A Litttle This, A Little That...

I came home from work today to find this in the sewing room:




Although it might upset you to come home and find one of your windows missing, it made me deliriously happy. That's because in the not-so-recent past there was a TREE sticking through the window. So this is real progress, as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, the house repairs from Tornado Time continue. Right this minute there's a Brick Guy working on the foundation for the front porch. It's been six months and I don't even notice the hammering and pounding anymore. Either the contractor dudes are s-l-o-w, or we are paying them too much money.

Me? I'm just glad they're here. Eventually I'll have a real house again. In the meantime, I think I'll sew, smock, knit, and shop for more stuff to sew, smock, and knit.

Here's the completed right front of the Mandarin Cardigan:



It's not that blue in real life. Here's an artsy shot for you:



I've started on the left front and have about four inches done already.


And while I've been rummaging around I found this book of vintage baby knits from the 50s:





And lookee here!




I don't know where this came from, because I would NEVER start another knitting project when I have one underway already. But here's a close up anyway:




This is Dolce Amore, simply the absolutely softest cotton baby yarn in the world.

And it might, just might, end up as something on this page:




Any guesses?

And I also found all this gorgeous Swiss batiste, 1728 lace, ribbon, entredeux, insertion, etc:




There's white, ivory, seafoam, blue, pink.....

I need to get busy, don't I?

No High Heels For Her!

Could this be the next Heidi Klum practicing the runway walk?

Oh, looky, it's The Princess, and she's wearing Bubblegum!




I think she's getting the hang of it. Doesn't she look sassy in this Little Dress?



And take a look at this sashy little back, won't you:





This vintage pattern has another little detail that really adds to the finished look--the sash loops on the back:




Those little sash loops finish off just a little over one inch tall. Since the sash itself is four inches wide, those little loops control those gathers perfectly and also support the weight of the bow. That's the secret to a bow that won't sag down and look sad.

On The Hanger (front):




On The Hanger (back):




And on The Princess:

I'm loving it. And the spaghetti straps are the perfect length, too. They are the right length for tying into double loop bows on the shoulders. I couldn't get a picture of them tied for you that way, though. Like the other grandmother is wont to say, dressing this little darling is like trying to put clothes on an octupus.

I can already see another one of these in the near future, next time with the scallops! But right now, I'm off to cut out Woodstock.

Conversations With A Dress

Shhhhhh.......can you hear them?





Fade in.....

The Setting: Outside at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning
The Characters: Retro Grace and Bubblegum

Retro Grace: Good morning!
Bubblegum: (Yawns.) Oh. Hi. Where in the world am I?
Retro Grace: On the back porch.
Bubblegum: Oh. OK. Gee, why am I up so high?
Retro Grace: I think that plant over there needs some water. Check it out for me.
Bubblegum: Hmmm.....yes, it looks a little dry.
Retro Grace: Well, let's hope it gets rained on today.
Bubblegum: What???? Aren't you going to water it????
Retro Grace: Nope.
Bubblegum: Why on earth not????
Retro Grace: Time is running short, kid. Less than 48 hours to go.
Bubblegum: Oh, no! I forgot! You have to go back to wor-----
Retro Grace: That's enough out of you, smarty pants. I'm tired of warning you! Don't you say that word!
Bubblegum: Gee, you don't have to be so touchy............can I ask you a question?
Retro Grace: Sure thing. But go ahead. My coffee is getting cold on me.
Bubblegum: I like these cute little spaghetti straps.......but what if they're too long for The Princess?
Retro Grace: Don't worry. I have sharp scissors and nerves of steel.
Bubblegum: Ahem. (Clears throat.) Ahem.
Retro Grace: Are you choking, or what?
Bubblegum: AHEM.
Retro Grace: Out with it, kid. Time is wasting.
Bubblegum: AHEM. Don't you think I need A HEM???
Retro Grace: Well, I'll be darned. You sure do.
Bubblegum: And maybe some buttonholes, too, while you're at it?
Retro Grace: My, my, you're a pushy little thing, aren't you?

Retro Grace takes Bubblegum down and goes inside. Pours more coffee and climbs up the stairs....

Fade out.

