First of all, thank you for the many watchers on Lian’s dress last night… I like watchers…(almost as much as bidders!) and had a record number of them last night. It was pretty exciting if you missed it! …and may I just say something… it hasn’t always been that way. I do remember back in 2006 when I was just getting started, things were pretty slow. I would dream of having just one good sale and cry when things didn’t go the way I had hoped they would. Even the dress I showed you yesterday…the black and white short 70’s dress on Elizabeth (Julie), that I listed back in 2009, …do you know what it sold for? I looked it up this afternoon to get it right and that dress, tights, shoes, headband and ornament sold for…are you ready? It sold for $24.99! But things like that didn’t stop me. I kept sewing even when I didn’t want to… making things when I thought surely I had made every possible combination I could ever think of.
And then this evening…remember that silver dress for Nyssa that I shared with you 2 or so weeks ago. The one that drove me crazy and I worked on it for about 3 days and mentioned that if it went for $200, I might break even? Well, that one sold tonight, not for the $200 that I had hoped it would, but for $55! So there’s another example of what can happen.
Now, some 9 years later I am reaping the benefits of sticking with it. I just wanted to encourage someone out there who is reading this, watching my listings and saying to themselves, “I can sew like that” or “Why don’t my dresses sell like hers?” or “How will my things ever get noticed…Ebay is SO huge, my things just get lost?” I just got to thinking today as I was packing up Lian’s dress, that someone out there was feeling that way and I wanted to encourage you to stick with it and dream big and keep trying to improve on the little things that will set your dresses apart from everyone else’s. That’s all…just keep sewing!
Okay, now to Felicity’s dress… Colonial dresses do take time…they certainly aren’t the simple shifts like the black velvet dress I showed you yesterday. When you make a Colonial dress, you have to consider all the things that make it a Colonial dress… it needs some kind of undergarment to make it stand out. If you have a hat of some kind, a mob cap was always worn underneath it. If the dress was low cut, a fichu or modesty cloth was needed. The sleeves were almost always set in so there shouldn’t be any gathers in them. They generally opened in the front…this is one part where I fudge on… it’s just much easier to dress the dolls when they close in the back.
So let me show some pictures of Felicity’s new “Colonial Christmas Charm” dress set.
We’ll start with the undergarments… the hoop, the petticoat to go over it, the fichu is just a piece of ivory tulle with dots, and the mob cap…
As I said in my Ebay listing, I’m going to see if Rebecca has some beads that might be a bit brighter green than the ones I used… mine sort of get lost on the dress…
I love decorating hats for the Colonial era. This one turned out particularly sweet I think.
Here is the dress with the hat tied in front…
This is what it looks like tied behind her neck…
Now for a BONUS for my subscribers…If one of my subscribers wins this dress, I will come up with something else for this dress…perhaps a necklace from Rebecca, a pair of pantalettes, a shoulder bag, a fan, something Christmasy, etc…who knows…
I hope you like this and I hope it was worth the wait… if you’d like to see this listing on Ebay, click HERE.
I just saw a sign today that said, “18 days till Christmas” and thought surely it must be wrong… I still have dresses to make and sell. But the reality has hit me and I am switching up the lineup for my dolls Christmas dresses. I always make a Civil War one and hopefully I’ll get a Swedish one for Kirsten… If I get those 2 dresses done, I’ll be happy…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I remember how disappointed I was that the velvet dress sold for so little. There was a reason I couldn’t bid — I was probably working at one of the public service desks at the library and that was before we could do so many computer things, like buy something on ebay while working with the public. I still hope that the person who got it continues to love it.
Felicity’s new dress is wonderful. The frame really lets the skirt swoop and the details are wonderful — the pearls on the sleeves and the trim on the hat. It is an especially wonderful hat. That green ribbon is fabulously beautiful. I think you used the same lace for the last mob cap, and it’s one of my favorites.
The ebay pictures are great. Yours always are. Buyers can really see what they are getting. I also think your email list that announces your auctions is both a good idea and a great service — finding a handmade dress for the AGs is hard in the thousands of AG auctions. It must have take a long time to build up your list though.
Eighteen days until Christmas. I mailed packages today but I have more to go. Maybe if I just keep working….
HI Marilyn,
Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t! I’m used to it by now and just make myself get over it as quickly as I can and move on to something else… hopefully something that will bring a better price.
Thanks so much for your sweet compliments on Felicity’s Christmas dress. I like her hat too…it’s perfect for winter or spring I hope… I was going to make a more wintery hat, but didn’t have anything that I thought would work, so I just decided to make the straw hat decorated…and I’m with you, I love that ribbon too. It came from Hobby Lobby and one day when I was in there and saw they were discontinuing it, I bought all they had. I still remember it… $157.00 worth of ribbon all in one swoop! It’s wired on the edges so it ties and stays tied the way you want it to.
I don’t actually have that many names on my email list that I send out when I have a new dress to announce or when I let them know it’s ending that day. I’m looking to set up a facebook page in my blogging class because she said I could just post on there when something is newly listed or about to end…I’m probably the only person on the planet who doesn’t have a facebook page. So we’ll see….
