Add Piping to a Tucked Shirt

Add Piping to a Tucked Shirt

Amelia Johanson Belle Heir design piped tucks royal-inspired baby clothes Sewing for a Royal Baby

Belle Heir shirt and button-on pants constructed by Amelia Johanson.

We just love seeing photos of little Prince George dressed up in all of his fashionable baby attire. From the sailboat-smocked rompers and button-bar shoes to the cardigan sweaters and pull-on shorts he donned during the royals' recent tour of Australia and New Zealand, it's evident the 9-month-old is a trendsetter in children's clothing much like his father Prince William was at a young age. In honor of the tiny style icon, we'd like to share a technique with you from the Belle Heir shirt featured in our Royal Baby book.

This pleated-front shirt is an antique reproduction designed with a V-shaped yoke and the added interest of piping set into every tuck. We made our reproduction with short sleeves and paired it with classic button-on shorts for a little boy, but pair the sleeveless option with a button-on skirt and the ensemble will have little girl written all over it. 

Piped tucks

Below, you'll find instructions for recreating the shirt's unique piped tucks. Patterns and complete instructions for constructing the Belle Heir shirt and button-on shorts can be found in Sewing for a Royal Baby.

1. Create enough piping to accommodate all six tucks. Trim piping seam allowance to 1/4 inch (6 mm) (a DARR piping ruler is perfect for this task). Cut six 4-1/2-inch (11 cm) long strips of piping.

2. Fold along the first tuck line; press. Place the fold to the straight line and press the tuck all the way down.

Figure 1

3. Open the tuck and run a line of basting glue from the top edge to the marked dot. Position a piece of piping on the glue so that the stitching line of the piping is aligned to the straight line marked on the shirt. Begin at the marked dot and work upward; leave the excess piping extended at the top edge, which will be trimmed after stitching. For a clean end, cut the end of the piping piece at an angle and bend the raw end to the inside of the tuck so that the curved end touches the marked dot (fig. 1). Finger press to secure the glue to the piping.

Figure 2

4. Flip the shirt over the piping so that the right sides are together and the piping is sandwiched between the fold. Stitch the tuck line, catching the piping seam allowance inside; stop at the marked dot, securing the end of the tuck and the end of the piping at the same time. Skip a distance and start stitching on second mark and continue to the bottom of the front shirt (fig. 2). Repeat for all six tucks. When complete, trim off the piping strips even with top edge.

For more projects fit for your little prince or princess, be sure to check out Sewing for a Royal Baby. The book features 22 royal-inspired designs complete with patterns, smocking plates, step-by-step instructions, technique tutorials and much more! 

Sew On, Sew Well, Sew Beautiful,
Cyndi & Amelia

How to Fashion Topstitched Pleats

How to Fashion Topstitched Pleats

Amelia Johanson Elizabeth's Red Dress Sewing for a Royal Baby topstitched pleats

Elizabeth's Red Dress

“Elizabeth’s Red Dress” – one of the patterns in Sewing for a Royal Baby – was inspired by a charming dress we purchased in an antiques store. After carefully picking out the seams on the hand-constructed vintage garment, I (Amelia) worked up the pattern. I used Martha Pullen's silk/cotton Elegance to recapture the soft drape of the original garment’s silk fabric. The real beauty of this design, however, is in fashioning the pleats!

I didn't stitch down the fold from the backside to secure reverse box pleats on the slippery fabric; I wanted to avoid tying off and backstitching the thread (which can pucker, especially on silky fabrics). Instead I secured the folds with glue and worked a narrow line of topstitching down my desired length, over and back up. I chose a matching red thread, but if you’re confident in your topstitching, you could choose to do this in a contrast thread color for added design interest and add a touch of color behind.

Topstitched Pleats

NOTE: The complete pattern, supply list and instructions for making “Elizabeth’s Red Dress” are in Sewing for a Royal Baby.

