I’m glad everyone liked the straps on the skirt. Molly does too! Since “in-class” school has been postponed for a while, Molly told me to go ahead and finish this set and hopefully school WILL be in session soon.
Today I worked on all the unseen things that are necessary but not noticeable on the outside.
I moved the shoulders on the blouse in so Molly didn’t look like “The Flying Nun” as Joy thought… :o) Here they were the first time…
Yep, a bit too full and floppy…
So I changed them last night and made them somewhat less wide in the shoulders…
But they still looked too droopy to me…so you know what that calls for…sleeve headers. I gathered up narrow strips of tulle and stitched it to the underside seam of the sleeve… now the tulle fills out the inside of the sleeve cap and makes them nice and round…
Yep…one of those unseen things that makes a difference. You can see a post I did on Sleeve Headers HERE if you like…
Ahhh… perfectly puffy sleeves…
Next I sewed on 3 sets of snaps down the front and topped them with 3 white buttons. I started my snaps down low enough that the blouse can still be worn with the lapels open if you like.
Yep…another unseen feature that will make this one stand out…
I wanted to make a black tie for the neck but didn’t want to sew it in place since the blouse can be worn with lapels open. So I pre-tied the black and white ribbon and stitched it to a piece of 1/8″ elastic. On one end there is a loop and on the other end there is a button…it goes under the collar like this…
Just another unseen Jeanne Marie feature… :o)
The ribbon can be worn on top of the collar or underneath.
I also found some saddle shoes in my shoe drawer for Molly…black and white ones!! Perfect!!!
Of course new white socks were in order…here they are…
So all that happened today… and it’s pretty much unseen stuff… but how nicely it all comes together in the end…
The skirt ended up being just a hair too snug in the waist when I tucked the blouse in, so tomorrow I’m going to fix that…
Okay…now for accessories I plan on a tam or a beret, but who wants a bookbag? Or should I make something else?
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
The blouse looks wonderful now, Jeanne! The sleeve headers were definitely needed.
And I love how you did the little tie. It’s all so versatile! The blouse can be worn by itself, with other skirts, or with the plaid skirt, and with or without the tie. I was thinking, a plain black skirt would go well with that tie…..
The socks look great with the saddle shoes, too.
Paula, I still have the plaid wool pleated skirt my dad got me when I was in 9th grade. We had moved out to Seattle in October, but the moving company didn’t bring our stuff for six WEEKS (you bet, my dad charged them for the delay–it was 100% their fault!–but that’s another story), so we went shopping at the Bon Marche’. I needed a black sweater, so we found that, and then I spotted the skirt, and a white blouse with roll-up sleeves (remember those?!), and tried on the whole outfit. To my surprise, daddy said, let’s get the whole outfit! I think he knew how homesick I was for Mich., and discouraged from not having our things around us, so far from family and friends, etc., and thought it would give me a boost. Not only do I have the skirt, but I think I still have the blouse and the sweater, too, although both are Very well worn!! LOL Still, your memory brought back mine. (My skirt isn’t a Red plaid, however, the colors are more muted.)
Anne, I enjoyed your story yesterday. Such fun! These days when I see a little girl dressed up like a fair-tale character, I’ll sometimes smile and ask if she’s a real princess! Both mom and daughter usually get a kick out of that. And if the child is wearing fancy sunglasses, I might ask if he/she is a movie star!! Such fun!!
I’m so happy to see that Molly is going to be the best dressed little girl in school! She could be running for class president and get elected just because of her clothers! The bow is so unique and ca ute way to change it up! and the Saddle Oxfords!! I really don’t remember you using them in the past, so it just might have been Divine Intervention that you found some in the drawer!
Yes, a tam, and a bookbag will be the finishing touches that she need! I can’t wait to see the final touches tomorrow!
Well, Molly is looking very happy with the almost finished outfit. Very inventive on the neck tie. I’ve been fooling around with a scarf thingy that is way too thick for the shirt collar. This may be the key. Although, I think I might make ties instead of bows and use something other than elastic as I don’t have a lot of that. Still in the not done stage.
I had fun yesterday playing with the Modern Doll Virtual Convention. Since I’ve never been to a real life convention, this is probably as close as I will ever get.
Trying to enjoy as much clean air as we can get as the wind may shift over the weekend and smoke may return. 🙁
While we don’t have much in the way of fires around here, maybe a brush fire every now and that’s soon put out, we do get the smoke from when they burn the fields in Mexico. It’s awful. I used to sing in Scots Gaelic. Once I was the entertainment for our Scottish society in Houston. I had a wonderful repertoire of songs lined up but I could barely sing the smoke had affected my voice so much. I definitely understand what you are going through.
Now I would love to hear the Scots Gaelic. My grandfather was Welsh and had a wonderful voice according to my mother.
Saddle shoes! Yay! I don’t think I ever had a pair of those. I did have penny loafers. Also a pair of gray suede oxford hush puppies. I hated those things. I thought they were ugly. As an adult I had (&still have) black ones that I thought were cool.
The embroidered white fabric really turns a blouse from plain to special. I have white eyelet but don’t think it is the right scale for dolls.
Rolling out my pie crusts today. Putting that out there so I DO it. I’ve been delaying since Monday.
Molly’s blouse looks perfect. Jeanne, you are so creative when you feel one of your projects needs an adjustment. The black and white bow idea works well and that pop of color against the crisp white blouse looks great.
I too like the idea of a tam and book bag. So ideal for this outfit.
