Crafts
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
So really...how hard is smocking?
Ok, so since we moved to our neighborhood, we've made friends with our neighbors who all have little girls. Baby fever neighborhood, I swear.
I have been seeing the most adorable smocked dresses, but when one of my neighbors told me the price of one (OMG $60-$70?), I was shocked! Is it really that hard to smock? (does anyone on this board make their own smocked dresses?) I'd love to learn how to do it before we have kids in a few years, so I can make super cute holiday and LSU dresses (if we have a girl, of course). :-)
Re: So really...how hard is smocking?
As long as you only do straight piece yokes, that can get run thru a pleater machine or use an iron pleating grid. Its easy! LOL But you have to have a knack for neat hand work as well.
Give it a try! Do an infant dress bodice see if you like it.
I smocked my daughter's Christening gown, and was fortunate enough to have a lady from church teach me how to do it and walk me through it. I think it would have been a major pain to learn from scratch, or at least take a lot of time to get it right.
I enjoyed it, but it is tedious in some ways, and I don't plan on making more smocked dressed for my daughter until she's a little older and will wear them longer.
I made lots of smocked dresses for my daughter when she was little but I am sure that it is much easier now?
I used patterns that included iron-on stencils for the smocking. The stencils had dots that you would use to "pickup" stitches and then pull them to make the smocking.
Is that how you all do it now? I know it can be done by machine but I did the "real smocking". There are also embroidery designs that smock but I haven't had the need to check them out
since I have no little girls.
L'isle Sur la Sorgue, Provence
It can be time consuming, and it can be difficult for some people to keep stitches even. You really have to like doing hand work.
I like smocking, and have done both the 'pick up' type that Momma K not mentioned, as well as the kind with fabric pleated. I recently acquired a vintage pattern for smocked pillows that I love. It was relatively easy, but my mom was with me when I worked on them, and kept saying that she didn't have the patience for hand work like that.