Sorry…sometimes I get carried away with my titles…
I figured by my title you guessed another Valentine dress was in the works! Yes, it is and it’s a beauty! Rebecca is off house sitting for a few days, so while she’s away… I decided to override her thoughts on moving onto Easter and do another Valentine dress…
I’m not 100% sure, but I believe Cindy sent me this fabric from PA. I’ve had it for a while and just decided this afternoon who would be getting something made from it. I love how delicate it feels. It’s a dimity fabric probably from the 40’s, would be my guess. The earlier Dimity fabrics were 28″ and 35″ wide… this one is 44″ but I know it’s the real thing. You can just tell when you hold it. In the 1960’s there was a push to make “new” old dimity blending cotton and polyester together…uh…n-o-o… It’s just not the same.
Anyway, that’s enough talk about the fabric… let’s see some pictures. :o)
I think I went from one fabric that was hard to photograph (Isabelle’s) to “another” one that will be just as hard to photograph. This is the palest of pinks… I’m going to call it Blush I think…just a hint of pink. In my pictures it looks pale peach. When you see it as a whole piece of fabric it looks pink.
I didn’t get a whole lot done, but the hard parts are almost finished….the collar and the sleeves.
The fabric is so delicate I used paper strips to sew on so it didn’t slip down in the throat plate of my machine. It looks a little silly but it works well for a fabric like this.
I used a real dainty lining that was slippery so I did quite a bit of hand basting getting things lined up…
After I have my collar stitched on I like to do a row of stitching below the collar, without going to the ends at the back of the neck and skipping the section where the collar meets in front. This should be in the same color thread you are using. If you are putting a ribbon or a brooch, it’s okay to stitch across, but I haven’t decided what’s going in the middle, so I skipped over that section between the collar sides.
The sleeves were dainty little things and went in fairly easily. I used white vintage dotted swiss for the collar and cuffs.
I held the skirt fabric up to the waist to see how it will look in a little while.
That trim I’ve pinned around Molly’s waist is vintage as well… that’s why I decided this one will be called Vintage Valentine… vintage dimity, vintage trim and vintage era…the 1940’s.
Well, let’s hope we get another snow storm so I’m confined to my sewing room… look how much I’ve gotten accomplished! :o)
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, Jeanne, I just love dimity–it looks so delicate and feminine! I know mom made me at least one dimity dress when I was little, and now I love the vintage stuff! Sometimes you Can find modern, 100% cotton dimity, but it’s pretty scarce–and likely to be expensive!
This one is just lovely, with the delicate print and a touch of blue in it. I think this will be a wonderful dress when you’re done! Can’t wait to see how you accessorize it, too!
Oh, 1940’s dimity on a 1940’s girl, Molly! That is so perfectly fitting, and dimity is one of my favorite materials for a little girl’s fancy dressl! I even made one for my daughter, but this was in the 70″s, so it probably was a more modern type of dimity, just the same, it is so dainty and feminine! I even made Betsy a dimity dress from the leftover scraps!
This one is a very 40’s looking pattern, and I love the pretty puffed sleeves, and sweet pink lace waistband. However, several close ups of the material, it shows orange flowers and a white background, on my monitor. I know that’s not the actual case!
Molly will be thrilled to wear this lovely dress, and I am sure will announce to her mother that she wants to wear her hair down in curls! The beauty of this dress is that it could very be worn for Easter too!
Have a good day, Jeanne!
Beautiful blush floral fabric ! I love the direction you are going with it .. very vintage Valentine:)
Can’t wait to see the finished outfit ❤️
This may be my favorite Molly dress ever. In many of the pictures, it looks pink and in one it looks pink on the right side, coral on the left. Linda’s right — 40’s fabric on a 40’s girl, what could be better? Molly may not generally like pink, but I’ll bet she likes this pink. I love the sleeves — I love the care you are taking with this lovely fabric. The dress is perfect for Valentine’s and I’m sure it will be perfect for Easter. It’s a dress that deserves being shown off more than once.
