If you missed the end of my auction last night, you missed history being made… I broke a record for the number of hits (or views) on a single listing of mine on Ebay… My dress for Bailey the other night brought in 668 hits at the end… and once a really long time ago I had a dress for Samantha get in the 500’s… But last night, Sara’s dress gave me 870 hits! I was though the roof with excitement… but I’m probably the only one who really cares about that kind of stuff… just had to tell you…
This morning I put on my painting clothes but it wasn’t long until I realized my day was going in a different direction… my hubby needed my help with a headboard Rebecca is wanting… She did pick out the red cedar boards and she did plan how she wanted the headboard to look, but my hubby and I have put it together and did the board cutting. She wants it tall so she can lean against it in bed and not have her pillows fall through the crack at the front of her bed right now… We got it all put together today, 8″ and 4″ cedar boards alternated and big enough to go behind her queen size bed… She said she’s going to sand it and then stain in… (we’ll see… :o) Here are 2 pictures I snapped of it… in the works…
I think it was Joy who asked how I did the sleeve cuffs on Elizabeth’s Regency dress… then someone else commented too… so I thought I’d show a mini tutorial on how I do cuffs like this…
I cut out a sleeve piece and a cuff to go with it…
Stitch 2 rows of basting along the straight edge…about 1/4″ apart…
Then gently pull the threads and gather it up…
You want the gathers to be evenly distributed between the two ends of the cuff… so pin the ends to the cuff ends and work the gathers between the two ends… stopping about 1/2 – 1″ from the ends… I use the point of a seam ripper to spread my gathers out evenly…
Place the sleeve piece with the right side facing down onto the right side of the cuff…
Take your piece to the sewing machine and place it under the presser foot… and get your gathers where you want them… Begin sewing and hold the gathered edge next to the edge of the cuff or pin it in place if you want.
Turn it over and look at it making sure you don’t have any folds or lumps in the gathers…
If you have any basting stitches that show, pull them out from both sides…
Your seam will look like this…
Now trim your cuff to about half the width it was… (If you want a bigger cuff, leave it alone.)
Take it to your ironing board and press the cuff to the back side, giving you a narrow cuff…
I used my serger to trim off some of the excess width of the cuff…
Fold it to the back again and now give it a good press… you want your edge to be sharp and crisp…
I cut a piece of lace to use for my cuff… a length a bit longer than my cuff… lay it down on your sewing machine with the right side facing up…and sew the outside edge of the cuff to the lace… like this…
When you have that first row done it will look like this…
Now go back to the beginning of the lace and sew close to the edge of the cuff that is attached to the sleeve gathers…
It should look like this… (only straighter if you can… I’m holding my phone trying to take pictures as I do this…)
Here is the back side…
Now you can run 2 rows of basting stitches along the cap of the sleeve and pull them up to make your dainty little doll sleeve…
Viola! One dolly sleeve with a narrow cuff and lace…
So this is what I have to show you on Elizabeth’s dress… I have sewn the under arm seams and added her skirt…
I added some tulle sleeve headers inside the sleeves to make them both stay puffed the same…
Her dress isn’t hemmed yet as I was actually planning on making it shorter and adding a pair of pantalettes underneath, but I like the looks of it long, so I’ll have to ask for your opinions on that…
I combed Elizabeth’s hair and found a long skinny scrap of the fabric so I tied it in her hair. The back doesn’t have any snaps on it yet…
As I was looking through my laces, I found this white medallion that I “could” use, but only have it pinned on the front for you to see… I would add some silk embroidered flowers to “spice” it up a bit if I did use it…or I could add some ribbons or flowers or beads…
I’ll still have to figure out a headpiece… and it’s been a long time since I made a pair of fingerless gloves… maybe a pair is in order for this dress…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you for the wonderful tutorial on making lace-edged sleeve cuffs!! Very helpful to have that info. In a “real person” dress, you would probably make a two-piece sleeve band and sandwich the lace in the lower-edge seam, then turn and apply the band. Your way is much easier!!
One thing, though–I hope you don’t really want to “cut that seam in half”, do you? You mean the seam allowances, right?! (Yeah, you know *I* would catch that!! LOL)
I love the long length for this dress!! I don’t think I’d shorten it at all.
