Friday, June 27, 2014

Some Sewing Projects



Following are a few of the sewing projects I've been working on over the last few months!

Toddler dress in blue roses

An Easter dress for one sister

And a Leisl Play Dress for another sister

Inspired by...

this one.

Also (back in March), our entire family was privileged to attend a period dress ball! It was English Country dancing (like in the Austen films) and very fun. I made a couple dresses for it beforehand: a Regency dress for myself and this Molly-inspired jumper for my mother. It was the first project I've ever done to have pleats in the front and gathers in the back. :-)





See the pleats and gathers?

 And my dress (which was actually extremely comfortable)!




And finally, last (but not least) my tiered Western Wildflowers skirt...



20 comments:

  1. WELL DONE, Heidi! You are a talented seamstress! I especially love the Liesl dress, but I think all of them are very well made! I love your bun in the picture too. :-)
    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Naomi--
      Thank you, my dear! ;-) I'm so glad you liked the Leisl dress and everything else... And you're welcome!

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  2. How lovely!! I wish I could sew like that! I've only ever made one dress - well, actually, I've made one and a half! :-p Oh, a ball! How wonderful! My family and I attend a Civil War Ball in the fall every year that we all really enjoy, but I must say that I would really like to attend an period dress ball - well, now that I think about it we did! It was an American History Ball a few years back and I went as a 1950's house-wife (my memory isn't the best...as you can tell). Still, the one you attended sounded wonderfully lovely.

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    1. Sarah, thank you!! And "one and a half dresses..." I was laughing with you about that. I have a number of half projects in my bin (that each ran into some issue along the way) and that I'm not sure I even want to see again...but maybe someday the inspiration will overcome me--or I'll give them to a creative sister to make up something amazing. :-) The American History Ball sounds like it must have been fun! I love seeing old house dresses! Did you make yours then?

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  3. Really pretty dresses, you are very talented to have made them yourself.
    And you got to go to a period ball? You are so lucky, wish I could do that too!

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    1. Thank you! I'm so glad you liked them! And yes, the ball was a lot of fun. Thank you so much for commenting! :-)

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  4. Amazing! I just finished making a nightgown for my 4-year-old. It took me MONTHS. I am in awe of your speed and skill!

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    1. Thank you! And congratulations on the nightgown!! :-) As a side note, I think picking out the fabric for nightgowns can be a lot of fun. You can enjoy and be expressive with a color/print you really like...but might not ordinarily wear. :-)

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    2. Fabric shopping with little kids is fun, because you never know what will catch their eye! In this case, it was a little predictable: Minnie Mouse. But I've made some little skirts out of fabric I wouldn't have chosen myself, but that turned out really cute.

      I like your tiered skirt! I have fabric that I'd like to use for a similar skirt, only I have three different prints, all blue-and-white and all involving flowers. I was hoping to get it made this spring, but it didn't happen. Maybe later this summer still!

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    3. Exactly! :-) And oh, the blue-and-white floral skirt sounds lovely. I love the freshness of blue and white paired together. (That's how I'm decorating my room at the moment. :-)) But your skirt...is it the tiered, swing-y peasant-style one you mentioned a while ago? I'd love to see a picture of it when you're finished with it!! :-)

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    4. Yes, exactly that skirt. You're inspiring me -- after breakfast, I might pull it all out and start on it! This is my last week before we start doing schoolwork again, so this would be a perfect time to work on it.

      BTW, I love the print for that "Molly" dress you made for your mom!

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    5. I got your picture (and hope to reply soon), but just to tell you--the prints are gorgeous!! I really like the vine one at the top. I'm so glad I was able to help provide inspiration! ;-)

      And thank you! We actually got it at a sale and then I recently found it at Walmart as well. It's a very nice weight weave, though and I think has a real 1830's-ish vintage-y feel. :-)

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    6. I realized when I got my fabric out that my vine print is a lot like the one you used, only in blue and white instead. And I think I got that one at Walmart, so that would make sense!

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  5. How beautiful!! I really like the lace you put on the Molly gown. So pretty!
    And I love your dress-especially the color! :)

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    1. Thank you, Natalie! I'm so glad you liked them! :-) And yes, that lace was fun. I found it on Amazon. Buying online can be an adventure (especially with time constraints) so when it came I was glad to see how well it ended up working out! And I'm so glad you like the blue... Up close the print is kind of a medley of bluebell-ish type flowers. :-)

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    2. Yes, it certainly did come out well!
      I have a question-did you also make the dress in the first picture? The one that says "Dress Parade 2014"? If so, I love it! I've always loved civil war era hoop-skirt dresses! I really hope I can make myself one sometime. Do you have a hoop-skirt? AKA crinoline? :)

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    3. Yes, I did (a number of years ago)! And thank you! It's one of my favorites, too. :-) The print is an authentic 1800's reprint--teal-ish blue branches on a navy background. And (I don't know if it shows up in the picture), but I put three strips of satin ribbon around the skirt above the hem--so that feels very hoop-skirt-ish. :-) I do have a full 'wedding-dress' type petticoat I've worn with it, but earlier this year a friend loaned us a hoop-skirt to try out (and the grass was just greening up) so we had a fun photo shoot. :-)

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  6. Wow, an authentic 1800's reprint? Where did you get that?
    Oh yes, that must have been so much fun! Photo shoots are fun, but with a hoop-skirt? That must be even more fun! :)

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    1. Yes, it's definitely one of my favorites! We got the fabric online quite a number of years ago and (I do apologize), but I really can't remember exactly where. If I ever run across it, though, I'll let you know. And yes, the photo shoot was a lot of fun! The hoop-skirt was most delightfully swing-y and it was such fun to genuinely "pick up your skirts" when moving from one place to another. :-)

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I'd love to hear your thoughts and look forward to further confabulation. Please just be courteous to one and all. Oh, and I love thoughts on old posts, so comment away!

(Also of late -- what with time being finite, and Life Happening + managing multiple blogs and computer issues and all that -- I sometimes have to alternate between creating new content and replying to comments, but rest assured I'm thrilled to hear from each and every one of you and always hope to reply thoughtfully in full ASAP. <3)

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