Molly might be waiting on Christmas, but really what she’s waiting on is ME! Me to finish the rest of this set… most likely a slip, and some new white socks, to pick out which black shoes she’ll be wearing, whether she gets a hairbow or a hat, and figuring out what “accessory” she’ll wind up with.
There’s lots to do yet, but plenty to show you today…
I am ALL finished with the dress… this is what I did since you saw it last…
~ added the skirt…(it took 2 attempts to please me…)
~ sewed on 5 sets of snaps…
~ hemmed the dress…
~ sewed little black buttons the sleeves…
~ sewed little black buttons on the back….
~ tacked down the collar in the back (however I see in my pictures, I got one side lower than the other, so I’ll be redoing that…)
~ tied a black satin bow and added it under her collar
~ and took these pictures…
Here’s a little sewing tip:
When you have a plaid that has a bold pattern to it, like this one; where the red section is pretty wide and the aqua section is too, your “sections” of color can get overlapped when you sew the skirt on your bodice and sometimes you see a bunch of one color on one section of the skirt or it can even make the skirt look lopsided. In other words, it’s not EVEN. One way to solve this is to run THREE rows of basting across the top of the skirt piece. Then carefully gather it up so your colors form little even sections like this…
Use the bottom width of your completed bodice to see how far you need to spread them out and still have some fabric to turn under at the back of the dress. Use your fingers to spread it out and carefully take your skirt and stitch it to your bodice.
It looks much more even with that extra row of basting stitches…
I should have taken a picture of my first try… I had too much aqua showing on the left side and not enough on the right side… My gathers didn’t look even until I did it this way.
That third row of basting helps keep your gathers parallel to the length of the skirt… When you get your skirt stitched on, carefully pull your basting stitches out… It will look even better when I have a slip underneath.
Well, I hope that was clear to those of you who might need to try this…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Don’t forget to check out Noel’s “Christmas Sparkle” dress on Ebay… HERE.
That dress turned out beautifully, Jeanne!! I love every part of it!!
Thanks for the sewing tip, too. I remember learning about 3 rows of gathering stitches, but not in relation to a plaid; I think it was more if the skirt was very full, or something like that. A handy thing to know! I do have some smallish plaids here, and have used some on dolls in the past, so it’s possible I’ll use some again. I like plaids, but not on me! I once had a lovely red plaid dress, and it fit well, but I never felt “right” in it. I have plaid flannel pjs now, and I am just not fond of them, either! I’m more a flowery or geometric/abstract print type of girl, I guess! But Molly loves plaids, and all my LDs have plaid skirts for school!
Thank you Charlotte,
I’m liking how this one turned out too! Molly looks very pretty in it…her coloring is perfect for this color combination.
Speaking of plaids…I once counted my hubby’s plaid shirts and he had 104!! That was ALL the ones he had hanging up…
And that’s why he’s called “the man from plaid!”
I haven’t forgotten about April Eleanor!!
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, how pretty the dress turned out for Molly, Jeanne! I can see myself as a 10 year old twirling around with a dress like that! And “tap dancing” in our tile bathroom with our new black patent leather shoes! Those were the days!
although I don’t do much sewing now, mostly mending, that is a good thing to know about gathers and plaids. I’m sure the ones who do sew will use that!
Is Molly going to have something pretty to adorn her hair? I like the added black bow you put at the neckline. Just the perfect touch!
Hi Linda
Since I’m big fan of red, I think I would have loved wearing this dress when I was younger too!
I was working on Molly’s slip but hope to get her hair “thingy” done too…and her socks!
Thank you for your sweet comments Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Perfect explanation of dealing with plaid. I hadn’t heard of using three rows of stitching for gathering before. At first glance, I thought you were going to leave them there! Wow! The colors of the gathers look great. Thanks for the great tip. Linda’s suggestion of a black bow sounds great to me. I know you’ll come up with something even better if not the bow.
Hi Susette,
I have a pattern for a beret that is sort of floppy and I think it might look cute with the dress… so I’ll have to wait and see. Maybe I’ll do both…a bow and a hat.
The picture of the basting threads looks like I’ve done it on a pleater and am getting ready to smock it around the waist.
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, this is one of the most beautiful dresses I have seen. It is so “Molly.” I am not sure how you are going to get her to part with it.
I think that a simple hair bow would look lovely.
Hi Dorothy,
I’m glad you like it so much and SO glad it looks like something Molly would wear.
