Babies look very cute in whatever clothes they are dressed, and if the dress is smocked, they look even cuter. Smocking is a type of embroidery where elastic is fitted in and the material gathered up. This may also be done without elastic. This is one of the oldest styles in baby dresses. With elastic the smocking is used instead of buttons and fasteners. The advantage of smocking is that it stretches according to the baby’s size and therefore will last longer and is ideal for growing babies. Thus mothers would be spending less on clothes if they go in for smocked baby dresses. Smocked dresses have a special aura in them to make the baby look very pretty.

Smocked dresses cling to the babies body and hence keep them comfortable giving them no hindrance in their movement and they can twist and turn and have fun. It is a style that can be done on either dresses or even pants and therefore have become the favorite of parents. They are however a bit more expensive than other simple clothes for the simple reason that they are manually tailored and it takes more time to work upon them. It takes nimble soft hands and a lot of patience to complete smocked dresses owing to their small size. Even so making a smocked dress for your baby is a very thrilling experience especially when you have them on the baby after completion.

It has to be noted that all fabrics are not suitable for smocking. Cotton would be the ideal fabric or it could be a mix of cotton and polyester. The material has to be a bit stiff for it to hold the smocking embroidery. Soft cloth like silk or georgettes or soft and drooping fabrics would be unsuitable for having the smocking done. These clothes are also used for smocking these days using padding. We never know with all the changing trends and style what smocked dresses come out in which material. Smocking is also done on the sleeves of dresses even this gives the dress a cuter look. A dress can be made with heavy smocking designs or just a few here and there which would look just as fine.

Mothers who like to stitch the babies clothes themselves would enjoy doing the smocking on their favorite colors and materials. Different patterns can be obtained from books or from the internet and with a little bit of practice mothers could turn it into a most enjoyable and satisfying experience. It is actually a simple stitch which any mother who has a prowess for stitching can easily learn. Such people only have to look at a smocked dress to know how the stitch works. Now with modern machines smocking has become simpler as it can also be done using machines.

Smocking never goes out of fashion and has stood the test of time for long. Even today it is a very popular form of dress and shops stock babies smocked dresses in large numbers to cash in on their popularity.

Author Bio: Toddler Dresses Baby and Dress

Category: Parenting
Keywords: toddler dresses, baby and dress