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February 19, 2000
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Smocking Newsletter - Beth-Katherine Kaiman, copyright 1997-2004, all rights reserved. Please respect my creativity and hard work and ask permission before you copy something from these newsletters for your non profit goup, I always ask that you quote me correctly and give me credit with a way for people to get back to me. Thank you. IF you wish to quote me in a venture for profit please contact me separately concerning royalties.
Book Review - Books by Nancy Coburn - Ginger Snaps Designs
From our Readers:
Suggestions for pleating
Answer to Question about counterchange
Suggestion for finishing Easter Eggs
Smocking for Boys - a mother's experience
This treasury of Christening Gowns has been in print since 1998 and continues the wonderful series of books published by Ginger Snaps Designs on Baby Daygowns (Nancy loves her babies that's for sure). This volume is titled Book 1 so we can assume that Nancy will be publishing more volumes to this series. What Nancy has done is taken antique garments from her private collection and reproduced them in pattern form for us to recreate. (Ah and such treasures they are.) The illustrations for the book are wonderful and make it easy for your imagination to visualize the garments. In fact the illustrations are what makes this book unique, they are incredible. The contruction diagrams make it so easy for even the beginner sewer to put a garment together, they are that good. Nancy totally spoils you as far as instructions of each technique, embellishment and garment. Nancy states in her introduction "I have been collecting antique Christening gowns and ideas for Christening gowns fo rover fifteen years. This book contains a wide selection of designs which range from simpler designs suitable for infant boys to designs with lace yokes and fancy skirts. A dress variation and pattern has been included to increase the versatility of the designs." There are gowns with very little embellisment, gowns with lots of lace, embroidery and trims and a gown with smocking (design included). The book is actually a course in heirloom sewing and sewing. If you are about to embark on the journey of making a christening gown, or just love books on heirloom sewing (with patterns!) then this is one to consider.
What Nancy has done is taken antique garments from her private collection and reproduced them in pattern form for us to recreate. (Ah and such treasures they are.) The illustrations for the book are wonderful and make it easy for your imagination to visualize the garments. In fact the illustrations are what makes this book unique, they are incredible. The contruction diagrams make it so easy for even the beginner sewer to put a garment together, they are that good. Nancy totally spoils you as far as instructions of each technique, embellishment and garment.
Nancy states in her introduction "I have been collecting antique Christening gowns and ideas for Christening gowns fo rover fifteen years. This book contains a wide selection of designs which range from simpler designs suitable for infant boys to designs with lace yokes and fancy skirts. A dress variation and pattern has been included to increase the versatility of the designs."
There are gowns with very little embellisment, gowns with lots of lace, embroidery and trims and a gown with smocking (design included). The book is actually a course in heirloom sewing and sewing.
If you are about to embark on the journey of making a christening gown, or just love books on heirloom sewing (with patterns!) then this is one to consider.
To see the complete line of Ginger Snaps Patterns and Books please go to http://www.smockingstore.com/ginger.html
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Call for Topic of Discussion - Pleating
Last Issue I called for a topic of discussion on pleating and Cathy Reinhardt (a president of a Saga Chapter) sent in her experience with pleating
<<I once took a class with Cindy Foose who said that if you have no more than 3 pleats difference between top and bottom when you finish smocking, then it's on straight. I personally like to aim for a difference of no more than 1 pleat. Practicing on a large scale gingham is very helpful for learning how your pleater works and what adjustments you may need to make to keep the pleating threads parallel to horizontal gingham rows and to keep the pleats parallel to the vertical rows! It's tricky, but practicing on gingham is very helpful.
I also like to roll my fabric to be pleated on a dowel so that I can exert even pressure (very little) uniformly across the piece going through the pleater. When you try to hold the fabric with one hand, you tend to exert more pressure on whichever side of the fabric you are holding it. This can make one side feed in more quickly or slower than the other. You need to practice seeing how the grainlines line up with the pleater bars. The grainline needs to stay parallel to the pleater rollers.
CathyR>>
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Last issue Terri from Australia asked about counterchange and Nan was gracious enough to send in an answer.
<< Checking my old notes from a class on Counter-change from Joan Craft, she says to "tighten horizontal stitches only after vertical stitches". This sounds like what you are doing. Are you using Embroidery floss? If I remeber correctly, it has "less slippage - more hold" than perle cotton or rayon thread. I also seem to remember that you need to do a "bunch of stitches" before things start looking like they should. I hope this helps! >>
Smocking for Boys
<<Hi, Beth
I think my son was about 2 1/2 when I learned to smock. Did the usual shortalls, etc and he seemed to enjoy choosing the plate and colors for his outfits. As he got into school, he was a bit less excited about wearing smocking! But, he fell in love with a plate with a fire truck and dalmation and really wanted me to make it. But what to put it in/on??? He needed a spring jacket, which I made and appliqued the smocked piece on the back. I framed the piece with red gross grain ribbon, extending the ends of the ribbon at each corner. He wore the jacket until it was too small to get on, then his little sister wore it, too. When she was eventually too big for it, I removed the smocked piece and put it away, and gave the jacket away. It still had plenty of wear left in it! Sandy>>
Sandy what a great idea, not just for boys but maybe for recalcetrant teenagers or moms who love the smocking but don't want to look ridiculous with a jumper and a smocked insert.
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