As to the medallion….I’m just not “feelin’ it”, as the saying goes. The dress is so exquisite without it!! Maybe you could use it elsewhere–on a hat or shawl or something?–as it really does echo the “feel” of the lace trim you used.
Now for my little tale of woe: I have hurt my left foot again. We had been out and about today, and got home, I got my things out of the back seat of my car, and had stepped back to close the door…and suddenly found myself falling sideways. I must have twisted my foot as I landed, also hurt my left pinkie in the fall. After an hour of icing, I finally told Ron he’d better take me to the walk-in clinic, as it was still Really paining me, and I know in Aug. 2019 I had broken a small bone in that foot. Fortunately I still had the surgical shoe from that time, so I put it on (hurt too much to put my regular shoe back on), and off we went.
Fortunately no broken bones–neither foot nor finger–but the foot is plenty sore, and the finger is going to be a technicolor wonder in a couple of days!! Guess I’ll be doing some extra reading for a while….
Oh Charlotte! I’m so very sorry you had a fall. Glad to hear there are no broken bones. Reading sounds like a wonderful way to pass the time while you heal. You are in my prayers. Feel better soon
Hugs
Ingrid
I’m so sorry to hear about your accident but it’s good to know it’s not more serious. Of course that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt a whole lot. Prayers for quick healing.
Dear Charlotte, Prayers for a quick recovery. So glad to hear nothing was broken though. Reading sounds like a wonderful way to pass the time.
Dear Charlotte, oh my goodness, I hope you will be able to rest your foot for a few days.
I told your namesake, Charlotte Noelle, about the accident. She had some suggestions (she always does). She said that you should read one of her favorite books: All In A Day.
It shows what children are doing at the exact same moment all over the world. The illustrators themselves are international. The American illustrator is Eric Carle.
I told her that you might not have the book. She just rolled her eyes. She does that when she doesn’t have an answer.
But not to be daunted, she said, “Well then tell Auntie Charlotte to watch Blue’s Clues.”
That’s her favorite TV show.
Take good care whatever you.
[For the Sofa Sisters who don’t know, Charlotte Noelle is my Little Darling named for our Charlotte.]
So sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you heal quickly. I’m sure your girls will miss you working on their outfits.
I thought I would wait for Charlotte to chime in first 😌, since I am too am thinking along those lines of I’m not feeling the lace medallion either! (and didn’t want to be the first one to say it) It is beautiful, but too big and overpowering on that dress, I think. Something smaller would be better! Other than that, the dress is perfectly fine as is as far as the length.
As fas as keeping the dress simple, maybe a more elaborate “something” for her hair, a pretty reticule and then the fingered gloves would work. Maybe a string of pearls with some kind of pretty dangle on it as a finishing touch!
The tutorial was such that even I could follow along and figure it out!
And a big CONGRATULATIONS on that wonderful auction last night! This year is going very well for you, Jeanne!!
Heal quickly, Charlotte! So sorry to hear about your fall!
Kudos on the tutorial, Jeannne! I just finished watch “Bridgerton “ series on Netflix. It’s set in 1812 London.. pure eye candy with all the beautiful costuming.. both male and female.!
I agree about the lace piece… it’s overpowering and takes away from the beautiful lines of her gown.
Some type of jeweled headband would look beautiful. Rebecca might have some ideas:)
Her headboard looks beautiful! Can’t wait to see it finished and set up in her room:)
Thanks for the sleeve tutorial and I’m going to try that when I sew my next dress. As far as the medallion, like the others I’m not fond of it. Maybe if it were smaller as I overpowers the bodice. A bead necklace with a something handing off of it like a jewel or cameo.
The dress turned out gorgeous as always. I love dresses on girls. I was raised wearing dresses and the same for my daughter and granddaughter and I made all of theirs.
My vote goes to long! I like Shara idea of a jeweled headband.
Charlotte I hope you heal quickly. I fall at least 6+ times a day and most times I just get right up and never hurt. By over the holidays I fell first down and tried to soften the fall with my left arm. I fractured my wrist and tore the rotator cuff in my left shoulder. Be careful.
