Tag Archives: smocked pocket

At Liberty

Yes, at liberty to start another project!  The  sundress is finished at last.  Hurrah!

At Liberty All

 

What was expected to be a quick and easy project became a career, entailing  continuing education, extra hours, supply problems, and lowered performance expectations.

This all started with a child’s vintage filet crochet yoke.  Purchased at least 15 years ago, it was saved for a someday granddaughter. Now, I have the granddaughter, she is the right size and I was ready to go.  All it needed was a smocked  Liberty of London tana lawn skirt.   How hard could it be?

Before I got very far on the smocking, I thought it would be nice to add Florence Roberson’s smocked puffy pockets.  It took two full days to locate the pattern.

 

smocked-pocket-finished

 

Before I pleated the pockets, the top may edge needed to be finished with a tiny hem or trimmed with lace.  Since I was using a crocheted yoke, a crocheted edge seemed in order.   My first and last crochet project was a pastel granny square baby blanket for my newborn daughter in 1978.  Hmmmmm….so I pulled out some how-to needlework books and learned some simple, basic crochet.  Continuing education is good!

NOTE: The links above take you to  earlier post about the sundress and  pockets, which are just sweet as pie.

 

At Liberty smock front

 

The skirt is smocked with Florence Roberson’s plate Diamonds, by Ellen McCarn.  Smocking on Liberty or any print presents the challenge of achieving enough contrast without “fighting” with the print. Continue reading

Smocked Pocket Pattern

smocked-pocket-finished

Life certainly has gotten in the way of the Liberty sundress I am making for Laurel. (UPDATE: But it is finally finished! Click here.) Fortunately, with all of our Florida sunshine, the dress is likely to be worn 9 months of the year. But my 89 year-old aunt seems to be failing at an alarming rate and has needed more attention than usual. Then I discovered that all but two of my SAGA magazines are missing, either lost in the hurricanes or lost in the garage. Fortunately, I remembered that I had copied the pattern and was able to retrieve it. So finally, progress is being made.

The smocked pockets were just the touch this little dress needed. The Florence Roberson pattern, published in The Smocking Arts, date unknown, is unlike anything else I’ve seen and makes up so sweetly. Though the no-show attachment to the dress is a little tedious, the puffy pocket is worth the effort.

The pattern is included below.

SmockedPocketpatt

Because of the filet crochet yoke I am using, I decided to crochet a little edge on the top of the pockets. But I have no proficiency at this needleart, so it took me a while and the results are hardly worthy to be included on a garment with the beautiful yoke. Still, as Martha Pullen once said, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly until you get good at it.” I like that—and hope to be good at it some day. Continue reading