I might get out my 1945 and 46 catalogs and look at what girls were wearing in their hair for Christmas… I think you’re right…hair bows!
Thank you so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, this dress is exceptional.
My mom taught me so many lessons about sewing with plaids, If they did not match up, that was unacceptable. This dress is just stunning in design and perfection!
Which leads me to an off topic comment, There is a commercial on tv for VSP vision insurance and the woman blabber selling the coverage has a terrible plaid shirt in a magenta pink color, large plaid. The shirt is poorly made….. and every time I see that commercial on tv, I have to laugh at how bad it looks hahahahaha
Hi Rosemary,
Your compliments ts are over the top and I appreciate you taking time to tell me how much you like it.
I remember a plaid vest I made in 4H where the plaids were off about 1/8th of an inch. I remember taking it apart and redoing it so they matched perfectly.
I ALWAYS notice when plaids don’t match… must be a pet peeve of mine…
Thanks Rosemary
Blessings, Jeanne
Beautifully done, Jeanne. Your tip on 3 sets of gathers at the skirt is most helpful. Molly is a delight to view.
Blessings.
Thank you Becky,
I hope you’ve just been busy, but I’ve missed you. I’m glad you like Molly’s dress.
Blessings, Jeanne
Wonderful gathering tip! Love how the colors are adjusted perfectly. And even more, how the plaid from the bodice continues to the skirt with just the right size in each color block so it uniformly flows from the top to the skirt. You know blue, red, blue. Reminds me of another outfit you made, and we all made comments about how the plaids should match. Ha Ha. 🙂 Anyway, love the dress. If you decide to go with a hat, perhaps a simple 40’s felt cap with a chin tie and some embroidery. Might be cute. And, I believe that this outfit would be a lovely back to school outfit as well as holiday. Quite versatile.
Thank you Joy,
As I was working on this. I wondered if it looked too schoolgirl-ish, but when I added the lace on the bodice I think that helped spruce it up a bit.
Ooooo…a little red cap would be very cute…
Hmmm…now to find a picture to copy. I actually think there is one in my catalog…
I’ll have to check it out…
We are on our way to see my mom…I still can’t drive until after I get my distance eye fixed, so my chauffer is driving me around!
I hope I get home in time to figure something out.
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
This dress is just so sweet and adorable. I would have loved it as a young girl. The black bow at the collar is just perfect. This lovely dress truly fits in Molly’s era.
My mother always loved red plaids and her love for them became mine.
Can’t wait to see what you will continue with to finish the whole outfit.
Thank you Paula,
From a distance, this dress reminds me of the Civil War dress I made in that red shimmery plaid with the black belt. I’m sure you know which one I mean. :o)
I don’t have much to finish this set, but “things” that have to be done are being done today. I’ll get it finished as soon as I can.
Thank you Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a precious dress. So cheerful. Echoing Joy’s statement, I thought it would be wonderful for back-to-school as well as the holidays. I’m a bow person rather than a hat person so I would prefer a bow, but it will be fun to see what you. No matter what, this is a lovely dress and Molly shows it off well.
Hi Barbara,
Well, maybe this is one of those versatile dresses that works for more than one occasion!
Molly was thrilled to have been chosen to wear this plaid. I agree. She does look very pretty in it!
Thank you Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh yes..it turned out SO cute! I will think of that idea of gathering next time I do a full skirt! How do you determine the fullness? Is it the waist measurement x 2 or 3 or 4 ? I just did one that could have been just a tad fuller but it has a hankie apron so slid the gathers to the side because the apron covered the front. The plaid looks so festive and when you do pics with some Christmas scene it will be darling.
Thank you Kathie,
With anything like curtains I generally make them 2 1/2 -3 times the width of my window.
On most doll dresses, I generally use the full 45 width of my fabric, and just gather it up evenly to fit the bottom edge of my dress bodice, again leaving an inch or so to turn under the back edge of the skirt.
Thank you for your sweet compliments Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Good to know!
Thank you🤗
Oh my, you got a lot done on this dress in one day. It turned out so nice too! That’s a good tip on the three rows of basting. Plaid can be challenging if the colors tend to clump together. I thing you have solved the challenge with this technique.
Thank you Carolyn,
Molly’s dress did come together fairly quickly. It’s nice when that happens.
That’s he word I was looking for…when the colors in the plaid, “clump” together!!
Thank you Carolyn,
Blessings, Jeanne