Betsye Gray

 My client wanted a sundress for her daughter's portrait sitting.  She sent me this pale blue linen and asked that it be smocked with white and have black centers for the flowers.  At first I was alarmed.  Black centers?  On a little girl's dress?  But then my client showed me a picture of her own blouse she'd be wearing in the portrait.  It was made of black lace. 
  

Edgestitching the neckline

I came up with this smocking design.  It's quiet elegance kept me thinking of my great-great-great grandmother, Elizabeth "Betsye"  Gray, who is a bit of an enigma to us genealogists in the family.  
   

The dress is collar-less, with a big sash to tie in back.  I made two tucks at the hem, incorporating the hem into the bottom tuck.   I'll discuss how that was done in a future entry.

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