Judith Marquis Autumn Leaves nightgown

Here's me, very happy about completing a project that I started before leaving New York and then proceeded to shamefully neglect for months!!

It's the pattern "Autumn Leaves" by Judith Marquis, which includes several variations, a robe version and instructions for heirloom-style embellishment.  I chose to not do anything beyond the smocking, because it is made out of....

4 yards of Kaufman Radiance Cotton/Silk!!!

For anyone who has worked with that fabric, my use of exclamation points will be self-explanatory. It is SO soft and lovely.  Actually, that made it a big pain to pleat, but it is gorgeous to wear.  I constructed it back in New York on my sewing machine, with french seams and all the smocking in place.  Then when I came out here I completed the smocking.  This weekend.  After six months. During a season where I have no need for a full-length cozy nightgown.

More pics!

It's pure white, so the silk gives it that lovely almost iridescent bluish tint.

Smocking closeup - it's not my best work.  It was really difficult to get the slippery fabric through the pleater. The ugliness at the edges comes from the fact that I constructed before smocking instead of smocking past the seam edge and sewing over it.

Pockets and a little bit of lace on the hip.  I also had lace on the ends of the sleeves, but decided that was too much frou-frou and just simply cut it off.  It's pretty wrinkled since I already wore it once!

Fun shot taken by my daughter - she kept snapping away and here I'm laughing at her and telling her to stop. Hands in pockets, though!