Polka-dot Bishop finished!

Wew! Here it is. It took longer than I thought it would but I like the way it turned out.

All these pictures can be seen in full view by clicking on them.

I'll start backwards...

Today I spent several hours perfecting my handmade buttonholes. Some may ask "Why?" Well, about six years ago I bought a very nice Bernina Sewing machine and one of the selling points of this particular one was the built in button hole feature with several options. I went to the instructional classes and have read the books but have never been completely satisfied with the machine buttonholes I was making. Today, I can say that the four buttonholes on the back of this dress are the best-looking buttonholes I have ever made on a garment. Unfortunately, I don't know how to take a good close-up picture of these beautiful buttonholes. But here is the back view.

The hem is scalloped. I always like the way these hems turn out. Seems worth the extra effort. It is hand stitched with a running stitch from the back. I used DMC floss the same pink used in the smocking around the neck and arms.

The inside seams are enclosed french seams, even the ones behind the smocking as noted in the previous blog post.

The smocking is done with pink, white, and purple DMC floss. I buried the knots of the smocking between the pleats. Otherwise they may scratch baby's sensitive skin.

The sleeves are smocked with the same colors as around the neck. Cluny lace was attached to the sleeve edge by hand at the same time I hand sewed the hem of the sleeve.

Who knew naming a business would be so hard?

Naming this sewing business turned out to be more difficult than one might expect. Since I have decided to sell through Etsy, I had to have the name approved through their web site.

First, I thought a lot about what I want to create. I want to make baby dresses that are constructed well and go the extra mile to be comfortable for the baby. Some things I learned from my own kids; like all cotton material and cotton thread, and enclosed seams that won't scratch or poke at baby's delicate, soft skin. I also love to smock and embroider roses on my baby clothes.

When I googled roses, I found that there is a rare lavender rose that has the meaning of enchantment or love at first sight. I liked the idea that people would fall in love with my baby dresses. Unfortunatly, every name I tried relating to 'lavender rose' was already taken on Etsy.

After stewing over it for several days, I had it boiled down to 'Enchanted Rose', 'Embroidered Rose', or 'Kinder Rose'. All of these were available at the time on Etsy. Enchanted Rose reminded me of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and I was afraid other people would have as much trouble as I do remembering how to spell embroidered. So Kinder Rose it is!