Dolly Clothes

I love English smocking. I drew out a little pattern for a smocked bishop doll shirt. It took me a couple of tries to get the pattern adjusted to the right width (with pleats) for around my dolls necks.

Click on the pictures to see the details of the smocking better.

I am blessed to have a Sally Stanley smocking pleater. Without this handy dandy tool, I wouldn't smock much at all. When I first started smocking, I used transfer dots and ironed them on to my fabric. Then I began the long, arduous task of picking up each dot with needle and thread to make the pleats. It took forever. But I did it several times. Then my husband took pity on me and for Mothers Day bought me the pleater. I've used it for several years and learned a great deal more about English Smocking.



So these little dolly shirts are fun because they are (in comparison to making a dress or something bigger) fairly quick to make and simple in their construction. I had 3 of these little shirts smocked and ready to go and yesterday I sat down and sewed all three of them up in about 1.5 hours.


I'm going to get some pictures of these outfits on a dolly today and but them in my shop later on this evening.