OFB Smocked layette dress pattern on white Imperial batiste.
At last Baby Bea’s church dress is finished. So many things I wish I had done differently, but it is done. The pattern is OFB Smocked Layette, made from white Imperial batiste.
I used this pattern with the little bit of smocking because I wanted to focus on the cross embroidered trim at the hemline. It would have looked better, I think, with short sleeves.
Because the cross embroidery is Swiss, I felt compelled to use Swiss for the other trims. Do you ever mix heirloom laces with Swiss on the same garment? I’d like to know your opinion on that.
The tiny Swiss trim at the neckline and smocked sleeves should be short enough to avoid irritating her delicate newborn skin. It has a built in entredeux stitch so I wove that with floss to add a little color higher on the daygown.
The cross trim at the hem was 6″ wide.After attaching it to the entredeux beading there just seemed to be too much blank space. So I removed it, trimmed the cross piece to 4″ and rejoined it to a new piece of entredeux beading, threaded with pink ribbon.
It still looked to plain so I added twin needle “shadow work” in pink on either side of the beading.
This is the first bonnet I have ever made with the ruffle behind the smocking. I’m not sure I like it, but Bea is so tiny, just now 7 lbs. that I thought the ruffle might obscure too much of her precious face.
The twin needle work was repeated on the back of the bonnet near the drawstring ribbon.
nor so extravagant as to make the recipient feel beholden as this would.