Some Assembly Is Required

I've been to the sewing room! Meet Bubblegum, all cut up and ready to go:




I am using the vintage dress pattern Simplicity 1149 from the earlier post. Just check out the details on these little bodice pieces:





Tiny little darts for a perfect fit. And it's lined. And check out the scallops on this piece:



Why the Big Four don't reincorporate these little dressmaker details in their children's patterns anymore is beyond me. After studying those scallops and deciding that they were actually hand drawn, I put my mind to figuring out exactly how the deed was done. Here's my theory:




Works for me. And easy to duplicate at home, too. Just draw another line about 1/4 inch inside the existing seam line, put your spool on there, and draw the scallops, going around the spool until you hit the intersecting lines!

Any time I'm making something that has a critical corner, I like to mark the sewing line on the corner. Since I used fusible knit interfacing on the front and back bodices, I fused first and marked those corners second:









This is just one of those little things that seems to help me get good results the first time around.

One change I made was with the sash. The original directions have you cut the sash pieces and narrow hem the edges. As you can see in the next picture, there is a distinct difference between the right and wrong sides of this fabric.




So I listened when the Fabric Spoke To Me and said "if you cut me double, and sew me up with a 1/4" seam, no one will see my ugly side, and you won't have to use the Bad Language when you do the narrow hem thingee." So I did. See the sash?




And the cute little bodice with its little spaghetti straps?




Next up--the skirt!

The Hanger

You may have noticed that I take photos of all my projects On The Hanger.

What you don't know is that The Hanger always goes home with The Dress. Always. Without fail.


Now if I were a Hanger Gourmet, I would decorate The Hanger before sending it off to live in the Closet Full of Dresses. But I don't. I send it out naked. Why would I waste time dressing a hanger, when it's girls who crave the dresses? I'll leave the Hanger Dressing to someone else.

Here we have a totally naked hanger. It wants to go live in the Closet Full of Dresses, too.




It's been hanging out with this pile of dress fabric:





The Princess came to babysit me, and while she was here, the fabric Spoke To Her. She was checking the yardage on this one (those are her fat little legs in the picture, not mine):





And she thought this might make a nice spring frock, with a nice full skirt to cover her dainty little knees:




You can tell that The Sandman was also hanging around that afternoon, can't you?


She liked this one a lot. See how she's holding it up to check the color against her complexion?







It just so happens that this vintage pattern mysteriously appeared in the sewing room. It's Simplicity 1149, from the wonderful pattern makers of 1955:



Wouldn't this be nice for those sultry August afternoons? Here's the back:



I think the sash is a must-have, don't you agree? Not sure yet about the little jacket, though. It might conceal the total cuteness of the dress, I'm thinking.

Oh, well. Back to the dread income tax. I'm busily depreciating my assets, which is really strange if you think about it. Mother Nature is doing the exact same thing to me.

It's Not MY Fault

The other day I undertook the Road Trip to buy one skein of DMC 958 in order to finish up Baby Love. Here it is:





Yet, when my SweetHeart came home from work, he had to jump over this to get in the back door:





His immediate question was:

Did you buy all that?

Well, no, darling, I didn't.

You didn't?

No, sugar, I didn't.

Well, then, how'd you get it?

It was a Door Prize.

A Door Prize?

Yes, honey, a Door Prize.

Well, then, how did you win it?

It was easy. I went in there with a checkbook, and on my way out of there, they gave me a Door Prize!




Four bags of pure joy! I'm blaming this one on Wal-Mart.

Now don't you think something in that pile will be cute with this pattern, from 1955?

Scalloped pockets! Scalloped bodice! Scallops on the little cover-up! Be still my heart!

I'm in love!

I hope to be back later today with final photos of Baby Love. Sewing on buttons and it's done!

A Piggy Pocket

Here's a darling little oldie from way back when. The only reason I haven't made it yet is that I don't have a Princess in this size. But I will, I will..... In fact, I am really tempted to just go ahead and do it and let it hang around here (while I admire it) until it does fit someone.

Try as I might, I can't find a copyright date on it. It's McCalls 1819 with an original price of 45 cents:



The Pocket! The Pocket!

It's a pig! With little coin buttons sewn on above it, like a Piggy Bank!

Here's the back:



I'll say right off that what caught my eye originally was the flutter sleeves with the contrast trim. Then, of course, the pleated panel in the front--a nice change up from fullness provided from gathering. And then The Pocket!