Thanks again for all your kind compliments on Felicity’s dress, Marilyn. I appreciate your thoughts…
Blessings, Jeanne
Felicity looks like she just floated in on a cloud! What a beautiful sight she is, Jeanne! You outdid yourself once again, and there is already a bid! I love all the lacey ruffles that give it such an ethereal look. That beautiful hat is just perfect! I was wondering if you glue or sew things onto the hat, since I have a few feathers for the hat I am doing for Felicity’s brown church dress. The hat itself is felt, do feathers get glued, and what kind of glue?
Whoever wins this dress will have a wonderful time just opening the package! That will be an experience in itself!!
HI Linda,
What a nice thought… Felicity floated in on a cloud… I like that! I wanted to mention that the laces are all pretty much the same color. In my pictures, the peplum lace looks darker, but in person, I think you’d be hard pressed to see much difference. The mob cap looks pretty stark white in my pictures, but again, in person, it’s not like that at all…
I generally put my hats together with a glue gun… this one was….and I usually make them up as I go along…I did that with this one too! :o)
For a felt hat, I would probably sew my embellishments on. If you use a glue gun you absolutely can’t make any mistakes…and that stringy stuff won’t come off of felt. It would be safer to use a needle and thread and stitch your things on… Your stitches won’t matter on the underside…
Thank you again, Linda, for your kind words about Felicity’s dress…
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne,
I am one of those who was encouraged by what you wrote about selling on ebay. Although I’ve not tried my hand at it yet, I was glad to read what you wrote. Thank you for the encouragement to persist.
Felicity’s dress is marvelous. Your eye for details, the materials you use and the colors you chose always make viewing your ensembles a wonderful experience for me. I’ve learned alot from you.
HI Becky,
Oh, I’m so glad I wrote what I did. I just knew someone was feeling that way. I remember that feeling all too well, and it’s not a fun feeling… There were many times I turned to my hubby and whimpered, “Why don’t my things sell like so and so’s?” “My things are just as good as theirs..” and he would always just encourage me to keep trying… I’m so glad I did!
So Becky, be encouraged… someday you’ll be giving someone that same advice…
Thank you very much for your kind thoughts about Felicity’s dress. I appreciate you telling me that you liked it…
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh Jeanne, the outfit is magnificent. From head to toe. The detail is wonderful and the authenticity is amazing. Also, we’ve all talked about how great Felicity looks in green prints with her red hair and green eyes.
The women back in those days, especially those who could afford beautiful materials and fancy sewing, must have cringed having to walk in the roadways or paths, dragging their dresses in who knows what, even if they tried to hold the skirts up. Eck!
Glad we can enjoy beautiful dresses for our dolls today and they can just stand there and be beautiful.
Have a happy day!
HI Paula,
See why I HAD to use the green fabric? There was no question about it…she deserved green for her Christmas dress. I love this doll in green! I’m so glad I got her…and aren’t her eyes pretty? So much better than my other wonky eyed Felicity’s I had the first 2 times…
I’m sure their long dresses got filthy as they skimmed the ground and they couldn’t wash them every time they got a little bit of dirt on them… I’m with you…it’s so nice to have them be pretty with a clean skirt, isn’t it?
Thank you Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
I don’t know how you ever found the hat ribbon to match the dress so closely, but the hat is the topping on your cakie creation. The whole ensemble is so perfectly put together. And Felicity wears it with poise.
HI Joy,
I had the hat ribbon in my stash…one of my many stashes I might add. I might be called the ribbon lady, the button lady, the trim lady, the lace lady, the fabric lady…who knows. I seem to have a little bit of everything so I don’t have to run to town every time I need something.
Thank you for your sweet compliments on Felicity’s dress. I’m pretty pleased with how it all turned out… She does look pretty standing on my cutting table… and smiling at me!
Blessings, Jeanne
I am so glad you get to enjoy your creations during the auctions. At least you have days to admire the real thing — you don’t have to give them up immediately.
I always feel sorry for popular authors. They spend a year or two working on a book. Amazon sends it out to arrive the day of publication. Two days later, the readers are staring hungrily at the author.
Now that I’ve admired the latest, I’m gazing hungrily at this screen, looking for the beginnings of the next dress.
HI Marilyn,
It is nice that I get to enjoy looking at the dress on Felicity for a few days before having to take it off her and package it up.
I’m looking forward to seeing what’s coming up next too…. :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Great fun to watch the creation of this fab outfit. Felicitys eyes sparkle with pleasure. I sold at a show one time. I think it is like auditioning for a part in a show. Be prepared for rejection . One seller did not believe I created my own knit patten” Demoralizing. . Congratulations for your successful business and encouragement to others.
HI Jan,
Thank you so much for your compliments on Felicity’s dress.
I can remember standing at my booth at Farmer’s Market and some ladies came by and looked at my little girls dresses. They walked away and I could hear them say, “I could make that for less than what’s she’s selling it for…” I think you always get comments and rejection and the like when you have a craft that you do… it just comes with the territory…
Thank you Jan,
Blessings, Jeanne