too. It's a good one. Iron the strip in half

Jude wanted me to take a picture of the cool cup he found:) Please ignore the mess in the background.

then sew as close to the edge as possible

Then flatten out with the seam in the middle. Iron.

fold in half and iron again. I had to use plenty of pins, because this fabric just didn't want to stay flat.

and again sew as close to the edge as possible.

Then pin the straps to the dress

and sew them into place. I make sure to go over them several times for extra security.

And voila. Finished!

This is my first tutorial, so it is likely that I haven't been completely clear. If you have any questions please do ask. I would love to see what you make, so please share.

What I Made This Week-June 17/11

I kind of slacked this week, and didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but I think that will always be the case. There are so many ideas floating around in my head, and just one me, with three kids, so I am happy that I even make it into my sewing room at all!

These adorable little dresses are made from a scarf I found at the thrift store on Wed.

I cut the scarf in half and made each half into a dress by sewing up one side and adding elastic smocking. 

I like the red straps. It adds a nice amount of color.

This is a terrible picture. Brown against a brown background. What was I thinking? These dresses are super cute. I love the safari print.

Lions and tigers and parrots..oh my!

And another yellow sundress. This one is smaller, which makes it cuter:)

And a flower power skirt

with a pink ruffle.

and finally a new blanket with a double stitch around the blanket for extra security.

Bear paw prints.

With a yellow satin stitch outlining the paws.

It has been so long since I have made a new blanket that I forgot how long the satin stitch takes. I have become so used to doing a straight stitch that I had to stop every now and then to make sure I was actually sewing!

This sunday I will be at the First Peoples Festival and will be bringing these goodies with me. If any of you are in the area please stop by to say "Hi".

Also, here is an interesting fact. The picture for my banner was taken last year at the First Peoples Festival by a Times Colonist photographer for the paper. My picture was the only picture featured in the paper that day, for the festival that is. It was a pretty exciting moment for me:)

I hope you all have a great weekend with plenty of sunshine! We are lacking in sun here:(