From the back you can see that the front of the dress is actually several sections--two bodice side pieces, two skirt pieces, with a separate front panel (the pleated one) that runs down the center front. An easy way to construct, with no inset seaming required.

Other things of interest are on the instruction sheet. For one, it looks like it was typed on a good old-fashioned typewriter. I just love that. Oh, those bygone days.....

For two, it has directions and diagrams for hand worked buttonholes.

For three, it has one entire section entitled Fitting Chubby Girls, with directions for widening the waist, the sleeves, and the sleeve bands.

No way would a pattern company today dare insult us with such! Even though many of us would find these directions very helpful in making properly fitting clothes for our little ones, many folks would get in a big huff at this "labeling" of their child. As a result, many people lack the skills to adjust patterns, become frustrated, and give up sewing.

And I think that's a shame.

Twirly Girls

We had a birthday party Sunday evening for the youngest Random Teenager, and the gang was all here. What did we do besides eat, eat, eat, and eat? We tried on dresses, of course.

Here's Limeade, getting the final fitting on the shoulder straps:



Look at that smile! And the back:



The full skirt was a big hit, too. Little sister went shopping in the fabric pile and picked out fabric for her own version, TBA.........

Here's Cornfield. This young lady is practicing curtseys for the Queen:



And she's making sure it will be comfortable on the trampoline, too, in this practice jump:



And Golden Tulip went home, amid high hopes the weather will warm up so it can go to school this week:



She likes the pockets almost as much as I do:



And here it is again, in mid-twirl:



Baby Love Update

YES, I took it all apart.

YES, I pressed all the pleats out of it.

YES, it took a tremendous amount of steam to do so.

YES, I had to trim a bit off the side seam (yall remember, when I was wearing the dunce hat I mistakenly smocked that side).

YES, I have smocked one of the fronts.

NO, I haven't smocked the other front.

And NO, Wal-Mart doesn't carry embroidery thread any more.

And YES, I have to drive 45 MILES to get embroidery thread to finish smocking the front.

I may never go to Wal-Mart again. Am I the only one who feels this way about it?

Long Time No See

Gee, it's been a long weekend! It was Prom for us this past weekend, which entailed decorating on Friday after school and late into the evening, doing more of the same all day on Saturday, changing clothes to go back and chaperone, and then staying late into the night after the dance to take all the decorations down and pack them away for another year. Just typing about it makes me tired.

But it's worth every second. The young ladies in their beautiful dresses, like a mass of spring flowers in full bloom. Gorgeous. And yall know how I feel about pretty dresses! I look forward to it every year.

This year I sat with a friend and co-worker who also sews, and we spent quite some time discussing the different dresses. She had altered quite a few of them for the girls. Brave soul, she is...hemming chiffon layers and beaded fabrics is difficult and time consuming work. We had fun.

By late Sunday afternoon I had recovered enough strength to work on Little Miss Sunshine:




I'm getting close to finishing the smocking on this one. And I decided to use two shades of blue for the main panel of smocking, instead of just dark blue. I like the effect--click on it for a larger picture. I also have an idea for a different sleeve treatment on this one, but I need to give it a little more thought.....

And this came in the mail. It's a size 1, perfect for The Princess. I think I have the perfect piece of fabric for this one around here somewhere (or more likely, I have about 6 perfect pieces of fabric).



Here's the back:




Since our summers are so hot here, I like the little blue pinafore. It would make a cute little sundress, I think.

And even though I haven't done much actual sewing/smocking, I have had a couple of ideas percolating around in my head. For the upcoming idea I'm giving you fair warning that I CANNOT DRAW AT ALL. Here's evidence to that fact:





The sketch (gee, I'm embarassed to even refer to this thing as a sketch) on the left represents a pair of outgrown blue jeans that have been staring at me for a while. They do not want to go to the Salvation Army. At all. And since the Salvation Army store we had here is now scattered over 38 squares miles on the north side of town, they can't. So they have no Spoken To Me.

They want to be converted into a sundress for a young lady. Due to their size, they would best work in a size 8 to 12, I think. On the right side is my idea. I could use the front for a bodice piece, hopefully incorporating the pocket detail. I could use the legs for the back bodice and straps. And as I was finishing this masterpiece up, they Spoke Further and insisted that the back pockets be reused as front pockets. I shaded in the parts that would be denim.

What do you think? Has anyone done this before?