Smocked Bishop Dress

This is my first attempt at smocking a bishop dress. I used light blue voile. The fabric is very lightweight and very sheer. The fabric is perfect for hot weather like where I live. But it is quite difficult to sew, especially when you make a lot of mistake like I did. The pattern is a variation of the bishop dress from AS&E Issue #83.And here is the result.

The front view

Close up of the smocking details

The sleeve details. This was my first attempt at bullion roses. Not too neat I must say.

The back placket. I stitched the bullion roses on the buttons. But it went crooked somehow...I was just too lazy to fix it

Some action pics on the little lady...She is impossible to photograph...So this is the best pose I could get.

The verdict: I absolutely love smocking a bishop dress!!! It's quite simple once you figure out the techniques. My reference was the AS&E magazine and I learnt a lot from this fantastic blog too: http://sewnso.blogspot.com/. Laurie has the most wonderful bishop tutorials. And I'm also lucky to have a colleague at work who give me some tips and pointers on how to tackle a bishop dress.

I'll be making more bishop dresses I hope. Just need to find the time...