Can’t wait to see the whole outfit!
Charlotte: loved hearing your story about your skirt and sweater. And I do remember the roll up shirt sleeves! I honestly forgot all about them. And it’s neat that you still have them.
Another shirt I wore with my kilt and other clothes was the Oxford, button down collar shirt that came in various colors. I had a white one and a yellow one. Loved those shirts.
I also think the red plaid skirt I had was not wool or else it was a lightweight wool – I’ll check it out someday.
Btw, that must have been so frustrating trying to deal with most of your home and personal items being 6 weeks late! Can’t even imagine!
It was, Paula, it was. And the church (my dad was a pastor) had painted the walls the wrong color in the living/dining/hall areas, so instead of a “light golden beige” that mom wanted, we had “luridly bright sunshine yellow”!! For about two years, until they painted again. It was probably just as well, though, as we drove into Seattle in misty rain in October, and didn’t see the sun until the following May! The only brightness in the Seattle area that fall/winter/spring was on our walls!
Anne, I enjoyed your story yesterday. I think we all have our own sense of style. I know that being a teen in the 1980’s even if we wore the various in styles we all put our own twist on things. We always wanted to look “pulled together”. We also coordinated everything so that socks, jewelry etch picked up the colors in the rest of our outfits. In was also fashionable to wear dress flats with jeans.
The worse thing would be if I friend showed up and you were helping in the yard and obviously would be dirty and not in nice clothes. You would want to make a quick exit to shower and change. I find it cute when little girls are dressed in costume at the stores and usually comment to them. The one thing I never understand is when I see people at the stores in pajamas and slippers or the fashion trend of buying expensive jeans that had many rips and were faded in the 1990’s. i’m glad i was an adult then although I wouldn’t have worn them anyway. When our jeans got that faded or ripped they were only good for yardwork or to be made into rags. Wouldn’t have been caught dead in them.
Molly’s skirt and blouse are just perfect. i love your clever way of making the bow. I’m glad you found your saddle shoes. Those were a requirement for my kindergarten and first grade uniforms, later we were allowed white Keds or Reebok, but my favorite were the docksides I had in probably fifth through ninth grade. Those Sperry top siders were the best IMO.
I can relate to the ripped jeans available even now. The ones I love weren’t ripped in the knee at all when I bought them. Now they are, and I kind of feel that I’m right in style. 🙂
My Catholic school uniform had a bow, but not a pretty one like Molly’s. I’m definitely for a bookbag. i do love the embroidered blouse fabric and hope you never run out. What color bows for Molly’s hair.
I don’t relate to ripped jeans at all either. Why pay good money for something that is in that condition? Personally, if I have new clothes (which doesn’t happen very often these days) I like them to look new not look as if they should have gone to Goodwill! I went to my son’s for dinner a while back and my grandaughter, who was 19, was wearing a pair of jeans that were ripped so much there was more leg showing than material!
Jeanne I’m glad you are putting that tulle on a doll and not on a person lol. It would drive me crazy. My Mum was given a grey skirt in wool worsted for me. I suppose I was about 9 or ten. I remember going to Sunday school in it and the teacher thought I had “ants in my pants”, I just couldn’t keep still. Mum never made me wear it again. Years later she knitted herself a lovely, soft cashmere sweater. She couldn’t wear it so gave it to my sister. She couldn’t wear it and I got it. I only wore it once. I never knit for myself with anything that has got any wool in it, it feels like I am wearing wire wool!
Again, years later Caitlin was going to high school and needed her uniform. Sam wanted to get her a skirt which was about $55 US but Caitlin wanted the kilt (a proper wrap around kilt) for $185 which is about $125 in your money. After the first day at school I was asked to put in a lining because she couldn’t wear it as it was. I’m not sure how often she wore it after that but she now wears the boys shorts winter and summer. She checked and because the shorts were officially school uniform albeit meant for the boys they had to let her. Sam bought Jono new shorts when we were in UK last year (where they are very, very much cheaper than here) but he left school in November so Caitlin wears them now. Sam lent the skirt to someone she knew on the proviso that she bought it off Sam when she had the money but the woman did a flit and Sam has never seen her or the kilt since. Anyway sensitivity to wool (in my case lots of other things too) seems to have passed down the generations.
I love the way you have done the bow. My older boys had white shirts and red ties on elastic for a professional photo shoot we had done for them. Molly is going to look so pretty when it is all finished.
I’m not a wool fan either. My mother made me a skirt/jacket outfit from my dad’s WWII Navy dress clothes. I was two or three. There is a photo somewhere. I can still remember how itchy it was. I’m sure I was covered in welts from it. I don’t think she ever made me wear it again. Sensitive skin here probably from my English side. 🙂
Everything is coming together so well. The tie makes the blouse even more special and saddle shoes…Bonus! They will just set the whole thing off. Either hat will be good and she needs a book bag or a back pack.
The school my daughter teaches at is doing well. All the kids are there for all the days. So far so good. Maybe I said this already but my daughter said she has the most cooperative parents EVER this year. They will do anything to keep those kids in school!😉☺️. So that is nice.
Another thing she tried was to have the kids help with the cleaning. Each student got a cleaning cloth and she seat a timer for 1 minute…at the end they had judges to see who cleaned up the most dirt…in other words who’s wipe was the dirtiest. That cracked me up and the kids loved it.
Nice to hear that some schools are in session normally! And wonderful that the parents are really cooperative this year! If only it would last, huh?!
Clever idea, contest to see who could wipe up the most dirt!