I’m not finished with the Regency dress I told you I’d be making, but Elizabeth talked me into doing a sneak preview of it. Today was the first day I was really back to sewing since visiting my sister last week. It felt good to be in there doing what I love…creating pretty doll dresses for your dolls! I got the dress mostly constructed, but still have to sew on snaps in the back, hem it, make a headpiece, and then do all the decorating on it… there will still be plenty of surprises when you see it next. I hope you like it so far…
Isn’t that lace beautiful?
GUESS WHAT I GOT OUT????
That’s right… my big tub of my smaller Christmas prints. A few are medium sized, but these are mostly my small scale cotton prints. They will be the ones I choose Patsy’s dress fabric from.
So I narrowed it down to a few choices…
Actually, as I look at my pictures, the green and black holly print in the background can be in the choosing too… It sort of picks up the greenish blue of her eyes…I’ll take a picture of it with the others…
If you’d like to vote for the fabric you think would make the sweetest Christmas fabric for Patsy’s dress… just let me know in the comments or by email… Let’s call them Red Holly, Blue snowflake, Green & Black Holly or Red plaid…
I’ll be waiting to see if your guess is the same one I’m thinking of…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, I vote for the red plaid! Maybe with a black velvet beret and white stockings…..oh wait, this is your outfit to design. Ok, I vote for red plaid! ;o)
Thanks for your comments Connie,
I like your suggestions for the red plaid with a black velvet beret… that would be adorable.
Blessings, Jeanne
I like the black and red/green holly pint…little paten Mary Janes, and some pretty lace! Love your blog…enjoy it quite a lot. I have a Kaye Wiggs doll I sew for…just got “Gracie” in the mail Saturday!
Suzanne
HI Suzanne,
Thanks for your vote for Patsy’s dress Suzanne and a BIG congrats on getting Gracie… is she as lovely as her pictures looked? I had to pass on her this time…
Blessings, Jeanne
Glad you got back into your sewing room. Your blue dress really brings out the blue in Elizabeth’s eyes, and yes, that lace is gorgeous.
I like one of the reds for Patsy, so festive. I am sure either one will be perfect for her once you work your magic. Oops, I mean talent and hard work… there is no magic involved, is there?
Have a great sewing day, Jeanne!
HI Cindy,
Thanks for your compliments on Elizabeth’s dress. She definitely is my “blue” girl!
Patsy does look pretty sweet in the reds…just like she did in that red plaid dress I made her with the lady bug on the shoulder… hmmmm….
It’s rainy outside, so a perfect day to stay inside and sew…
Blessings, Jeanne
I vote for blue snowflake or red plaid. I think the holly prints overpower her delicate features. But, saying that, I know you will make any of these into a fabulous Christmas dress.
Blessings,
Beth
Thank you Beth,
I appreciate your sweet comments and hope I pick the one that is perfect for Patsy…
Blessings, Jeanne
Hhmmmm….. the red & black holly jumped out at me at first, then I saw the blue snowflake so now I am torn as to which one I like the best. I am not so much thinking of the plaid for Patsy on this go-around. The new print of red holly is a little over powering in my estimation. It just hit me that way. I also bought a yard of blue Christmas print this year. Seems they have quite a bit out so maybe it is a trend for 2015. With a bit of silver embellishments and the right lace the blue print might just be the answer. Does your Patsy have a pair of silver shoes for her pretty little feet? That might set off the entire dress to a tea !!
I also pulled out my bin of Christmas fabrics for a look over. Then I was asked to help the daughter make Frozen theme dresses for the Butterflies. Now I am knee deep in those dresses and they are turning out to be quite a bit of work. Grandma here is making some “modifications” to the inadequate pattern instructions and changing up some of the plans. Such as “hand painting the appliques”. I can paint a wall but I am no artist so I pulled out some embroidery thread and started testing the decorative stitches on my machine. I have found a few that are working to jazz up the bodice areas and skirt areas of these dresses. This is the route I am taking so each day I work a bit on the Frozen ball gowns.
Also, knitting wool hats for the grandson’s in New Hampshire. Slowly making a dent in the yarn stash. Yikes!! It’s worse than the fabric stash!!!
HI Jeannie,
Thanks for all your thoughts on Patsy’s dress. It helps me see things through different eyes when you give your opinions on things…
It sounds like you are up to your eyeballs in Christmas projects. I’m sure the butterflies will love the dresses you make for them, and the grandson’s their hats! Speaking of yarn, I need to get some more skinny scarves made for our Etsy shop…
So many things to do and so little time…
Thanks so much Jeannie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeannie Brandon, so good to hear that I am not the only one with a fabric stash AND a yarn stash! Our goodies may take over our homes, but we do have fun, don’t we?
Blessings, Beth
HI Beth,
Count me in on that fabric and yarn stash too… I’ve got my fair share…
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
The blue material on Elizabeth is very lovely and does accentuate her blue eyes. The lace is gorgeous and perfect for the bodice.
It is exciting to see all the Christmas prints once again. You will be so busy. When it gets closer to Christmas, do you play “Christmas music to sew by?”.
Have a great day sewing with those blessed hands!
HI Paula,
Thanks for commenting on my new Regency dress…and yes, I do listen to Christmas music as I sew and watch old movies too…
Thanks for your sweet thoughts, Paula.
