One of my readers LOVES this dress…she has for years and seems to enjoy it every time I post a picture of it. It’s not a new dress, in fact, it was made and listed on Ebay on November 14, 2009! But she still loves this dress…
It’s made from the same windowpane velvet that Lian’s dress was made from. My pictures aren’t the greatest…I had a pretty crummy camera back then… so try to focus on the dress and not so much on my photography. :o)
The sleeves and the ruffle around the neck and hem are made from a pretty white shimmery organza like fabric.
Her thigh highs were made from that silvery stretchy fabric that I used for Patsy Tonner’s Christmas dress.
I copied the dress from my 1974 pattern book and used Elizabeth as my “Julie Stand In” to model it.
Well….YOU…out there…I hope you enjoyed seeing this dress again! Thanks for liking it so much!
I also wanted to let you know I have Felicity’s dress set almost ready to list on Ebay and I’m hoping to get that done today… Boy, these Colonial dresses take a lot of time when you add all the pieces they need for their dresses to look right…
I’d love to tease you with a few pictures, but I think I’ll save them for the final reveal… sorry…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, I just love this dress, and no, I’m not the one who owns it! I can’t really say I have seen it before either. Whoever it is that has it, you certainly have a good one!!
The more I think of it, I am so glad I really started sewing in the 60’s and 70’s for myself, since there was an abundance of A line dresses that were so much easier to make, unlike the colonial type dresses with all their darts, seams, and boning, etc. I was able to make and finish a dress without too much fitting, and it gave me the feeling of accomplishment as I actually could get the dress finished and looking nice. Then with the advent of the 70’s and my children coming along, I was able to make them clothes too. clothing was simple and easy to make, at least for me!! Sewing for 2 toddlers wasn’t the most relaxing pastime I could think of, but I enjoyed it!
HI Linda,
I’m with you on the “easy” sewing…sometimes all I had was an afternoon and it was so easy to get something started and finished in that length of time…
With the Colonial dress, it’s the dress, the fichu, the hoop, the petticoat, the mob cap, the had, maybe a necklace, etc… so it’s pretty time consuming. I do like the full look though…
It’s nice to KNOW you can sew if you have to, isn’t it. When my little sister saw what Lian’s dress went for last night, she sent me a text saying, “I knew I should have tried harder in 4-H! That made me smile…
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Linda and I have still more in common. That was a great era for sewing since dresses were often simple and no-iron fabrics were coming in. You could make a dress in an afternoon.
I had long blonde hair, like Elizabeth, and made a black crepe tunic and pants that went with a blouse with long full white sleeves. I worked at a theatre (live, not movies) and a friend from out-of-town came by one evening to see if I had time for coffee (tea for me). He was wearing full leathers, and, in my Vogue pants-outfit and heels, I got on the back of the cycle and we went for coffee/tea. Nice memories.
Yes, you guessed it, this dress was for me. I didn’t get to buy it but someday Jeanne will make one for me, I’m sure. I’m so glad to see the pictures again. Many thanks, Jeanne.
HI Marilyn,
I thought you’d like this post!!! So happy to oblige you…
I LOVED your story about the motorcycle ride. Wouldn’t it be fun to have had a picture to remember that by? Even with no picture, you painted a wonderful memory for us to relive with you… thanks for that.
Again, thanks for liking the dress enough to request seeing it again…
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
This outfit is darling on Elizabeth/Julie. I remember that style well and Julie’s outfit is so neat.
I also love the picture of the girl on the pattern- boy, I forget how short our dresses were back then. I remember in high school, dresses and skirts weren’t allowed to be too short and some girls actually had female teachers measure the bare inches above the knees. I forget what the measurement of inches above the knee was for being sent home to change. It looks like the 70’s hemline was higher.
Have a great day. I’m workin’ on the Christmas tree. Yay!
HI Paula,
Thank you for your comments on “Julie’s” dress.
Yes, those 70’s hemlines were PRETTY short! It’s a good thing I was skinny back then… you could pull off a mini skirt much easier if you were thin… that’s why you don’t see me wearing them now… :o)
Thanks Paula and I hope your Christmas tree looks wonderful all decorated…
Blessings, Jeanne
You did a amazing copy of that outfit!
Yes, I agree…when we could whip up easy little dresses in an afternoon while the kids were sleeping! I had a pattern for a little full dress that dropped from a round collar. and panties that could be made from 1 yard of fabric…I don’t know how many of those I made.
At the time you could get fabric for a dollar a yard..with 4 pattern pieces, 2 snaps and a piece of elastic it was done. Those were the days!
HI Kathie,
I think everyone agrees that sewing easy little dresses was more fun than trying to make a complicated pattern. I remember the stigma attached to “Vogue” patterns… they were assumed to be “much harder” to make…when in reality, they were very easy…unless you opted for the “designer” patterns. I remember always looking at the “easy” “intermediate” “advanced” “difficult” markings on the pattern and wanting to challenge myself… :o)
I remember those “dollar a yard” fabrics too… I wish they were still around…
Thanks Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Racking my brain, because I never got caught, but I think our Dean of Girls would have girls kneel and if their skirt didn’t cover, a call home. I can remember girls tugging at their skirts as we walked near the office. As a Song Leader, we wanted our skirts short for games etc., which was fine, except we wore them to school too. So, we rolled our skirts up or down depending on the situation.
I really like that black with the organza sleeves/trim. So fun to see the pattern inspiration too.
HI Joy,
I guess girls have been tugging at their skirts since “forever” to make do with the situations they were in… school, cheerleading, etc. I was in a Swing Choir in high school and our skirts were pretty short… “to accommodate the swinging” I guess! :o)
Thanks for your comments Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Think how this dress would look in dark red, or green, or sapphire — with long sleeves, with short sleeves, with those nice double puff sleeves. There should be dozens of them out there in the world. I love the headband.
My sister needed a wedding dress and I made one this short with double puff sleeves out of white crepe. My neighbor made another sister’s maid of honor dress with a slightly different cut (different body shapes) and gray-green fabric, and my mother made the bride’s veil.
Dollar a yard fabric? That’s expensive. During the Depression, some nice man gave my mother and her sister 50 cents, “Here, little girls, go buy some candy.” They giggled and ran home — their mother took the money and made each of them a new dress. Life was harder then, but there were good moments.
HI Marilyn,
You always make me laugh… I like the girls running home to give their mom the money and then she made them each a dress…for .50 cents! That’s priceless!
Well, if there were 3 of me, I could hire one of us out to sew, one to cook and one to clean…just imagine how many dresses I could get done if I didn’t have to do anything but sew!
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
I love this too. Sew Yummy
Thanks Lynn,
I think it looks yummy too! I’m glad you liked it enough to comment!
Thank you,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love the windowpane velvet. Nothing like it available now on such a small scale, unless I missed something on an eBay search. So glad your bidders liked Lian dress as much as she did. What a triumph it was!
Others are having fun remembering all those decades too. I remember getting annoyed with my mother when she would say how expensive everything was when she was quite elderly. “Go ahead and buy the grapes, Mother!” Now it’s my turn when a can of chicken broth is $1.99. How do people feed their families? I sound just like my mother. I guess everyone’s turn comes eventually!
HI Susette,
I’ve never seen any other velvet like this either… I have no idea where I got it from…
Thanks for being happy for me on the sale of Lian’s dress. :o)
I’m sure even the mom’s who made 2 dresses for her girls thought that was expensive. I guess we never really have a bargain unless it’s free. I like free, but it doesn’t happen very often…
Thanks Susette,
blessings, Jeanne