I made a Civil War dress one time from this pretty brown and cream fabric with just a hint of pink in it. Rebecca was my model and I always loved this dress on her. I bought a yard of this fabric so I had plenty left for a second dress.
Well, I just made a big mistake… this was the dress I was thinking of, but it’s not the fabric I thought it was. I would have bet a thousand dollars it was… Oh well, I’ll go ahead and show it anyway, even though it has NOTHING to do with my post now… :o/
THIS is the fabric I was thinking of. I don’t guess I’ve ever made a dress from it… just thought I had.
I picked out the vintage lace and (non-vintage) applique first and was trying to match a fabric to them.
I tried a few other fabrics…but some were too white or the lace didn’t show up very well on them.
…in the end, I decided to stick with the brown plaid. I think it will make a very elegant dress. Maybe you weren’t thinking of brown plaid as a pretty summer dress, but I’ll do my best not to disappoint you in the end! :o)
The other day I showed a picture of a dress that I was using as the inspiration for this dress.
I’m not crazy about off the shoulder dresses on the American Girl dolls because I don’t like seeing the cloth body and the arm joints, so I may change that up a little bit.
Since I don’t have much to show you, I thought I’d show you 3 pieces of fabric I got at a yard sale the other day when Cindy was here.
Two pieces are a toile and might work for a tote or a pillow. The other piece was a fun vintage looking Valentine print. I thought I could do something with it.
Things are going fairly well at home… we are still trying to learn all we can about how to get my hubby’s ostomy bag to fit well and not leak. It’s harder than we thought. He is getting stronger every day but still not quite up to his old self yet. I think it’s going to take a while yet. He can move around the house and outside slowly, and even went to town yesterday. I was the pilot and he was co pilot. It was the first time he had on regular pants in a month and the first place he’d been other than to the doctor. He couldn’t button his pants as his abdomen is still swollen and sore. One of these days we’ll be over this part and it will be a distant memory…but right now it’s pretty all consuming for us.
Thanks so much for your continued prayers and sweet cards! I wasn’t in my sewing room very long tonight, but one of these day I will be!
I’ll see you next time,
Blessings, Jeanne
It’s so good to see a post about sewing from you tonight, Jeanne–even though you didn’t get any actual sewing done yet, you are playing with fabric and trims, and that’s way farther than you were last week at this time!
I can see how you were thinking that that one fabric was the same as the one in the dress you showed pictures of–it has a similar “feel” to it. You said it was a brown plaid, but on my monitor, it shows up more greenish–sort of a moss green, I guess you’d say.
Great that you had a chance to go to a yard sale and find some neat fabrics, too!!
It does take a long time to heal from such a big surgery, so tell George to be as patient as he can; eventually he’ll be able to wear “real clothes” again–and get them buttoned! LOL Prayers continue.
I too, am happy to see that you are again doing what you love to do, namely, get back to sewing, or at least looking forward to actually getting things organized and actually making plans for an outfit, Jeanne! That should put a smile on everyone’s face who reads this!
The pink roses give the pretty brown plaid fabric a summertime feel, I think, and the lace will give it a delicate look. Perhaps a lacy parasol would work too! Just the thing a lovely young lady would need in this hot weather!
I also feel that the AG dolls look better with their shoulders covered where the fabric bodies and vinyl arms meet. After all, we don’t want them to look too scandalous!?
I wish you and George much luck this week as you both navigate these uncertain waters, but I know how persistent both of you are and I have no doubt you both will prevail!
Hugs!
Anything with vintage lace will be wonderful for your next endeavor. I do like the brown prints a lot. I think they can go for summer or fall.
I’m sure getting off the property was wonderful for George. I’m sure those pants will be comfortable soon. Until then, those sweats sure are.
Good news here, as the old house is officially on the market. Has taken so long. Yesterday, I cleaned the second bath there and thought, finally, I can clean my own house. Crazy. Who would think that?
We’re getting the heat today. Should be way over 100. But, we have dry heat no humidity, and the fire danger is extremely high. Everyone is on edge around here.
Did you decide about your kitchen window treatment? Can’t wait to see it.
We can wait till you get in your sewing room. But the fabric you chose is perfect and I love the way you draped the lace. It will be beautiful when you are able to start it.
There are days when life’s happenings take us elsewhere and it is what we need to focus on. George’s healing and adjustments are what he needs to get through with your help now. Your commitment to him is admirable but I also thank you for the efforts you make with all of us – keeping in touch and posting when you can.
Take care dear Jeanne. Keeping you In our prayers.
The fabric is lovely. I can definitely see it becoming a Civil War dress. The choices of lace are outstanding too.
I think it is great you and George are getting out of the house. Pretty soon it will seem normal again.
Hope you have a good day!
Take care —
Loved your post! Showing us the fabrics and Rebecca’s beautiful dress was like having “our Jeanne” back:) Sounds like George is progressing well.. every new day is a good step forward towards getting both of you back to what you love to do❤️
The vintage Valentine print reminds me of the cards we used to send and get when I was a child:)
The toiles are both lovely.. the gray one is my favorite! Can’t wait to see what it becomes:)
Keep on keeping on?
The laces on your original dress are so unusual! Love the way you used the lace at the neckline and the one on the skirt is so pretty!
The valentine fabric is so 50’s…that will be a fun outfit! Fun to find fabric at a yard sale!
Good luck with figuring out the fine points of George’s equipment. Glad he is getting out and progressing so well.
I think whatever you figure out to do to adjust the collar on the pink roses dress will be very flattering to the AG design. Good luck getting back into the sewing mode.
I’m so excited to see that you are thinking about sewing again. A Civil War dress is the perfect choice. I agree that the PC/AG girls really don’t work for off the shoulder dresses. The lowered necklines of Felicity’s gown don’t bother me, but the two piece swimsuit outfits look funny to me with the arm seams and midriff showing.
The gray toile is especially lovely. I can see that on Felicity as toile was very popular then.
So good to hear that George was able to take a trip to town. I hope the both of you enjoyed the outing.
Just thought of one other thing to tell you, Jeanne, as regards George and getting out again: I think it took almost a month for Ron, after his colostomy surgery, to be able to really dress up in good clothes and go out. We celebrated our anniversary a month late that year, as his surgery was the day before our 39th. The nice people at the restaurant treated us as if it were our anniversary that day instead (we told them he’d been very ill), and that made us both feel much better, too!! So….patience, dear friend! It will happen!