Blessings, Jeanne
The black with holly jumped out at me too. The green brings out her eyes so well. With the contrasting trim with which you are so artistic, I don’t think the print would be overpowering. I’ll be especially interested to see what you do with it as I have a stash of Christmas fabrics also, one black with red holly berries. The light blue and silver prints look like to me like they would be for New Years celebration dresses.
You have inspired me to be bolder about using prints together, and your tip about sewing on snaps has helped. Tedious, isn’t it? I’ll be making the net puffs to attach inside the shoulder to hold up the top of the sleeves for a red-and-green plaid dress I just finished for Molly. As always, thanks for the daily inspiration.
Thank you Susette, for your kind comments and thoughts on Patsy’s dress. I hope I get it right and everyone likes what I do…
I’m glad a few of my tips helped you out…it’s nice to get a few tidbits to make our sewing a little easier, isn’t it?
Blessings to you, Susette,
~ Jeanne
It looks like her eyes *lighted up* with the green/black holly print next to her! 😉
HI Mary,
Thanks for your thoughts on Patsy’s Christmas dress… it will be interesting to see what fabric wins out for her…
Blessings, Jeanne
Of course I love Elizabeth’s blue gown, and especially the beautiful lace. I wonder what kind of headpiece you’ll choose for this one.
Someone above suggested black velvet to go with the red plaid. I’m wondering how it would go with the red holly. I think I’m choosing black patent shoes (also mentioned above) and black tights. I think I’m saving the black holly pattern for Felicity’s Christmas dress.
Our local fabric store, Elfride’s Fine Fabric, just took down a lovely show that I manged to see Sunday. Someone from the area has duplicated in doll size the costumes Anna Pavlova wore for some of he best known roles. I think the costumer may have used Gene dolls for her models. Most were dance costumes but my favorite was a gown from about 1912, all white, long skirted and high waisted, with a cloche hat with a brim that turned back in front. Except for the hat, it was a lot like the all white Regency dress Jeanne made for Caroline maybe two years ago. It would be nice to see that dress again.
Thank you Marilyn,
I only have a scrap of the blue fabric left about 3″ wide by about 16″ long…so the headpiece will take some figuring out…
We’ll see which fabric gets the most votes…
Oh what a fun show to see at your fabric shop. I bet it was so interesting to look at. I’d love to have seen that!
I’ll have to show those white Regency dresses in a future post… they were favorites of mine…
Thanks so much Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love the way your latest creation falls. And the lace is beautiful.
At first I liked one fabric, then another, until you showed each next to Patsy. The pale blue is a winner for sure. 2nd the plaid. Any way, she’s a lucky girl.
HI Joy,
Thanks so much for your sweet compliments on Elizabeth’s new blue dress. Since you picked the blue for Patsy, I’m guessing you are a “blue” person? I like blues too!
Blessings, Jeanne
Okay, Jeanne, while I have had some time to digest this, I will chime in now. First off, the blue dress for Elizabeth looks just lovely! I can see you making some fingerless gloves to go with it and have Rebecca make a pearl necklace to echo the lace bodice. maybe some sort of pearl-beaded headband for her hair?
OK now Patsy, well, I am kind of on the fence about her ! When looking at the close-up s of her face with each fabric piece, I think the Red Holly and Black Holley are just too distracting for her. I think her delicate features show up so much better with the Blue Snowflake material, and then the Red plaid. I think I would like to see the blue snowflake material made into a dress with white fur trimmed sleeves, hemline, and maybe a fur collar. She could wear that into January too, actually making it more of a “winter dress” versus just a Christmas dress. Now, I’m not sure what kind of material it is, and if those little white dots are sparkles or just white dots? It sounds like I’m advocating a skating outfit for Patsy!!
So as much as I love the red plaid fabric, you see so much of it during the holidays, and I think this pretty blue would stand out more, at least to me it would! You could make a little fur headband and put a sprig of holly on it to make it look like Christmas too! Whatever————you will do a fantastic job with anything you lay your hands on, Jeanne!
HI Linda,
I’m pretty sure a pair of gloves will come with this set and I’ve got to have Rebecca carve out some time to get a necklace made for this one. I think with all the shades of blue and then the creamy white, she could come up with a beautiful necklace for it.
Oooooo, I like your ideas about the fur trimmings on the blue fabric… I do have some very soft white furry like fabric I could use…. hmmmm…
Thanks for your thoughts, Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Elizabeth’s dress is going to be lovely, the lace is just beautiful. I could see Patsy in the blue snowflake fabric or the red plaid would be very festive for Christmas.
Thanks Regina,
I appreciate your sweet thoughts on Patsy’s Christmas dress… it will be fun to see which fabric wins out…
Blessings, Jeanne
That trim is adorable..it looks like pearls..but it is fabric..right?
Gosh…this is the hardest fabric choice ever. I love them all but of course the snowflake is just adorable with her blue eyes…are most Patsy’s blue eyed? But that would be just a good winter dress for after Christmas too…the dark holly print would be cute on her too.
You close your eyes and throw a dart…any would work :0)
Hi Kathie,
The lace trim is sort of nubby like when you touch it… it does resemble tiny little pears stitched on the sheer background. It is very petty and moveable…almost like an embroidered netting lace.
Thanks for your thoughts on Patsy’s Christmas dress. I’ll have to wait a little while longer to see which fabric wins out…
Blessings, Jeanne