Is There Still Room for the Traditional?

I think I am a dinasaur.  I think the little girl sewing world might have moved to a place I just can't go to.  Don't get me wrong - I think alot of it is quite charming but it's just not me.  I'm stuck on the traditional.  I keep pondering the possibility of William and Kate producing a royal daughter and the possibility (the quite real possibility) of Kate choosing to dress her in a very traditional style.  I think it would make people like me instantly 'cool' again.  Just think, everytime you looked at the cover of a People magazine there would be a little girl in a traditional smocked dress.  Now that's progress for us dinasaurs.  Let me know what you think about this.

So, in the spirit of the traditional I have a few photos of another project I will most likely propose to teach next year at the Martha Pullen school. I love ( repeat LOVE!) real dotted Swiss. It has a beautiful hand, is quite wrinkle resistant, and washes beautifully. Anyone born in the 50's or 60's will surely have a memory of wearing a dotted Swiss dress.
  


I picked the dots out of the fabric in the area to pleated. It leaves you with a nice plain surface to smock on.  I also interfaced the area to be pleated with a lightweight fusible interfacing.  The dotted Swiss is very fine and pleats down to almost nothing.  The interfacing adds fullnes to your pleats and makes it much nicer to smock on.


The teardrop collar is made from plain white Swiss voile and trimmed with shaped premade robin's egg microcheck spaghetti bias.  The two bias edges are joined with a hand 'bridging' stitch.  A few cast-on stitch posies help bring some of the pink in the smocking up into the collar. 


I'm very lucky to have daughter's who still will dress their daughter's in traditional style dresses.  I'm counting on Kate to help bring some of this back.  But, even if she doesn't, I'll probably stay right where I'm at.

P.S.  Happy Canada Day!