Emmie was on the dolly shelf when I heard her asking if any Easter dresses were going to be made this year…
“Of course, I am!”
“Could I get one?” she asked.
“Yes you may…how about that pretty blue and green Liberty of London lawn fabric I bought with you in mind?”
“I would LOVE that!!”
“Ok, then let’s get started.”
That’s how this next dress came about.
If you sew doll clothes but have never used a Liberty of London lawn fabric, you really should treat yourself at least once to a piece. It is heavenly to work with…
Emmie’s dress is off to a good start with the bodice constructed and the sleeves set in.
I used some blue piping on the bottom of the sleeves. I wish I had made them just a bit shorter like I had on Sara’s yellow and bue dress.
I wanted them to stand up and be puffy, so I added tulle sleeve headers inside.
Emmie already found some blue shoes and I found what I “think” I’m going to decorate her dress with…
This is going to be one pretty dress!!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
That is going to be a Fantastic dress, Jeanne!! I’m really not a “blue person”, and *I* love it!! It’s going to be hard to keep the girls away from the computer for this one! LOL
I do have some Liberty Lawns, so am going to have to get them out and make dresses, I guess. I did one for Flora (Kish, I think) and it turned out nice, and was just lovely to sew on/with. But I have some more…and (shhh) I even have enough of a couple of them for ME!!
I just checked you auction, and all the pictures are still there. It’s about 2 a.m. Pacific time, just so you know. I hope they got your tech issues sorted out for you; it’s so worrisome when something like that happens, and you can’t “fix” it!
HI Charlotte,
I’m glad you like the blue dress for Emmie. She looks so pretty in the blue, especially since I changed her wig from the blonde she WAS wearing to this brunette one…
Oh, you definitely need to get out your Liberty fabric… It is so wonderful to make gathers with…
My pictures ARE still there and I’m as happy as anyone…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
That is going to be a sweet little dress, Jeanne! It makes Emmie’s eyes bluer, and I think the sleeves are just right! It’s a great start to her Easter outfit! The shoes and flower look perfect too! What will be added, a pretty slip, hat, tights, ??
One more “nice” day here before the rain comes! It would be nice to get some outdoor pictures before lisit it,……………if you can!
HI Linda,
Awww… I’m glad you like this dress too. She does look prettiest in the blues I think…
Yes, for sure a slip and I’ll have to see about a hat or a bonnet… or a bow maybe…
Is it as windy there today as it is here? We are having 25 mile an hour winds with gusts up to 37 mph… it just about blows you over… Even if I WERE finished with Emmie’s dress, I sure couldn’t take any pictures outside today!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Going to be a beautiful dress. Can I ask who painted this beautiful girl Emmie? Thank you
Hi Martha,
Lana Dobbs painted Emmie…I waited 3 years and 3 months to get her…
Thanks!!
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you, she is beautiful and I think this dress will be too
Thanks so much Martha,
It is so much fun to sew for these sweet little girls… I think I like to sew for anyone, as long as it’s a doll! :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Beautiful fabric, perfect with her eyes. I like the length of these sleeves, but (always a but lol) I would like them a tad tighter. I’d love to see a blue maybe satiny wide sash, big bow in the back and matching big bow holding some of her hair in the back. But everything you make turns out so pretty.
HI Dorothy,
I am debating about taking the sleeves out and making them a bit shorter on the underarm side… I like the sleeves to go straight across if possible instead of slanting down… I should have used the sleeve pattern I drafted for Sara…
As far as the tightness goes, they have to be about this big to get them over her hand, but I might try to make them a little bit smaller IF I remake them…
It’s kind of a strange color blue… I’ll have to look in my ribbon stash and see what I have. I can’t believe I had some piping in the right color…
Thanks so much Dorothy,
Blessings, Jeanne
I don’t know if anything could be prettier with Emmie’s coloring, and Liberty prints are always special. She’ll need an Easter bonnet to go with her dress, and those shoes are perfect.
You might have to make her a coat if she lived in Colorado. Predictions are for up to 20 inches of snow. We usually get one big one in spring and this could be it. I heard snow would start tomorrow, but the snow didn’t get the memo — roofs and lawns are already white. My nephew, who is a nurse, is supposed to fly back from his temporary placement in North Carolina Saturday. Good luck finding a landing place.
HI Marilyn,
I haven’t looked in my hat braid to see if I had the right color blue, or maybe navy or even white… any would work with this…
I can’t believe you might be getting 20 inches of snow… I’d be crying… I think.
I hope your nephew makes it home safe and sound and on a “snowless” runway! :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Emmy is going to look like a dream in that lawn!
When you say set in sleeves, does that mean sew up the bodice side seam, the underarm sleeve seam, gather the sleeve to fit the opening, and then sew the sleeve and bodice together?