Oh my Sandra…I’m so very sorry, that must be so painful. I hurt my shoulder/rotator years ago and it still bothers me sometimes. Keeping you in my prayers. Feel better soon
Hugs
Ingrid
Good morning Jeanne,
Congratulations on a successful auction. I loved Sara’s dress so much sadly my 80 dollar bid wasn’t enough but it was exciting watching it for the first few days. I was so tempted to bid again but hubby reminded me I have a fabric store in the house and I should dust off my sewing machine. Lol I reluctantly agreed. I am truly happy for the winner and hope she shares a photo of her girl wearing her new Jeanne Marie Original.
Thank you for the tutorial. I actually thought you had sandwiched the lace between two strips like Charlotte mentioned, your way is much faster. Thanks for sharing.
I love Rebecca’s new head board not only is it beautiful but cedar smells so nice. Good job making her idea come to fruition!
Speaking of smelling I’m still not able to smell or taste. Some days there is a hint of a smell but then it’s gone. Cooking is interesting when you can’t taste what you’re making. Oh well keeping positive thoughts it will return sooner than later.
Happy hump day!
Hugs
Ingrid
I forgot to mention your newest creation… It’s just lovely. Fingerless gloves will be a very nice addition. I prefer the dress long but that’s just my taste. Have you ever considered making this style outfit in little darling size? I’d be the first to bid on it!
Dear Ingrid, I am so glad to see your comment. I hope you are doing well now. You are on my prayer list.
It does take awhile for taste and smell to return unlike after a cold. Sometimes I put my face over my cooking pot to get even a small whiff of what I was cooking. I don’t have to do that now. You’ll probably notice it’s return when there’s something you really would prefer not to smell like something your threw in the trash a day or two ago.
The dress is lovely and the tutorial very well done. I agree about the lace piece since it has a design that won’t allow for it to be used sideways. What size thread do you use for top stitching 🧵? It looks to be heavier or is it just the magnification when clicking on the pictures. Congratulations on last night’s auction.
Thinking of you, Charlotte. Heal quickly and be careful.
So happy that Sara’s dress was such a success. I wonder what she misses most, the dress or the chicks! They can be a handful.
Although I love the lace medallion it doesn’t seem right for this dress. I’m really feeling scattered pearls on the bodice, and a petite pearl necklace. Fingerless gloves sound wonderful. Funny but just last evening I was looking at some of your previous outfits and wished you’d make another outfit that used those gloves, so I’m crossing my fingers.
I think you’re off to a great year!
It was interesting to read and view your tutorial on the sleeve. I don’t sew at all and I understood your instructions! I like the length of the dress long as you have it but I’m not sure about the medallion. It looks too large.
This dress is definitely going to be very elegant so something jeweled maybe?
Congratulations Jeanne on the huge amount of views on Sara’s beautiful outfit and the auction itself.
Take care Charlotte and hope you heal quickly.
Wow, Rebecca’s new headboard definitely won’t walk away on it’s own. Looks substantial and is a great design. Would like to see the stain choice. I actually love it left as is with maybe just a clear finish, but know it will probably be stained a darker shade to go along with other furniture. It is a wonderful piece.
Very interesting tutorial on the attachment of the sleeve cuff. Here I suspected that it was a separate piece sewn on the top and topstitched. But, no, sewn on expertly and then sewn again. Did you change the stitch width? Whatever you did, I love it.
No offense, but that oval lace piece does not fit with that wonderful square neckline or the delicate lace trim. It is too modern for my taste. I like it as it is. I also like the longer length. If anything is added, maybe a couple of long narrow ribbons in the same color as the dress with small bows, attached at the waist at the outside edge where the gathers start. I like the headband idea which might be a matching lace with embroidery. If she has an added necklace, I’d like to see it made from small white/pearls and hang to cover her seamline but not into the beautiful lace. 🙂 What about making regular gloves and not fingerless? I’d like those. 🙂
And a big congrats on Sara’s dress. It really was lovely. Like Ingrid, I too dropped out from bidding and hope someone from the group was the winner. I think more outfits for the Fashion Friends girls should be on the list. 🙂
I forgot to add, I’d like the gloves to be elbow length. 🙂
I love both your ideas, Joy–the bows at the waist, and the elbow-length gloves! They would be wonderful, and add a lot!
What a nice sleeve tutorial. Your pictures are great for showing the details of the stitching. Congratulations on breaking your record on your eBay auction “hits”. I’m sure that is a lot for a doll dress! The headboard is looking good. I can understand what Rebecca means about leaning back and not having the pillows slide down. I feel that way too.
