We're finally having some Christmassy weather today.  It has been dry, blue and clear for several weeks now.  Which has been great for my husband who is relandscaping the backyard after we had our three beautiful birch trees removed last summer.  They were threatening to consume the house, and were, yes, a fire harzard.  Sad though.  On the flip side, they dropped something on the patio and whatever was out there, throughout the year.  Even sticky stuff from a pest that eats the leaves.  And, that was the worst of all.  

But, it is raining today and a fire's been warming the house in the fireplace since last night.  We so need the rain, but to me, its a gift that keeps giving.  And, maybe there will be snow in the Sierras to go cross country skiing in this week!  If there's enough snow around 5000 ft., we'll go.

And, Peggy Sue's Christmas wish came true early.

I knew I wanted to make her a coat.  I would love to make her some snow play clothing, too, but this will have to wait until after the New Year.  Alice Leverette did not give us a pattern for a jacket or coat, much less a bonnet to go with them, so I put this off as long as I could.  Am I getting lazy in designing patterns?  Maybe a little.  Only because I have two other projects on the table and have been caring for a puppy that just had major surgery when a piece of rubber got stuck in his small intestine.  Good grief.  What next? 

And, I've been decorating the house in bits and pieces.  The main decorations, which were minimal this year, have been added to slowly as the spirit and inspiration hit me.  Maybe this is okay.  A little Christmas every day.  Its feeling very Christmassy and cheery around here now, and dolls have been getting redressed for the holiday as well.  Even little trees for the dolls are getting decorated, both pine and tinsel.

When I was browsing for coat ideas for Peggy Sue, I spotted this darling retro Christmas card, and the decision had been made there and then, that I would do something like this for her.

The swing coat in the illustration shows a peep of a star print dress beneath it.  I thought I might make a dress like this to go with it, but I'd already made a similar one that was the backdrop for the half apron with the white Merry Christmas embroidery on it.  If I spent less time making up the Winter Holiday wardrobe, the coat and bonnet made up for it in effort.  Velveteen is such a beautiful fabric, but it is such a bear to sew on.

So I put to the task of making up a pattern for a swing coat and bonnet to fit Peggy Sue.  If you think this looks familiar, you're correct!  Skipper got something similar in the early 1960's.  In fact, my Barbie Dream House is decorated for Christmas now, and Skipper has joined Barbie and Ken to watch them decorate with lights.  What Skipper's coat did not have was chunky red buttons and a bonnet lined in silk.  I don't think the fashions really began to change so much until the mid 1960's.  Full skirts and dresses were still the fashion and I remember my mother swishing around the house in them.  Even June Clever was seen dressed to the nines when ironing and cooking!  But, I digress as usual...

I chose the thinnest cotton velveteen in a bright red for the coat.  This fabric came from the U.K.  I don't know if you've tried purchasing expensive cotton velveteen before, but it can be a variety of thicknesses and only the thinnest works for small dolls.  The coat has then been lined in a fabric called Duchess Silk Satin.  Its thick and luxurious and seemed appropriate for the coat and bonnet.

I was a little hesitant to try attaching a bodice to the circle skirt of the coat, but then I realized how many times I've done something similar with hats and hat bands, and other garments.  Fabric does allow itself to be manipulated.  You just need a good degree of patience.  If I haven't mentioned this in awhile, I'll do so again as a tip to sewing velveteen and lining it as well.  Alternate the direction of your long silk pins when pinning the pieces together.  Its keeps the fabrics from pushing against each other in the feed dog and separating.  I did get a walking foot, but have yet to try using it because I have to read directions and try something new, and we all know how I am with directions.  Hopeless.

But through this all, I managed to make Peggy Sue a fancy and luxurious Christmas coat and bonnet set.  I had to use fine silk ribbon for the ties on the hat because I couldn't find the silk satin ribbon in my stash.  At this time of year, arrivals of orders have slowed down to a near stand still.  I can always redo the ties later, but the thin silk tucks nicely under the pointed collar. 

This, for now, concludes my sewing for the young lady.  I have countless items I've made for her since summer and enjoyed making every single one of them.  And, now I must somehow make them all fit in the aqua display case I bought her several months ago.  

Peggy Sue is packed and ready to travel with her family to her grandparent's home in the country for the holidays.  There will be skating on the pond, a sledge pulled by grandfather's large work horses to ride on, grandmother's wonderful candied ham for Christmas dinner, and best of all, loads of presents under the tree.

