Saturday, August 18, 2012

Crochet Mock Smocked bodice and Mary Jane shoes for Bleuette

I love the look of smocking, but I've never been very good at it.  Too cheap to buy a pleater, and too impatient to mark all those little dots on the fabric :-)  As W.C. Fields put it so eloquently "A thing worth having is worth cheating for!"  So here is a crochet version of smocking, that I call mock smocking.  It is achieved with triple crochet post stitches and a bit of embroidery after the crochet is complete.

Mock Smocked Bodice

Here is what the smocking looks like before and after embroidering:

You could also use this pattern to make an Aran sweater in crochet.  Post stitches are extremely versatile, and add wonderful texture to your crochet pieces.  They are not hard to do, just a bit different and take a little practice.

I also have a pair of shoes for you to crochet for Bleuette.  They are made with size 3 crochet cotton and a size C crochet hook.  They fit over the crochet socks.  The pattern is for Mary Janes, but once you have the right fit for the foot, you can modify them for boots, slip-ons, and embellish them as you wish.

Crochet Mary Jane Shoes

Enjoy making these new patterns for your Bleuette or Crochet Bleuette!

13 comments:

  1. Heck, Beth, I can't keep up! Now that I have sent Judi's doll off to her, I have started one for me.

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  2. Oh, Beth, the Mary Jane Shoes are adorable. Thank you!

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  3. Kate, I surely hope you do :-) And, I'd love to know how Judi likes her doll!

    Beth

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  4. Ohhh, the shoes ara su cute!!! Thank you for sharing it! Also the Crochet Mock Smocked bodice, I lovr it!

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  5. What happened to the days when little girls wore pretty smocked dresses (my mum used to love smocking them for us). For this reaon I was smitten by your dolly in a smocked dress. Extremely clever idea and very effective.

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    1. I agree! I am delighted that you find this an effective crochet smocking :-)

      Beth

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  6. Wonderful... I love your all your crafts...

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  7. Cheryl and Marga, thank you for your kind words :-)

    Beth

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  8. Love the smocking and shoes. Awesome works Miss Beth.

    til next time,

    connie

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  9. That is an absolutely stunning outfit love the shoes!

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  10. Thanks so much, Connie and Typs!

    Beth

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  11. Hi Beth,

    I loved the pattern and shoes very much :) they look so cute ! thank you for sharing:) I have tried it and posted at
    http://createwittyunleashed.blogspot.in/2012/11/wips-wips-and-wips.html
    Pls check and let me know your feedback.

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    1. I love the shoes you made! Any doll would be delighted to have these on their feet :-)

      Beth

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