I have asked Ebay to point out JeanneMarie items, and there was one this morning — an Ann Estelle doll in a JeanneMarie outfit. It must be something someone has loved and taken care of for several years — it looks new but the outfit looks like one of your earlier creations. https://www.ebay.com/itm/173756138446?ul_noapp=true I thought — yes, the hat is JeanneMarie. The buttons are Jeanne Marie. The tiny troll in a matching outfit is JeanneMarie. Take a look if you have time.
Wow you really have been busy and what a delight! I love the fabric and it looks wonderful on Molly – can’t wait to see your next post.
Hope you have another wonderful day in your sewing room.
I love Molly’s new dress-to-be. I don’t remember having a dress of dimity but I do remember my mother making one for my younger sister for Easter one year. I probably had one at some point but may have been too young to remember. I tend to shy away from sewing with very light fabrics because of my machine eating the fabric, so I really paid attention to using the paper to keep that from happening. Can’t wait to see the finished dress. It will look so sweet.
I too have a problem with using fabrics “dedicated” to a season, but I have a lot of heart fabric, so I may just go for it this year and make a couple Valentine dresses for my girls.
No snow here yet, but it rained all night. My yard is flooded and hubby had to walk down the road to get to his shop rather than walking through our yard as he usually does. It will probably take several days to drain thoroughly. But within a week we are supposed to get another norther with frozen precipitation. I’d rather have snow, but here frozen precipitation usually means ice.
I checked out the e-bay posting. Really cute outfit and I love the use of the buttons. Cute matching outfit on the troll, but so tiny. I would have needed a bigger troll.
Oh, do I love that fabric. Simply classic. I liked it even more when I noticed the tiny birds in the first photo. I tried to spot them again in the bodice photo, but I think they may be under the arm. And there they are in the skirt. So delicate. Love the simple sleeves too, that really aren’t simple at all. Such extraordinary workwomanship. I would love such a dress for my Natterer 18 1/2″ girl who is much slimmer than the American Girls. Perfect dress for Valentine’s Day, Easter, and spring in general. And now, I’ll be looking at dimity fabric. It is quite special.
What a sweet dress Molly is wearing. So pretty and feminine and Molly looks very pretty. I think one of the reasons I never connected with Molly, even though I like the 1940’s, is that her PC/AG wardrobe lacked the girly, frilly clothes and accessories. In fact, she’s the only one of the PC girls (Samantha, Kirsten, Molly, Felicity, Addy and Josefina) that I don’t own a single piece of their collections. Looking forward to seeing what comes next. Molly can wear this to many special occasions this spring.
I, like Marilyn, received notice regarding that Anne Estelle doll and outfit.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/173756138446?ul_noapp=true You must have made this before I found you as I don’t recall it.
Beautiful fabric and a very flattering dress for Molly.
I have some Dimity from my mother…..”You can sew it for your daughter, dear” Nope 4 sons. Anyway I hoarded it, I was looking at it late last year. It had Wamsutta printed on the selvedge. I thought it was treasure, but probably it is the poly cotton revival stuff. Still nice fabric for dolls though.
You can buy cotton Dimity from http://www.farmhousefabrics.com. Only plain color currently.
Another thing Jeanne, investigate the availability of a throat plate with a single hole for your sewing machine. Stops the finer fabrics getting drawn down, the paper trick looks cute though.
Happy sewing.
The 40’s are a favorite and so is Molly. She’s going to just look like an angel in that dress.
Pink is good on every color complexion and hair color.
These snowy days do give us time to do those odd chores that get put off during busy times….or sew away like you have been able To Do!??
The fabric and print is just as sweet as it can be. I’m not familiar with the type of material although as some point in my life, I may have worn it. Regardless from your description, it is a nice piece of material to have. The start of the dress is so pretty. I’m anxious to see more. I have several girls who fall in Molly’s era.
It’ll be so lovely for Miss Molly!
Had the kids out for a late Christmas celebration. It was so nice to spend time with them- I was sad to see them leave. It’s nice to text and have FaceTime with them when we can’t be with them.