I hope you'll enjoy some of the 1950's ephemera shown below.  The first image the bonnet that inspired Peggy Sue's.

Wishing you the best of the season while Christmas approaches!

Melissa

My parents did this!

New image, but so pretty!

 

Gingerbread, Gumdrops and Pear Trees

The holidays are upon us.  The Christmas season is here!  Who's feeling merry and bright today?  No?  Well, maybe these images and story to go with them, will brighten your day!

Its no great secret that I'm a huge fan of Rachel Hoffman's Virtual Doll Convention, and Diana Vining's paper doll illustrations  Today we're in the midst of Rachel's long anticipated Christmas Pageant, and so far it has been wonderful.  And, I'll happily admit that it, alone, is my Christmas party this year.  The one celebration I'm attending, if only virtually, but what a sparkling event!

I get to share the season with people from all over the world, and they've generously shared their childhood stories, photos from Christmases past, and the first dolls they got under the tree  a merry Christmas morning many moons ago.  I, in turn, have been able to share with them, some of costuming I've made these past years, especially for Daisy and the Three L's.

One of the most delightful things to come of the Christmas Pageant, was Diana Vining's interpretation of the Twelve Days of Christmas in paper doll form for Grace Marie Fitzpatrick, the 16" Tonner fashion doll

When I first learned of this, I was a bit disappointed.  I knew Tonner was making a blue eyed Grace called Aspen Grace, and I envisioned Diana doing a paper doll of ski time in Aspen, Colorado for the doll.  Ski outfits, apres ski outfits, party outfits to wear in glorious ski lodges.  You get the picture.  A winter wardrobe I could interpret into costuming for my doll.  Instead, she created an adorable version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, dressing Grace in creatively imaginative costumes whose only theme was the twelve days.  The paper dolls were free to those who registered for the event.  Each day for twelve days leading to the Christmas Pageant, we received one of the paper doll outfits, in consecutive order.  Every morning a surprise would await us in our email!  And, there would be other downloads and stories and videos to be enjoyed as well.

The first paper doll page was of Grace, herself, in a red Christmas onsie, and the second was a gown for Partridge in a Pear tree.  The following outfits would be as lovely as they were entertaining.  It would be wrong of me to share them with you since the proceeds from registration are going to Rachel's mother's favorite charities.  Rachel's mother passed away last spring, and the Christmas Pageant was a memorial for Diane Hoffman, who loved Christmas.

As the paper doll pages continued to arrive, I'd print them out and put them in my VDC scrapbook binder, which, since summer, is bursting with fabulous memories.  I was working on Peggy Sue's Winter Holiday fashions, and well, you know the rest.  I really wasn't sure I'd be doing any of the Twelve days costumes, but as time approached closer to the Pageant, I caved.  I'd just finished a little item I sent to Rachel as a drawing prize, which I'll talk about next, when it struck me that I simply had to do one of them.

Of the Twelve Days outfits, the Partridge in a Pear Tree is the beginning and most memorable of images of the story.  After all, it is repeated the most in the song!  I had but five days to get my act together, and began drafting a pattern for the gown.  I knew I had some emerald green cotton velveteen - so awful to sew on! - and plenty of green silk to line it with.  I was designing the gown in my head as I plowed through my bag of special beads, and pulling out fifty tons of fabrics to get to the velvets in the back.

I thought I had tear drop crystals, but I didn't.  So I spent half a day contacting Etsy sellers to find the one closest to me, the one who would ship a tiny bag of Swarovski crystal beads to me, Priority, for the correct shipping price, and one that would answer my questions right away.  In short, I received the shipment in three days and the seller gifted me two extra 11mm S. crystal beads for the joy of giving. SunshineJazzyJewels is wonderful to work with.  Tell her I sent you!

So I began sewing this column of green velvet lined in silk, in the six panel fitted dress style with a swish to the bottom.  I wasn't sure it was going to work, but sometimes you just have to go for it.  It turned out to be a great canvas on which to embellish.  

The gown's hemline boasts 34, 11mm crystal tear drops, embroidery of three leaves each above the crystal, and three crystal seed beads, one to top each embroidered leaf.  I felt like I was making a gown for a medieval princess.  The boughs of the tree at the shoulder, one large, one small, are made of the same silk of the lining.  The trunk of the tree is a bit of brown moleskin I had left over from my very first Daisy outfit, the indian costume.  Ten more crystal tear drops embellish the boughs with more embroidered leaves and seed beads.  It was on December 3rd that I got up at 7am, and worked five straight hours finishing all the embellishments.  But, I finished.  Just in time for Grace to have something to wear to the Christmas Pageant.

