A Smocked Dress for Daisy

When I am picking a fabric for my next project, I often get caught up in the colors and patterns, forgetting that sometimes the simplest of designs can be the most effective. Daisy's mom, my good friend Audrey, had purchased some of our Raspberry Corduroy to make pillows for Daisy's room, and so I thought raspberry was a good place to start for a dress for Daisy. I fought my "go with the floral pattern" inclination and choose Raspberry Dot Cotton Broadcloth for Daisy's Dress. The pattern is Gail Doane's Bishop from So Cute Couture, but any basic bishop pattern would work. Raspberry Dot Cotton Broadcloth has a lot of body, so I would choose a bishop pattern that isn't as full.

Picking a floss to match proved to be a challenge and after a few rows were completed, I needed to rip it all out. The floss that seemed to match perfectly turned out to look blood red as I smocked along. If you have difficulty picking floss colors, don't feel bad. Color is such a challenge - one I find fun (except when I am ripping back), but a challenge none the less! DMC 3831 (raspberry) and DMC 603 (pink) proved to be the winning combo.

The final touch is the shell heart buttons down the back. I found them at JoAnns a few years ago and had them in my stash.

The dress is a size 2 - my "go to" size for a baby gift. This gives me enough time to get the dress done. The child is usually walking by then, which makes it easier to wear a dress. The child can wear it for more than two seconds before it is outgrown - often 2 years, and I don't have to worry about seasons - there will be a summer when they are in a size 2, if I make something with short sleeves! Sign up for our newsletter and receive the Daisy smocking plate as our free gift to you!

#smocking #sewing #sewingforchildren