You know the shirred elastic dresses that are everywhere this summer? I figured out how to make them!

Okay, first off, roll the elastic onto a bobbin. I've read about handrolling- don't. Use your automatic winder. Just before it rolls onto the bobbin, let the elastic run through your fingers. This acts like one more tension gauge, tightening just a bit more.

Now, adjust the bobbin box. There's a screw on your bobbin, somewhere. This adjusts the bobbin tension. In most of your sewing, you will never need to touch this. So, unscrew it, all the way loose, and put in the elastic. Tighten to half way, then sew a little. Tighten, until you have a pleasing gather.

Oh- elastic- is elastic thread which is on the notions wall, with the package elastics. It's about $1.50, although it seems like it is always on sale. It comes in both black and in white. Some clerks don't know what it is, so ask more than one, if you can't find it. It's rolled onto a tube, and is very unprepossessing.

Okay, fabric- of course, wash, dry, iron.

Okay, now, make a square of one or two pieces, as long and as full as you want the dress to be. narrow hem, or serge roll the top, and make a bigger hem at the bottom. French seam the sides.

French seam--sew the fabric wrond sides together, then press it open. Trim the seams, and fold the fabric, ---ehh, go look it up.

Now the fun part--- about 5/8 from the top start stitching, on the outside. You want the elastic on the inside.When you finish a row,just keep sewing,just curve a little down. , and keep going until the bobbin is empty. Rewind, and continue as long as you like. For little girls I used the foot edge as a guide, for gatherings at 1/4 inch apart. It made a nice, spongy fabric, scaled for her.

Finishing: Pull the top threads through, and tie with the elastic. Then, thread a needle, and stitch through the knot, out the fabric, and back, and anchor tie off. Do this at both ends of each bit of elastic, so it doesn't unravel through the stitches.

To rebalance your machine: Take two squares of plain cotton, and stitch them together on the diagonal. Tug. If the thread breaks, you are unbalanced. Continue tightening the screw until the stitches look balanced, and they pass the bias tug test.

Ties- as all other ties, or use ribbon.

And yes, someday I will be able to post pictures, and visit other forums than this.

I hope, though, that there's enough here for a somewhat experienced seamstress to figure out what I've typed. It's a really fast, of the moment, cute dress .

ari

Thank you thank you for posting how to rebalance the machine!!! I have been too scared to mess with the bobbin, cause I never saw any tips on how to get it back to normal, but your instructions are so simple! :heart: I have three neices and a dd who all can use shirred dresses, and I have the fabric AND elastic sitting here, but too chicken to bust into it, lol!

I hope you can post pics and visit other forums someday, too! I think you have sooo much to say, and it's all hidden in this little old forum, lol.

Oh! Longest stitch length! I forgot! Longest Stitch Length!

It will look unbalanced, b/c the elastic will pull the thread to the backside. This is good, b/c if it went into the fabric, it would lock up, rather than do it's elasticy stuff.

And, I've read, you can wind just about anything onto your bobbin, and sew with it. It's called "bobbin embroidery" which I have never, ever done.

If I want to machine embroider, I'll couch a six thread embroidery hank with a zig-zag stitch, using complementary sewing thread. It shades it a bit, and looks complicated, too.

Oh, tell me how your dresses worked!

I hate that I didn't give excellent imstructions with pictures. I am still trying to figure out pictures, or if they'll even upload. I get kicked off if I try to email pics of the kids. I'd like to know if I gave enough small- ish descriptions.

Biddle's dress was an Indian madras rainbow plaid cotton. It was so cute! I am wondering what school plaids would look like, or if it would be cute with suspenders, like an Alice dress, over a blouse, for school. Or in satin, for dress up.

I know for a grown up, in velveteen, it would make a slinky dress. I've seen a dress with a loose top, a gathered waist area that leads to a patchy skirt. It's really pretty.

I like it that something so simple and inexpensive can look so nice.

ari

Cyan loved these when she was a toddler. I made her a bunch... good word tutorial mama! :heart: I could see the way to do it in my head. :)

For a size 4T or 3T, use a pillow case. It works perfectly! ;)

Val

I will def let you know how they turned out, when I do them. :p I am trying to make it into the sewing room tomorrow, and get some things done, so might break the elastic out and give it a go!

Can you view pics?? Or are they too much for your machine to handle, too??

The computer is fine, it's the connection between the computer and the browser. Every few weeks, the service- sbc/att/yahoo updates, and my heart sinks, b/c another set of things goes off limits. I call in, and the service person sighs with a persecuted sound, and suggests an upgrade.

Like, right now, I can't access my bank account. I could, a month ago.

The signature pictures show up, which I immensely enjoy. I think Meribeth's baby is the prettiest child, for instance. I want to pick her up, and cuddle with her. I like seeing Cyan and her brothers hopping about. I like seeing your kids arranged around something interesting.

Some pictures show up. The lunch tray pictures took an hour to download. The garden pictures froze my computer. I've never seen them

Some websites won't show up, even if they are dialed up- yougrowgirl, for one. I'd love to see it.

In three weeks, the kids go to school, and I can manage biddle, I think, whilst at the library, or even across town at the computer center. In six weeks after that, I think, somehow I'll be enrolled at the community college. Each campus has a pretty spiffy computer lab. Also, presumably, I hope, somehow, I'll have some sort of job. Most sorts of jobs have computers.

Then, somehow, at&t sees the wisdom of extending high-speed dial up three blocks down our street, to our house. And then, just maybe, we might get a new computer with an up to date browser compatible operating system.

And, really, I ought to be learning to use what's on the computer. somehow, that always seems to enlarge what's possible.Or, at least, it's supposed to. you know, the "use it or lose it" proposition.