I don't think I've ever worked so quickly!

And, as I mentioned a bit ago, I'd made a drawing gift for Rachel to help boost her sales on the first night.  Putting on an extravaganza such as this costs money.  I hope it worked.

One of the things she was doing to decorate her shop, was building a life size gingerbread house.  When I saw what she was doing, I started getting "gingerbread" under my skin.  All I could think about and look up online were fabulously constructed and decorated gingerbread houses.

Then I came upon a fabulous handbag of one by Mary Frances (company?).  It was adorable!  And, I just had to make one in miniature for Grace.  I knew from the minute I started it that it would have to be given to Rachel so she could use it somehow in the Christmas Pageant.  

Prior to this however, I'd been on Pinterest, saving off and printing out little paper fold up gingerbread houses for Peggy Sue.  I think the practice of doing this helped steer me in the direction of making a pattern to create the handbag from.

Once again I was pulling out my bag of best beads and bags and bags of laces to use for frosting, and thinking and designing as I forged ahead.  Small colored Swarovski crystal beads would make marvelous little gumdrops, and cotton Venise or Cluny lace would be beautiful for decorative frosting.  

The handbag is made the same way I've done regular purses, with a cardboard base covered in cloth.  The canvas of the handbag is brown cotton velveteen.  It is lined with a slightly lighter brown silk. The base is white cotton velveteen for snow.  

The candy canes are white painted toothpicks rolled, or striped!, with 2mm red silk ribbon.  The door is covered in green silk, and the heart on the front is once again, a Swarovski crystal.  I depleted our local Michael's store of their pastel colored S' beads.  They don't carry a huge stock, and what they had was under lock and key.  I use Swarovski faceted beads for their beauty and sparkle.  There just isn't a prettier crystal bead out there.

The lace I finally settled on, which took me two days to decide upon, had to be cut into little pieces.  Snips of this section, snips of that section.  I love working in miniature.  I don't do it very often, but its a riot!  That's why I have so much "crap", as my husband calls it.  I never throw out something tiny that reminds me of something else.  In a bag it goes, and gets stored away somewhere.

The shrubbery is made from blue glass cylinder beads.  I didn't have green, and didn't have time to look, but I did have blue and they worked out just fine.

The handbag opens as a flap from the top, and two tiny round magnets are hidden inside at the edges to close the bag.  

The handle was fun.  Its leather with white leather frosting on top.  Why on earth did I give this away?!  Well, because it had to be done.  I can make another.  Will I?  Maybe, but it would have to be different.  There is no fun in doing the same thing twice.  I've seen a pink frosted gingerbread house that would make a darling handbag.

I had to laugh that Rachel almost seemed to forget to introduce it at the end of her Grace promo for the sales room the opening night of the fourth.  Poor girl.  So much going on.  She really didn't talk about the details, which is okay, but I watched as she hung it on a doll's wrist and began waving her arms around talking about the costume the doll was wearing.  That little bag seemed in jeopardy of flying away!  I held my breath until that part was over. Bless that wonderful woman.  I'm sure she knows by now what an A-Type I am.  One fussy artist too many to deal with.  I can't wait to learn who wins the handbag.  I hope it brings them joy.

Well, I have Christmas cards to write, packages to wrap, and the Christmas Pageant to get back to.  Thank goodness you can view the presentations after the fact.  I've already shopped the virtual sales floor and really need to rein it in.  I'm such a passionate collector!

I hope you'll enjoy the images below that Diana Vining drew, some fabulous gingerbread houses, and images from treasured books of The Twelve Days of Christmas.  I'll be back.  Peggy Sue needs her final Christmas Day dress.

In joy, and sending you the same,

Melissa

I bought this as a treat just to hang on the wall!

Angel Dominguez's Three French Hens

Just ordered a used copy of Angel Dominguez's version from the U.K.

A Radko Tree - Wish it were mine!

Franklin Mint Rockette holding bag.

