Lots of new things today: a new smock for Phoebe, a newly hung peg rail in her room and the sun!
The smock is a copy of a vintage one (here’s Phoebe modeling it) — oh! another new thing, a couple of them actually, Phoebe can now push herself up to sitting from laying and pull herself up to standing from sitting. She whipped these new tricks out yesterday and the day before. bam! I have a feeling she’ll be trying to break Oscar’s record of walking at 9 months. I need to stop sewing and start babyproofing, but back to the smocker, here’s a close up of the matryoshka fabric that I bought at kitty-craft and I’m so proud of myself that I tackled this because I dread catching ric-rac in a seam. I love the way it looks but I have the hardest time with it. anyone have any pointers? I did okay this time — even with Oscar complaining to me that it was taking forever — but still had to go back and fix half a dozen spots where I didn’t catch both sides of the fabric. But I think it turned out really cute…and I made fabric covered buttons for it. Fabric covered buttons make everything right.
What an adorable little smock!Is the pattern your own? 2007 seem to be the year for baby girls…5 of my girlfriends had baby girls and I would love to try and sew one (maybe more!)
So cute! I don’t have any tips, but if I did, I’d sure offer them. It’s hard to believe how quickly our babies grow up. Mine was walking at 8 months.
Ric Rack can be such a pain sometimes. Gottsa get me some of that fabric!
Phoebe is getting so big!
Congrats with the smock, and wow, that lovely peg rail, I want the same!!!
LOVE************
I’d love to know about the pattern as well. She’s a peach. I bet that mobile will have to be moved soon too?! Can she reach it yet?
Oh, that is really just so cute! Great fabric, great ric-rac (I’ve never tried that, but it sounds really hard!!)
I popped on over to Flickr, and she is gorgeous!
I think it is probably easiest to baste the ric-rac to one piece of fabric first, then sew the two pieces together, then remove the basting stitches. Does that make any sense?
LOVE. that. smock.
I have to get started with the dressmaking! Every time I see something that you’ve made for Phoebe I’m desperate to get in to the studio and get started on M-P2’s new dresses. It’ll happen, it’ll happen!
gosh that’s a damn fine peg rail.
and of course gorgeous smock top!
whoa. that is the cutest thing EVER.
The smock is so cute! Once they learn something and it just snowballs from their. Cute hanger, did you make it?
Such perfect use of that fabric, which I have coveted mightily at a local shop. It give me ideas…
My experience with the rickrack was actually with ribbon, but same diff. Learn from my experience, though: If you’re tacking down the rickrack/ribbon beforehand, make sure you put the excess toward the middle of the fabric, not toward the seam allowance. When written, this is definitely a “duh!” moment, but I wished many times during the hours of picking out the seams (I had to unpick the real seam and the basting stitches to redo it).
This reminds me of all the little outfits I used to make for my little girl,they are so much fun to dress! Mine is now a senior in college. Your ric-rac looks good. I always sew it to the right side of one piece of fabric on the seam line, then when I put the two right sides of the fabric together I can see just where to sew on that stitching line. I hope this isn’t too confusing. Happy Sewing, Shawn 😉
Phoebe is the cutest. Love all that hair. I love the smock (superb sewing), but I can barely concentrate on it because I can’t see past the sweet baby folds on her arms. *Sigh* I remember those days.
Far too cute. It looks beautiful. And the hanger is perfect.
Maybe a glue stick as a temporary positioner instead of pins? I don’t know about you, but I’m always *not* catching the rickrack as I pin…
I just made a vintage smock over the weekend that I posted yesterday.
I love the fabric and ric rac combination.
No tips on ric rac other then a lot of pinning.
I’m going to buy one of those peg racks. I love that look.
My little one is going to be here any day. I’m actually 4cm dilated at the moment. I tend to walk around dilated for a while at least with my first but at this stage I was only 2cm
Hmmm
the smock is beautiful and i love the wrist rolls!! so cute!
This is an adorable smock! The fabric was a perfect choice! -kb
Love the smock and the fabric! Your daughter (re: the pic where she is modeling the vintage version) is too adorable! I have two daughters–isn’t it fun making girl clothes:-)
She’s so cute with all her clothes. My baby, Tess, never gets out of her PJ’s.
I use the basting method instead of pins(just be sure not to pull the ric rac tight as you sew). I’m too lazy to remove the basting, so I make those stitches just barely outside where I want the final seam. Once it’s basted in place on one layer, I layer the on the second piece of fabric, flip it so the basted seam is visible on top and use that as my guide. Just sew inside it and voila!
The smock looks darling!
too cute! phoebe and the smock!
Very sweet!
Ric Racs easy peasy. Just do what Wendy said — except I don’t even bother to use a basting stitch — use a regular stitch when sewing the ricrac where you want it to the first layer, then put the right sides together and use your previously stitched seam as a guide. No Fail! 😉
It is adorable and I noticed the buttons right away! And your peg rack reminds me of a room in MS Kids… totally LOVE it!
That rickrack is a cute embellishment for sure! If you go to Wrights.com and click “classroom”, then “sewing” and then to “Applying Rick Rack” they will show you the 2 step process for inserting in a seam.
that is just cutest thing i have seen lately! love the pattern on it too. perhaps she may walk in her mothers creative footsteps?
