{"id":63589,"date":"2017-12-12T08:46:55","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T13:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/?p=63589"},"modified":"2017-12-12T02:50:29","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T07:50:29","slug":"sew-tell-smocked-building-block-dress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2017\/12\/sew-tell-smocked-building-block-dress.html","title":{"rendered":"sew + tell: smocked building block dress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we have Ana Sofia sharing her lovely creation she made using the Building Block Dress book. She added a nice touch of smocking to it. If you’re interested in more smocking inspiration please head over to our Smocked Dress Round-up<\/a> and Smocked Pocket Tutorial<\/a>. And with that, here is Ana Sofia!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

Name:<\/strong> Ana Sofia
\nWhere can we find you on the internet?<\/strong> Blog<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, Pinterest<\/a>, Flickr<\/a><\/p>\n

Project details<\/strong>
\nLink to your project:<\/strong> Building Block Dress: The Book<\/a>
\nPattern used:<\/strong> Building Block Dress<\/a>
\nFabric used:<\/strong> Chambray and Lace trim (broderie anglaise)<\/p>\n

Did the fabric work well?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both fabrics were a good choice for this blouse. They have a good drape and the dots were a clever choice for the added smocking (i.e. making it so much easier).<\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

How did the sewing go?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As my girl grows older, I’m trying to sew her pieces that fit her style. She’s been taking a more active part in the selection process, picking fabrics and designs.<\/p>\n

I used the set of basic dress pattern pieces included in the book–front and back bodice and sleeve. The front bodice was shortened, creating a yoke, and a skirt was added for the smocking (I measured, 3x the width of the front bodice). The back bodice was also shortened and a skirt was added. However, for the back I only added a bit of fullness to the shirt (a few inches), as my girl requested a “straight” blouse–and obviously, as the front was smocked, I could only fit this request in the back. I also added a lace trim to the skirt (front and back) to make it a bit more girly.<\/p>\n

As I’ve already made a few blouses using the book before, it was really easy to draft the flutter sleeve to her preferences; she had requested a narrow flutter sleeve. I simply followed the book instructions provided on page 66 and made the necessary adjustments.<\/p>\n

Overall, the construction was quite simple, following the guidelines provided for the dress (with a button back). The only part that was not included in the book was the smocking, but I’ve been trying to give it a try and this blouse was really a good canvas for adding smocking. (I mean, those dots were really asking to be smocked, right?) This was “her blouse” so I tried to follow her guidelines. She’s not as keen on smocking as I am, but was willing to have just a few rows and I think it worked beautifully.<\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

What was the best part?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best part was definitively sewing a blouse as per the user’s request. As my girl grows older, it’s a bit more difficult to find patterns that we both love (I love timeless pieces while she, obviously, asks for more informal\/casual styles), and I have found the Building Block Dress Book to be a very useful resource for drafting patterns to fit both our preferences. I purchased the book (English version) as soon as it was released and I must confess that I’ve been using it more than expected. It’s my go-to-book for sewing blouses (as most of the patterns I own don’t include larger sizes) and costumes for school plays. It is always really straight forward to “design” a piece of clothing exactly as imagined, and it’s not restricted to dress and blouses. I have used some of the techniques included in the book with other patterns with great success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

See what Ana Sofia made using the Oliver + S Building Block Dress book. It’s beautiful!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7455,"featured_media":63597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20687],"tags":[20736,20680],"class_list":["post-63589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-building-block-dress","tag-sew-tell"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/smockedF.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5jZS5-gxD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4209,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2012\/06\/customizing-with-oliver-s-adding-honeycomb-smocking-to-the-ice-cream-blouse.html","url_meta":{"origin":63589,"position":0},"title":"customizing with oliver + s: adding honeycomb smocking to the ice cream blouse","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"June 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently saw this adorable photo of an\u00a0Ice Cream Blouse show up in the Oliver + S Flickr group, and I followed the link through to the creator's blog post about the outfit. \u00a0 \u00a0 I so loved the unique smocked detail at the blouse's neck that I contacted Ana\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "tutorials"","block_context":{"text":"tutorials","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/tutorials"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/honeycombsmockingT.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39667,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/11\/heirloom-techniques-honeycomb-smocking.html","url_meta":{"origin":63589,"position":1},"title":"heirloom techniques: honeycomb smocking","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"November 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Today we're featuring several different Oliver + S patterns made with honeycomb smocking.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/honeycombsmocking1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12599,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/09\/heirloom-techniques-smocked-dress-round-up.html","url_meta":{"origin":63589,"position":2},"title":"heirloom techniques: smocked dress round-up","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"September 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a gathering of smocked Oliver + S dresses. If you're willing to invest the time, adding smocking to a garment can achieve spectacular results.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/121.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6934,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2013\/06\/smocked-badminton-dress-in-sew-beautiful.html","url_meta":{"origin":63589,"position":3},"title":"smocked badminton dress in sew beautiful","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"June 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The smocked dress from our feature in Sew Beautiful magazine (August\/September 2013, issue #149) is the Oliver + S Badminton Dress sewing pattern, View C.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/smocked-badminton-dress.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":45981,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2015\/05\/heirloom-techniques-smocked-pocket.html","url_meta":{"origin":63589,"position":4},"title":"heirloom techniques: smocked pocket","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"May 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a tutorial on how to add smocking to the pockets of the Oliver + S Puppet Show Shorts.","rel":"","context":"In "tutorials"","block_context":{"text":"tutorials","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/tutorials"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/smockedpocketTITLE.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6996,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2013\/06\/speaking-of-smocking-lisette-continental-blouse.html","url_meta":{"origin":63589,"position":5},"title":"speaking of smocking: lisette continental blouse","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"June 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I had a chance to sew for myself! I made a Lisette Continental Blouse and added a smocked embellishment to the back.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/smocked-tunic-back.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63589"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63604,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63589\/revisions\/63604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}