I was thinking by the end of the day someone would probably guess who the new navy doll dress with the vintage lace was going to be for. But as of the writing of this post… (Friday night at 11:30) nobody had guessed her. I did change my mind just a bit about how I was planning to use that pretty cream colored lace up applique. When I woke up this morning the color wasn’t quite as good as it looked like it was last night and when I discovered the lace piece I was going to use for the apron, I decided to use all vintage laces on it. And… since I’m the dress designer, I just changed things up a bit. I think you’ll like it. I do and SO does Kirsten! Yep…. the new dress is for Kirsten! She has the prettiest blue eyes but they still look great with navy blues and not just light or baby blues.
The fabric is a dark navy blue but when I take pictures at different distances from her it shows up different colors in my pictures. Maybe I DO need to take some outside pics like Joy suggested…
I think the lace I used for the apron came from Kathie, but I’m not 100% sure… I just LOVE it and forgot I had it. It went so well with the other vintage lace, I had to use it. I still have enough for another apron like this…
Okay, enough talk…let’s see some pictures…
Instead of adding a row of the lace around the hem of the skirt like I was planning to do, when I found the other lace and decided to use it as a lacy apron, I thought some straps would be fun out of the other lace. Then I found some tiny mother of pearl buttons that all matched and added them to the front. I THOUGHT they were even but as I see them in my pictures, I may have to adjust one side because they look slightly off to me… That’s a pretty easy fix though.
I had originally thought about lacing up the front with a tiny ribbon but it didn’t look right… too many lines competing with the fabric design… even my hubby thought so… so buttons were my next thought… they worked fine… as long as I can get them even across the front.
The lace piece used for the apron is absolutely EXQUISITE… and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it ties the straps together for a very pretty look. Not quite a dirndl and not quite a prairie dress, but something like a dressy prairie look! :o)
I tried to carry the straps over the shoulder and have them come to a point in the back, but it just didn’t quite work out… my back piece was too wide to make the sharp angle come together… I wanted the front straps to be straight up and down and that didn’t allow much curving of the straps in the back… sorry!
I wanted the dress to stand out just enough so you could see the navy print on the sides as you looked at her from the front, so a slip was needed. I just made one of my regular tulle slips and not something authentic. This tulle has enough body to it to hold it out where I wanted it to be.
You can see how far it is off the floor in this picture… although Kirsten was leaning a bit…
I made just a simple hair ribbon with a pre-tied bow added. The hair ribbon ties behind her neck.
Well, I hope you like what I did with this dress. It was one of those that came together like Ten Ping’s did! Yay!
See you Monday,
Have a great weekend.
Blessings, Jeanne
I was thinking Kirsten last night but didn’t comment then. I really like the blue fabric on her.
Hi Christal,
Kirsten DOES look pretty in this blue set. I’m glad you like it.
Blessings, Jeanne
You know, I was going to add Kirsten to my list of AGs last night, and didn’t. Not sure why–maybe I got sidetracked while I was writing???
Anyway, the dress looks lovely on Kirsten, and that lace apron is perfect with the dress fabric!!
I’m glad you are feeling quite a lot beter today!!
Hi Charlotte
I’m glad you like Kirsten’s dress as much as she does!
I’m feeling better today and hope it continues…
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, just wow, Jeanne! Such a pretty dress and that lace dirndl just takes my breath away! Lucky Kirsten to be able to model this lovely outfit! I must say, that the color of the dress has not varied much at all on my monitor, but the lace pieces have, going from off white to really white. I would guess that it all matches up in person!
You said the back pieces of lace didn’t work out, so what was the final solution?
I think that this dress would work out on many dolls, not just Kirsten, and Molly there modeling the slip looks like Kirsten’s darker haired sister! The fun thing about dolls is that you can make them be what you want, and they aren’t necessarily “right” just for one time frame, except the hair has to work.
Well, spring has sprung, and things are growing! So much to do outside now, and it’s refreshing to get out there and enjoy the sunshine, when you get it!! Have a good weekend, Jeanne!
Hi Linda,
I wish everyone could see this lace in person…it really is one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever used in my sewing. It’s very delicate and dainty too.
I just meant the back points didn’t match up to make a point but I might try to figure out a way to make it work..somehow…
I bet you worked outside today… we decided to go to Cape with Rebecca today…still looking for a bed and nightstand…
Nice day, but we struck out…still had fun though.
Blessings, Jeanne
This dress is beautiful and perfect for Kirsten!!
Thank you, Rosemary,
I’m glad you took time to tell me you liked Kirstens dress.
Blessings, Jeanne
Love the simplicity of the sleeves, the perfect hair tie, and of course the navy color in this exquisite outfit. The lace apron is such a wonderful addition. I’m sure Kirsten will be excited to wear her new dress when the family takes the wagon into town to shop for supplies. 🙂
Hope the mail people are good to you today. I’ve been shoe shopping for the newest, hopefully arriving soon, Meadow girl. 53mm foot so shoes just a bit longer are interesting to find.
Hi Joy,
Yes, Kirsten is urging Mama to buy more fabric at the general store so she can make her more dresses. :o)
We’ll be home soon and hopefully Bailey might be in my mailbox !!!