Everything is just so precious! I love the fabric you chose for the smock…
and BTW, I have such an affinity for yellow wood paneled walls. We painted our one wood paneled wall in our kitchen this same color, and it’s so bright and cheerful.
Oh my, this is too cute for words!!!
I used that steam a seam tape to iron it down so it doesn’t move around when I sew the edges together.
But that stuff might be like kriptonite to someone that actually knows how to sew! I need all the help I can get.
And sun, yea! It almost made me forget it was so cold outside.
it is so beautifully made!!
love them the smock and the hamger!
What a sweet and simple little smock.
How cute! Basting the ric rak is the only fail proof method that I have found. I don’t pin it, just guide it by hand onto the right side of the garment fabric. Then, sew the garment/lining together with the wroing side garment fabric facing up so you can see the previous stitch line and stay to the inside of it.
so so cute and that fabric is even cuter in person… I love the buttons…
I’ve been looking for a peg rail like that one! All the ones I’ve found have been too short, or too wide, or too fancy…I know it’s a long shot but would you tell me where you got it from? (I’m in the UK so I bet I won’t be able to get it though)
Beautiful smock – I wish I had another little girl…mine’s 8 now so too old to dress in baby clothes (such a shame!)
I ordered that fabric,too,isn’t it too precious? Your smock came out divine!
Too cute!! Might whip one up for my dd!! She loves to cook.
That smock is adorable! And I love the top picture – it just screams spring to me… I guess it’s because we’re getting MORE snow here in Chicago.
Darling! Darling! Darling!! Seriously girl. You just whip one thing after another after another out. I am still trying to get the time to make the baby blankets I need for a shower in two weeks! I feel a few more days of procrastination otta do it.
i absolutely LOVE the smock. and phoebe’s sweet chubby arm.
It’s all in the basting as part of pre-prep. You knew I would say this! Ha ha.
Love it! and love all the ric rac sewing tips, I’ve not tried it – keep meaning to, but always thought it would be too hard. Totally going to give it a try now, I love picking up these little sewing tips here! Thanks everyone!
Wow, I can’t believe that baby bug is getting so big already. Time flies. The smock is fantastic and looks wonderful on that little model. 🙂
I love this smock! We (my mother and I) make smocks that we sell on etsy as well. (Currently out of stock.) But I just love the double-sided sweetness of this one.
I’ve loved your blog for so long now, but this is the first time I’ve de-lurked… thanks for all the inspiration!
Dera from casablanca
The smock is really amazing. She looks adorable in it too.
That is adorable! By they way, I love your blog!!
That smock is adorable. Mine started climbing stairs at 9 months. She couldn’t walk, but she could make it up the stairs (shudder). May yours take a bit longer so you can get a bit more time in sewing :0).
The smock is so cute! It must be so fun to make all these girly things. Otto is just now perfecting sitting-without-tumbling-over; we’re still waiting for sit-from-laying and pulling up. I guess I should watch what I wish for … babyproofing our house is going to be a major challenge!
OK – my daughter definitely needs a smock made from some of my giant japanese fabric stash that I just hate cutting into… what is it with that?
How do you make your buttons?
hey thanks everyone for the nice comments 🙂 here’s some stuff I left out, or actually put up in flickr and forgot to put here. the peg rail is from http://www.shakerworkshops.com and her room’s paint color is benjamin moore’s popcorn kernal (imho, the perfect yellow!) the pattern for this I drafted from the vintage smock. maybe I can make a little sketch for y’all who want to try it.
thanks for all the ric rac tips! I’m definitely going to sew it in place first next time and then sew the seam just on the inside of that. seems simple enough and definitely appeals to the neat freak in me.
jenna – that’s why I wanted the peg rail! pj often spends most of the day in her pj’s so it’s nice to have a place to display outfits that aren’t seeing as much action as they could 😉 but they’re just too fun to make, I can’t help myself. kind of like my barrette-making problem.
That smock is just about as cute as it gets. I love the fabric. I’m thinking of trying to make a smock like that for my 2 year old. Sure would be fun to make one for painting and what not. Thanks for the inspiration.
oh, that is adorable!
my little ones spend most of the time in their pj’s, too. i am very jealous that that is socially acceptable for them and not me.
Absolutely Gorgeous!
Where did you find that peg rail? I’ve been on the search for one for ages but they’re a little thin on the ground ’round these parts!!
A little more on the rick rack…
If you use 1/4 inch seams you can keep one edge of the rick rack even with the edge of the fabric when sewing to the first piece of fabric.
My daughter is about the same age as Phoebe, and I read this post the other day and wondered when I could expect such shenanigans. Then yesterday I left her lying on the floor playing while I went to the bathroom, and when I came back she was sitting up!. It’s amazing how fast they grow, and how they manage to get more adorable every day.
Oh, I’d love one in my size. So pretty.
Beautiful as always! I’ve never tried attaching rik rak in the seam like that (which looks mighty cute), but could you stitch it on to one piece, and then sew the lining in place following (or just inside) the same stitching line?
I also love the peg rail and the divine coathanger with the leather (?) hanging loop- I haven’t seen any like that in the shops here.