 

Peggy Sue's Winter Holiday Fashions

I don't know where to begin.  This past month has been very rough on me.  How can I proceed without sharing why I haven't posted in so long?  This year has been difficult on all of us.  Obviously for many of us, life has rolled out normally, but for others, the extra tribulations, the experiences that test one's endurance, have been...challenging?...exhausting?  Even tragically saddening.

On November 11th, I lost my beautiful and beloved dog, Orion, to an aggressive cancer that he was diagnosed with last May.  One and half weeks later, my year and half old Lab, had major surgery due to a piece of rubber toy stuck in his small intestine.  Good grief.  And, I'd just cleared the counters of vet medicines, too.  But, through it all, I've continued to sew and work in my studio.  Just with lapses of time and concentration.  

Still, I have to tell you that I don't stay down long.  There's so much to enjoy and look forward to.  Like the holidays.

So when Peggy Sue's Halloween costume had been gently folded into a cute box by FenderskirtsVintage on Etsy (do check them out!), I began her winter holiday fashions.  I'd been wanting to do a swing dress for her, which was so 1950's.  

I began looking up party dresses on Pinterest for girls in the 50's and became a bit dismayed.  Take for example, this advertisement for "Christmas is Party Time".  Do you see anything that remotely whispers Christmas to you?  No.  Me neither.  And, because I like to create authentically, I was stumped.  These didn't look much different from outfits I'd already created.  So I tapped my history source, Jean Nordquist, who happened to be a teen during this time.  She reminded me that most people couldn't afford a party dress for just one special occasion, so dresses were purchased or made that would suit any occasion.  The idea of the Little Black Dress.  Still, I fussed and scratched my head because Christmas to me is red-green-white, Santa Claus, and reindeer, and, well, Christmas tree colors.

Riley Blake had put out these retro Christmas fabrics, and they weren't so Christmassy either.  And, if they were, no girl in the 1950's would be caught dead in a dress made out of them.  So I picked the fabric called Cozy Christmas and started designing.  So many dresses from the 50's were made up with the six panels used for swing dresses.  If you recall, I'd just made Grace Marie Fitzpatrick some dresses with this paneling, and decided to see if the pattern could be adjusted to fit Peggy Sue.  It worked.  Perfectly.

I'm not even sure I had to add width at the sides, but I did use them as a proper sloper and cropped the tops, and cut off much of the length.  Some of these dresses were made as Peggy Sue's, as an empire dress.  You have the high waisted skirt, and you attach an empire bodice to it.

The fabric was perfect for this and appears both fancy and wonderfully retro.

I did have to make the bolero from scratch though.  The bolero was designed without shoulder seams and I guess my longest effort was making sure there was enough sleeve on the pattern to work.  At the bottom of this posting are three images that I worked from for the outfits in this set.  I considered making Peggy Sue a pair of white gloves, but I simply was not feeling it.  Her fingers are spread apart and she'd either end up with funny looking mittens, or I'd be in for the long haul, hand stitching fingered gloves from jersey that would probably fall apart the minute I put a needle in it.

I did hand sew the binding however, so I did put some concerted effort into this happy dress.  Four little pink MOP buttons encased in brass are sewn down the front of the bolero, and Peggy Sue can remove it when she hits the dance floor.  

I included a hair band with a bow attached in the fabric of the bolero.  This dress will go from the diner, to shopping, to a Christmas tree trimming party.

Remember the television show, Laverne and Shirley?  Laverne always wore a blouse or sweater that was monogrammed with a large "L".  Monogrammed clothing was fun and fashionable in the 1950's and Peggy Sue needed a sweater for cooler weather.  

I just happened to be looking on Ebay one night for sweaters for Little Darlings, when I came upon a Russian knitter that lives in California.  I asked her if she ever took commission work, and when she told me she did, I asked her to make two sweaters for me.  One in light pink and one in white.  I sent her images of the sweaters I liked, and she did her best to make a couple of them up.  She did put out the effort to embroider a "P" on the pink one for me, but it was too large.  So I carefully pulled out the threads and did a smaller one myself.  Below is the example I sent to her, and used myself.

One of Alice Leverette's patterns was for a circle skirt, and another for a beret.  I envisioned a very Frenchy looking outfit that Peggy Sue could walk her poodle in, go to the library in, or simply be fashionable in for any after school activities.  