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Joy,
Boohoo…Bailey wasn’t there!?
So pretty! Kirsten is one of my favorite AGs:)
That lace for her slip is gorgeous! She has the prettiest blue eyes.
Don’t you just love when an outfit comes together and the seam ripper stays in the drawer?! Lol
Hi Shara,
I think Kirsten is one of my favorite AG dolls too. I hope I can get Kirsten’s dress to look a little less boxy in my Ebay pictures than it does in my pictures I took last night. For some reason when you look at her straight on, the lace straps make her body look square. In reality, the lace straps hug her shape and the dress looks very shapley on her…but not so much in my pictures.
I ALWAYS love it when my seam ripper doesn’t make an entrance!!
Thanks Shara,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, I LOVE that lace apron! The Navy fabric is pretty, too. Nice job 🙂 I really think the doll and outfits show up better when the background is lighter. To me, the dark grey seems to just suck all the life out of the dress and the doll.
Of topic, do you know what happened to the eBay seamstress, doll*sewer? I hope she didn’t pass on. I remember someone saying she was elderly.
I remember her too, Debi, andwonder why she hasn’t been selling. I do believe she was elderly, something like me! She always had such complete outfits and so many extra’s included. I always liked to see what she had listed. She is missed!
I remember her as well, Debi. I actually stumbled upon her creations when I was building my Samantha and Felicity collections. Her outfits were always so complete and creative. I enjoyed seeing her designs.
Hi Debi,
I’ve been looking for a new background fabric to use for my pictures…
I dont know anything about the seamstress doll*sewer… but I’ve had 3 ladies who were readers of my blog pass away. One of them was a lady who used to live next to my grandma. I actually saw one time the town she lived in and asked her if she knew my grandma. She was her next door neighbor. I happened to stumble across s listing that was from the same town. It was one of the daughters selling her dolls and clothing. We chatted back and forth s few times… so sad..
Thanks Debi,
Blessings, Jeanne
You finished the dress so quickly! Wow! It’s adorable. I wasn’t sure if the buttons were off or Kirsten was just standing a bit off. I couldn’t guess on which doll yesterday because, sad to say, I’m not really familiar with which AG is which, except for Samantha, Molly and Addy. I get the catalog, but the dolls move in and out of the catalog and I have trouble keeping up with it. I blame my daughter because she never insisted I keep up with the AG dolls. Only things having to do with dance and drama.
I finished Lauryce’s dress yesterday and it turned out really cute. You’ll see a picture whenever I get the girls together and all dressed up. I ended up going with light blue for the sash and little bows on the sleeves, but it needed something more. Divine intervention? I had some small floral trim on my table that accidentally got in the wrong box and I hadn’t put it in the right one yet. I tried it on the bottom of the dress and it looked great. One row fine, two too much. But it was off-white and I needed pure white because of the bodice piece with the floral embroidery being white. I knew I had it in white so I went through he box of white trim and there it was. My motto is “if the trim fits, buy in in every color available”. I took a piece of the blue sash ribbon and tied a side bow in her hair. Needs a little tidying up but it’s a start.
Well I need to head out and meet my son and his family for lunch. We get the grandkids again today and tonight. It’s our son and daughter-in-laws anniversary this week. We were always supposed to get them this weekend but they accidentally told them last weekend and they were upset when they found out they wouldn’t be coming, so we said we had no plans and could do both Saturdays. Nice day out. Cloudy but warm. Our stop after lunch will be the park. Pretty soon it will be too hot to go.
Hi Barbara,
This dress for Kirsten DID come together fairly quickly…it’s ice when it happens that way.
I measured the buttons and they are about 1/8″ higher on the left side (looking at it) so I’ll be fixing that.
Having lots in your “inventory” saves lots of trips to Joann’s!! I believe in having more than you need…just in case…
Hope you have/had a wonderful weekend babysitting your grandkids…
Blessings, Jeanne
That lace is so beautiful. This is a sort of Alice outfit, but prettier. Would it also work as Victorian? I’m so glad it came together so quickly, partly because you deserved something good and partly because I want to see that “Easy Sew Design” being constructed. You do wonderful things with buttons — these seem especially nice.
Hi Marilyn,
As I was measuring the buttons this morning, Kirsten was laying on my cutting table and I thought the very same thing…that she looked just like Alice in Wonderland. I think it’s the ribbon bow on her headband.
I might have to deviate from my list a bit to make that dress. I can’t wait to see what it looks when it’s made up.
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Aww, Kirsten looks lovely is her new dress. The vintage lace makes an elegant apron.
I agree with Marilyn that it reminds me of Alice, just in dark blue and cream instead.
Thanks Laura,
I appreciate your sweet comments about Kirsten’s dress. I was hoping to get it listed this evening, but dont think it’s going to happen. We just got home and I still needed to fix the buttons and take new pictures…
It can wait…
Thanks Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love this dress and the color of the print is so pretty. Kirsten looks gorgeous in it and I can imagine other dolls being able to wear it also. That piece of lace is gorgeous and I don’t think I would have been able to part with it.
I see a hint of Alice in Wonderland and one lucky person is going to owe this dress.
Super job.