Smocking an insert panel

A while back, Brenda sent me this adorable pic:

She used the machine smocking designs from this collection.  If you don’t have an embroidery machine, you can use the guidelines in today’s tutorial to smock by hand if you know how, or there are mock-smocking directions in this pattern which, incidentally, will also provide you with a sloper to use for drafting your own version for whatever size doll you’d like

Here’s my version of Brenda’s dress on Disney’s NEW Animator Mulan. Yes! They’ve changed the faceups of several dolls including Mulan, Jasmine, Snow White, Cinderella, etc. They have improved them tremendously in my opinion, and though it doesn’t show well in the photos, Mulan and others have a thin strip of gold paint in their eyes that just glows in the sunlight! I’ll probably be collecting the rest as soon as they’re on sale!

Get the smocked dress tutorial here

A masterpiece of machine embroidery for a really big doll…

This blouse was a lot of effort, but I’m REALLY pleased with the results!  It took about 3-4 days to make, from drafting the pattern, arranging the embroidery, and figuring out how to do mock-smocking  with no pleater needed that could work at people size with only at 5×7 hoop, to being able to wear the actual finished product.  An experienced machine-embroiderer could probably finish it over this long Labor day weekend!  If you don’t have that much time, make a quick and easy version with elastic in bias casings.

GET DOLL VERSION HERE

 (note that the doll version is easier and not wide enough for smocking)

GET INSTRUCTIONS FOR PEOPLE VERSION AND HOW TO PRINT IT HERE

(read printing instructions before you try printing the pattern pieces!)

GET PEOPLE-SIZE PATTERN PIECES HERE

***IMPORTANT PRINTING UPDATE*** Do not try to print directly from the internet, it will not work correctly!  Download to your computer (click link and then CTRL+S to save) then open and print from Adobe Acrobat.  If you only have Adobe Reader (not the full version) click POSTER and make sure it shows it’s printing on 12 pages.  The latest version is available here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

NEW smocking in the hoop!

 

What else is new in the wren’s “nest”?

Remember this?  I got a request for the smocked pattern on the left, but you may also have seen from a few weeks ago I’ve been doing a bit of machine smocking lately.

Well…these two things converged and a new pattern emerged.  Versatile?  Oh my goodness, yes!  Easy?  Well, if you have an embroidery machine, you can smock in the hoop in a fraction of the time with a TON of free designs included with the pattern.  Pattern and embroidery designs available here

Click to enlarge!  These are just some of the designs included in the pattern – see all the smocking designs here

Low yoke with or without easy collar and short puffed sleeves

High yoke with rolled collar and puffed sleeves, low yoke without sleeves

It also includes a smocked in the hoop bishop-style dress you can shorten into a blouse and make with short or ruffled “angel-wing” sleeves