As for the regency dress, the medallion is a little big, but I think the front of the dress needs “something”, I’m just not sure what. Maybe something around the seam where the bodice joins the skirt.
Charlotte, I hope you soon heal. I broke a bone in my foot many years ago (about 50 actually) in the days before ‘moon boots’. They didn’t plaster it but I had to stay on crutches for a few weeks. Very inconvenient with 3 small children (Sam was barely a year old) and a two story house!
Ingrid so sorry about your sense of taste. I remember Prince Charles on TV complaining that his sense of taste had still not returned after several weeks.
Jeanne, I love the dress but like everyone else I am not a fan of the medallion. It seems too big to me. I don’t think women wore anything under their dresses until the late 18th century so not keen on the idea of pantaloons. I like the longer length.
Congratulations on the auction. The dress was lovely and Bailey looked gorgeous in it. I am sure she is unhappy at having to take it off.
Checked it out and the pantaloons did come in to fashion in the late 18th century but Regency of course is early 19th duh!!!
Sandra and Ingrid, I pray both of you are on the mend soon also.
I missed the end of the auction, but congratulations on a big success. Sara was certainly a wise investment. You’ve basically made the cost of her back on this first dress.
Thank you for the tutorial, Jeanne. I also agree the medallion is a little too big for the dress. Perhaps as part of a hairband. I love the idea of a jeweled hairband. Definitely agree with Joy on opera length gloves, but not fingerless.
Dear Jeanne, here are suggestions from the non-sewer.
I like the dress long. I would not want pantalettes for it.
I would not like the additional lace on the front. I like the dress just as it is.
I like the idea of a simple ribbon in her hair, like you have. I don’t generally put hats on my dolls as they mess of the wigs and I am not good at fixing them.
Congratulations on another successful auction!
Oh, Jeanne, you are so industrious!! Loved the tutorial–your sewing is so neat. I’ve missed checking out your beautiful creations so much, but the holidays….and the pandemic….and the total knee replacement I had in December….and physical therapy 3x a week….and my 3 part-time jobs…..Well, I haven’t had time or energy for much of anything. But I am adapting, and my knee is ever so much better, and I think the holiday depression that sets in is lifting a bit (but not the lack of energy, but that’s another rant). Anywhoo, thanks for sharing such beauty with us!
I always read your comments before all the Sofa Sisters and today I agree with most who think the medallion is a bit big…. very pretty though 🙂 I always like seeing the pantaloons peeking out from under the dresses but this one is pretty just plain as well. Whatever head gear you make will be great and you have many suggestions!
I’m sick about your foot Charlotte….one little wrong move and you have to be uncomfortable for so long. Staying off it is easier said than done.
You get to be the e
bay Queen for a Day for having that awesome auction! Omgosh…over 800 hits? That is fantastic as is the sale price! Congratulations!
Thanks for the sleeve tutorial. I’m going to try this out soon. Such a pretty blue dress. Maybe you could draft a pattern for this type of dress for the Fashion Friends. I think it would be lovely on them. They’re modern girls but they have a huge feminine side so I know they would love to see themselves in this. It would make a lovely prom dress.
Rebecca’s headboard is going to be very nice. Another labor of love for your family. I remember when my uncle and aunt bought their first king size bed. During the early years of their marriage they moved to Wilmington, DE, so my uncle could take the train to Philly to attend the Wharton School of Business. It was cheaper to live there than Philly. He was going full time on the GI Bill and my aunt was home with a baby and they had to live very frugally. After he graduated he worked for DuPont and did very well. They no longer had to be frugal but it was so ingrained in them that they kept it up. My uncle refused to pay the prices they were asking for king size headboards so he looked around until he found a paneled door where the panels were in perfect symmetry. Then he and my aunt antiqued it. It was truly lovely and it cost them under $20.00.
The temperature is dropping and there’s moisture in the air. Snow in the offing? I’m not holding my breath but Sean said we could get snow next Monday. I saw in our local paper that some of our outlying areas got a light snow the last time we had a cold snap with precip. It’s not uncommon for some of the areas around us to get snow, but the city seems to keep it from here unless the situation is just right.