What you’ll need:
• “Elizabeth’s Red Dress” (available in girls sizes 3 and 4 with the book) 
• Silky fabric (red silk/cotton Elegance shown from Martha Pullen Company) 
• Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue glue stick
• Sewing thread to match or contrast fabric
• Edge/joining foot for sewing machine
• Pilot Fixion iron-away pen or air-soluble marker
• Optional: 1/4-inch-wide silk satin ribbon in contrast color

How to fashion the pleats:
Using an iron-away marking pen, mark all tuck lines on front and back skirt pieces. Seam allowances are 5/8 inch for this pattern. NOTE: Marking lines will disappear when ironed; use air-erase marker if you want marks to linger while working the remaining steps.

Figure 1

1. Starting from one side of front skirt piece, fold in pleats as indicated on pattern and press (fig. 1). Fold back pleats, and lightly glue-baste just under area where pleats come together for about 4 inches. Fold pleats back to meet and press to set glue. NOTE: Always test the heat of your iron on specialty fabric before pressing the actual project.

Figure 2

2. Using an edge/joining foot and a right needle position of 1.8 (approximately 1/16 inch from pleat fold, stitch down right pleat for 4 inches, pivot, stitch across two stitches and stitch back up the left pleat while guide blade rides in between pleats (fig. 2).

3. Repeat for all pleats on front skirt and back skirt. Stay-stitch across tops of skirt to secure pleats. 

It’s as simple as that. When the glue washes out, the pleats will slightly open along the edge, but this adds a design element.

Sewing for a Royal Baby is available to purchase from the Martha Pullen Store. The book features 22 elegant, royal-inspired designs and includes patterns, smocking plates, step-by-step instructions, technique tutorials and much more! Read more about the book below and from all of us here at Sew Beautiful, Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Sew On, Sew Well, Sew Beautiful,
Cyndi and Amelia

Royal Sewing for Your Little Prince or Princess

Royal Sewing for Your Little Prince or Princess

Laurie Anderson Prince William's Suit Royal diamond chevron smocking Sewing for a Royal Baby smocked suit smocking smocking graph

Our version of Prince William's Suit!

It's a boy! What fun it is to celebrate the birth of Prince George Alexander Louis. We watched in delight last week as Prince William and Kate Middleton introduced their royal bundle of joy to the world on the steps of St. Mary's Hospital in London. Of course, our thoughts immediately went to all the stitched finery little George will soon wear. 

As a child, Prince William was frequently photographed wearing English smocking. While watching William, Kate and George leaving St. Mary's last week, we were reminded of a photo that was taken of a young Prince William in 1984 on the same hospital steps. He had just visited the hospital to meet his new little brother Prince Harry for the first time, and he was wearing an adorable English smocked shirt with matching red shorts. 

Designer Laurie Anderson recreated William's precious suit for our new book, Sewing for a Royal Baby, and now seems like a fitting time to share the smocking graph with you! Check out the book for the complete guide to making Prince William's Suit, or smock the design on a garment of your choosing.

Royal diamond chevron smocking

Royal Diamond Chevron smocking graph
Design as shown was smocked with three strands of DMC #817 red six strand embroidery floss.

1. Pleat seven rows. Mark center pleat with a wash-away marking pen. Rows 1 and 7 are holding rows and will not be smocked. Block 102 pleats for each insert. (Refer to Royal Diamond Chevron smocking graph below.)

2. For the upper border, start at the center two pleats and cable across Row 1, beginning with an up cable. Invert your work and complete the other side of the cable row.

3. On Row 1 under the first down cable, work a three-cable combination starting with an up cable, step down to Row 1-1/2, and trellis stitch over just one pleat, down cable one. Step back up to Row 1 and over just one pleat beginning on the same pleat continue the pattern across the row. Smock carefully and remember to trellis up and down on the same pleat as the previous cable.

4. Start the bottom border at the center two pleats on Row 5 and work a mirror image of the upper border between Rows 5 and 5-1/2.

5. Between Rows 2 and 2-1/2 and Rows 3 and 3-1/2, work a half-step wave across the row, beginning with a down cable.

6. Mirror image a half-step wave between Rows 2-1/2 and 3 and 3-1/2 and 4.

Royal Diamond Chevron smocking graph

Be sure to check out Sewing for a Royal Baby for more royal sewing inspiration!

Sew On, Sew Well, Sew Beautiful,
Cyndi and Amelia