Modern Smocking: I Heart Birthdays

Yesterday I turned 35. I had a great day, with only a few snafus (I'll get you next time, IHOP). One of the biggest events of the day was that I wore my first handmade smocked garment, a shirt that has been, according to Mr. Jones, "three years in the making". I call it the 'I Heart Birthdays' tank top, and this is what it looks like:

It has a smocked inlay. First, I pleated the fabric on my pleater with a friend's help (thanks, Jocelyn!) and watched this video on Youtube to learn trellis stitch, and heart cables. Before I got too far on the smocking, I inlayed the pleated material into a basic tank top pattern (New Look 6483)

I finished up the pattern with a button closure at the back and a half lining all around the inside, to protect the back of the pleats.

There were so many hours put into the muslin, the pleating, the sewing, and the smocking, that I won't be making a ton of these garments. Maybe just one per season. This is what it looked like on me, out to dinner last night. Don't I look older?

I've started a new blog devoted to smocking over here. I'll be posting my projects and inspirations , and won't bore you over here, if you have no interest in smocking. Hopefully you'll see more than one item every three years. If not, here's to age 38!