I chose this burgundy and purple plaid and hoped it would work.  I did not add a waistband to it.  The skirts I looked up, including ones for Cissy, all had elastic bands for waists, and I stay away from elastic at all costs, because it doesn't stand the test of time.  So I lined the skirt in silk.  I remember I had a heck of a time figuring out how to do this and turn it inside out as I do with most things I fully line.  I finally decided to simply hand hem at the waistline with a ladder stitch.  However you get there...if you achieve the results you want, go for it.

Obviously the top, the sweater, was already made and my effort in this was the monogram and making the button holes smaller for the smaller buttons I exchanged out.  Why people do not consider "scale" will nag at me forever.

And, the beret.  I have to laugh because Alice's pattern made a cookie on top of Peggy Sue's head.  So I had to enlarge that to make it work.  I felt a little guilty at not putting out more effort for this one, but I did put enough into it.  I like it.  Classic!

This third little dress was all about aprons.  Girls wore aprons and pinafores to keep their skirts tidy, but they were also a fashion statement.  You will always see a properly dressed woman in the kitchen (her place in the 1950's), in a pretty white apron.  It is never soiled either.  You'll have to click on the photo to enlarge it to see the embroidery in the apron, but the white on white is of little houses with the words "Merry Christmas" embroidered in.  I found these lovely trims at Farmhouse Fabrics and knew they'd make up darling aprons. 

The "new" item in this dress, is the sweetheart neckline.  It was very difficult to make it look "sweetheart" and I think I may have made the look disappear with the red bow beneath the point, but it was just too plain without embellishment.

One of the reasons this and next dress are so simple in design, is that the aprons are the focus.  They are the "bodice" that often takes all the attention.

This retro fabric print by Riley Blake is called A Festive Collection - Wish.  I purchased many examples like this back in September, and looking on Etsy today, all the prints are for Valentine's Day!  I have to remember that people will buy to start something now, to have by the next event.  

There would be no belt or pockets on this dress considering the apron, so I added the red bow mentioned earlier, then tiny red bows on the cuffs of the sleeves.  She is wearing the red bow clip in her hair that I'd made earlier for one of the fall dresses.  

Peggy Sue spent the afternoon wrapping Christmas gifts, and this one is in  retro print that matches her dress very nicely.  Peggy Sue will write Christmas cards in this outfit and help mother hang the festive swags, and write invitations to the annual Christmas party. 

The last outfit is a true little Christmas confection.  This one I'm calling Baking Cookies.  Earlier when I'd been pulling images of dresses off Pinterest for ideas, I ran across this green dress with rick rack and a red hat that reminded me of Gigi.  I have to tell you though, that I really don't like rick rack.  Its not that I don't think its fun on dresses, but its not my favorite trim.

However, I did like the dress for a longer sleeved winter dress.  The image is below for reference.  I chose a forest green with little black x's on it for the print.  This doesn't mean one thing or another, it was simply a retro print with the right color I had in mind.  I added a pointed collar and white cuffs as shown in the illustration of the original "Gigi" pattern below.  I also struggled with the simplicity of the dress, but understood that the pinafore would be the focal point and the dress was just the landscape of the painting.

Along with the white embroidered lace trim I used for the apron, I found this Christmas tree lace at Farmhouse Fabrics.  And, it had a corresponding insertion lace to go with it.  This would be a fancy pinafore that Peggy Sue could dress up any frock with for the holidays.

It took me five days to figure this out the design of this pinafore and make it.  This was when Brighton wasn't eating and finally went in for emergency surgery.  I just shake my head.  Now its not like I haven't made pinafores before, but my mind was on other things.  What I did finally figure out, as a good way to do pinafores like this in the future, is to sew a finished belt (that is also the waistband), the upper bib, and skirt together.  People probably do this all the time, but it was the first tine I tried it and the result was refreshing and tidy.  

Peggy Sue holds a copy of a Family Circle from the 1950's that she found cookie recipes in.  

I may be making one more party dress for Peggy Sue, as I bought her a Christmas tree that needs to be trimmed with mini ornaments I have on order.  These fashions are for pre-Christmas activities, and out of necessity, the dresses can be worn on other occasions.  After the holidays, I want to make her some real winter things, like a coat, and snow play outfit.  I think you'll enjoy the cover of a 1950's issue of Story Parade.  I'd never heard of this magazine before, but loved the cover and the magazine is full of stories only, for children.   

Enjoy the last days of November.  The Christmas season is upon us and I have a tree to trim in the living room today.  And, and very stitched up dog to cuddle.  

Love and good cheer,

Melissa