A few of you asked in your comments about who picked which fabric… Janie was the one who picked the BLUE fabric. So that means, yep, I picked the green. Janie was rubbing it in just a little bit that “her” color won the most votes. But she’s over that now that she’s seeing her dress come to life!
I made quite a bit of headway on it and decided I’d go ahead and show the direction I’m going with it even though I have lots more to do on it… I have it pinned up so it wouldn’t look so long and the back is just pinned in place too.
Janie decided since this was going to be a “fancy” dress instead of a play dress, she wanted her braids taken down…isn’t she pretty? :o)
I did a little twin needle stitching and created a cross hatching design in white thread on the bodice of her dress. Then I used my favorite Swiss Batiste lace around the neck and a delicate cotton lace on her sleeves and waist.
My pictures aren’t the greatest as it’s almost midnight and the lighting isn’t very good in my sewing room, but I just wanted to give you an idea of what it looked like so far… I hope all the “blue” people are pleased…
I’ll keep working on it and see what happens tomorrow… I love it when there are no problems and no seams to rip out!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I love it. Love the stitching on the bodice. Janie looks so grown up with her hair down…. Lynne
Thank you Lynne,
I’m glad that you love it… Janie does too. She does look pretty grown up with her hair down instead of in braids, doesn’t she?
Thanks so much for your thoughts…
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, how sweet!!! I just LOVE it Jeanne! The white lace and fancy stitching on the bodice certainly stand out from the deep blues! I love her hair down too, she looks so grown up, and reminds me of the pictures you have of your own Rebecca! This dress is so timeless and would fit in so well today.
Remember when they used to have Mother and Daughter dresses? I was just thinking about those, and the fact you don’t see that anymore. This is crazy, but you should have bought more of this fabric and made Rebecca a dress similar to this! I’m sure you don’t make her dresses anymore, but it would have made a cute picture, perhaps if she was a bit younger!! I remember making my children outfits that “went” together, and also tied in to what I was wearing!
Yes, it is beautiful outside now, and while we have no crabapple trees, we have dogwood and redbud, all in full bloom!
I used to live on the East Coast, and the dogwood go in the category of things that would make it worth it to move back. I’m so glad you mentioned them.
HI Marilyn,
We have both of the trees Linda mentioned and they are in full bloom too. I love the purples and whites in everyone’s yards. Sometimes I wish the trees would stay in the bud stage instead of turning to green leaves… I love the bright colors.
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
HI Linda,
I do like Janie’s hair down with this dress…and yes, she does look a bit more grown up and a little more “refined” too! I do have a few pictures of Rebecca in dresses and her hair used to look just like this. Oh, for those days again… I’ve made a few dresses for Rebecca for weddings and such, but no “little girl” dresses like I used too… *sigh*
I used to make those Mother Daughter dresses and sell them… and gave them to friends too. Oh, those were the days…
We have another beautiful day outside too. Too bad I’m sewing…not really… I love to sew!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, this one is stunning! I love the lace and stitching combination on the bodice!
The fullness on the puffed sleeves are just perfect.
Blessings, Beth
Thank you Beth,
I’m glad you like the start of Janie’s new dress. Now to get it finished!
Thanks for your sweet compliments…
Blessings, Jeanne
Janie has always been a favorite, but in this wig, she’s absolutely stunning. This blue is a perfect color for her. She couldn’t look prettier. I’m so glad everything is going together smoothly. You deserve it.
Thank you Marilyn,
I think Janie’s skin tone is definitely geared to look better in the reddish colored wigs. It just softens her whole face up, I think.
Yes, it truly is nice to have a dress go together without any mistakes…so far… now to get it completed.
Thank you again,
Blessings, Jeanne
I’ve never used my twin needles. Really couldn’t think of a reason why until now. Looks like you may have used a wider/longer stitch width? Love the bodice lace. Janie looks very pleased. I wonder how the dress would look about four inches shorter? Know it is just pinned, but seems a little long. Has a fifties look to me. I can just see Janie at a birthday party wearing this one. She could be posed carrying a birthday gift.
HI Joy,
Oh, you should give your twin needle a try. You can do all kinds of fun things with it. I think my stitch is just about normal… although I was tweaking my tension just a little bit.
I had the dress pinned a little longer because I had a makeshift slip underneath it and wanted to cover it up. I’m not sure exactly how long or short I’ll make it, but I’ll know when I get there.
I was actually planning on having her carrying a birthday gift… I guess we think alike!
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
WOW! ….and, I wasn’t even a ‘blue person’…. 🙂 Nice!
HI Mary,
I guess you came over from “the green side” didn’t you? Thanks for your comments!
Blessings, Jeanne
All I can say is I love it!!
Robin,
…and all I can say is “Thank You!”
Blessings, Jeanne
Beautiful! Goes so nice with her Red hair. Blue is my favorite color.
Thank you Sylvia,
I’m glad you like her in the blue fabric… It does look nice with her red hair, doesn’t it?
Blessings, Jeanne
One of the green people here….what a charming dress you’re making. Your doll looks so lovely in your creation. It’s such a pleasure to view your work.
Thank you Becky,
I”m glad even though you were “green” to start with, now you can see how pretty she is in the blue! Thank you for your kind compliments…
Blessings, Jeanne
The blue is just so pretty with her blue eyes and red hair!
I have the twin needles but it looks like something is between the 2 rows to make it puff up a bit…or does it just do that?
She does look like she is ready for a Birthday Party…good idea!
Sew away!
Hi Kathie,
Thank you so much for your compliments on Janie’s new blue dress.
The twin needles sort of pull the fabric together on the underneath side and so it does make it sort of stand up in the middle. You can make it tighter in the tension and it makes it almost like a pintuck. If you loosen the tension on the bobbin you can get the stitching to just lay flat.
She will be on her way shortly!
Blessings, Jeanne
In heirloom sewing, there actually IS something called a twin-needle pintuck. You adjust your tension a bit one way so the pintucks stand up; turn it the other way, and the flatten out more, like these are. It’s really such a nice touch that I hadn’t thought to do before. I’ve done the pintucks, of course, but haven’t used the double needles for just flat decorative stitching. Something to put in my idea file for future use!!
I have to add that, once again, it’s the details that make the difference on Janie’s dress–the contrast stitching, the “yoke” of embroidery, and the delicate lace trim set up just a bit from the edge of the sleeve…. (another idea for my file)
Really beautiful!
Pretty! The double needing stitching looks good. I like the red wig too.
Thank you Carolyn,
I like the looks the the twin needle stitching too and should use it more often…
I think that wig was MADE for Janie…she’s very pretty in the red tones…
Blessings, Jeanne