HI Julia,
Glad you like the dress so far…
When I mentioned her sleeves were set in… I just meant they were all complete and added to the bodice…
The way I do the doll sleeves is to finish the bottom edge first. then gather the curved part of the sleeve with 3 rows of basting stitches….close together. Pull up those stitches to an evenly gathered sleeve cap… Then I lay it down on the area where the sleeve is to be set… and pin the middle notch to the bodice… I use a pin and evenly distribute my gathers around the sleeve opening area… Then starting at the edge of one end I sew it about 1/4″ all the way around… When I finish, I look at it and make sure my gathers are even and none laying over with a fold in it… then I turn it wrong side out and stitch from the sleeve cuff to the waistline, matching up the underarm seams… When that is done and the sleeve looks good, I press the tiny seams open flat and stitch them down at the underarm seams and finish off the ends of the seams tucking the serged edges inside the seam and stitching it down…
Was that what you meant? I may have gone into too much detail, but that is how I set in sleeves…
Thanks Julia,
Blessings, Jeanne
You explained it well, Jeanne. I would just add this:
On a dress this small, you can’t “set in” the sleeves conventionally (sleeve under arm seam and bodice side seam sewn first) as there would be no room to sew that tiny circle that is the armhole! The way you “set in” a sleeve is what I do, and I call it a flat application.
Oh yes, Emmie and I like the same colors. Love the fabric and the piping is a perfect match. I like this so much better than a wide sleeve band. I think Dorothy is right about the sleeve band looking loose, but since they are all done, maybe there might be another doll with heavier arms who can also wear the dress? It may also be that way because of Emmie’s hand size. I’ve never sewn much for my LD’s, so I don’t know. Love seeing the inside the sleeve photos because I was wondering how you finished off the piping. I think this dress will fly off the Ebay screen with bids. It is so beautiful. I certainly hope this listing will not waste your time like the Navi one. 🙂
Thanks Joy,
I can’t believe I had that color of blue in my piping… it’s a bit different… maybe a cornflower blue? The hands of the Effner dolls don’t let you have a super close cuff on the doll. The fingers are spread out more on one of the hands than the other so I just usually make the cuffs the same size… but I was telling Dorothy, I “Might” be taking them off and redoing them… I think they look a bit droopy on the bottom side and I wanted them to look like Sara’s…
I hope you’re right about it doing well on Ebay… if my pictures for the Gallery will load, I’ll be a happy camper…
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
This material is beautiful.and the blue print is lovely on Emmie with her blue eyes.. It will be an adorable Easter outfit/spring dress. Wonder what else you have in mind for it.? I agree with others, it will go out the door fast on EBay.
I was just wondering , but what makes the Liberty of London lawn fabric special? I don’t sew and am not familiar with fabrics.
HI Paula,
Thank you for your kind compliments on Emmie’s dress. It has a great start and I agree, she looks so pretty in the blue…
The Liberty of London fabrics are just wonderful to feel and sew with. The company, based in London has been around since 1875 and they print over 50,000 meters of fabric a day… One of the prints, a peacock print, (Hera) has been around since 1887…and is still being produced today. The fabrics have lots of plusses… they are super lightweight, comfortable, easy to sew, they gather up like a dream and they have such pretty patterns… over 45,000 original designs… They are just wonderful and fun to sew with…
If you like to feel your fabrics when you pick them out, when you feel a Liberty of London fabric, it’s like night and day to anything else… :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow! Blue is generally not my favorite, but I love that fabric. And, it looks lovely on that particular doll. I am always a fan of contrast piping—it adds so much to any outfit.
Thank you Carolyn,
I’m glad you like the blue fabric… and I agree, Emmie wears it very well!
Thanks so much for your compliments…
Blessings, Jeanne
Emmie will be absolutely wonderful in that dress. I’m in love with the sleeves and the blue piping is one of my favorite ways to make puffy sleeves😉What does make Liberty of London your favorite fabric?
Did you get your leather punch yet? I was looking on my shelves and I have a doll in that same dress that you found … the Dianna Effner one in ivory and light green stripe. Just need to compare faces to see if it the same doll or just the same dress.
Taking hubby home from hosp today. Hernia surgery. He will feel so much better🤗
HI Kathie,
I just answered Paula, above your comment, about the Liberty of London Fabrics… They are just wonderful to sew… and you can make the tiniest thing without it being bulky… even with lots of gathers…
I did get my leather punch and will show what I’ve accomplished with it soon… I was trying to get Emmie’s dress finished first…
The doll that is wearing the green and ivory striped dress is a Dianna Effner Emily doll. If you just type in that on Ebay, you can see if you have the same doll.
Oh, I hope your hubby is better… now you get to play nurse… :o)
I got your gloves and will try to make some doll shoes from them.. I was surprised and thrilled at the same time! Thank you!
Blessings, Jeanne
I do love the Little Darlings. Emma is beautiful and the blue looks fabulous on her. I had wondered how you put the piping on so thank you for showing the inside of the sleeve (even though it was to show the net heading not the piping lol. I haven’t seen Liberty fabrics in a long time, I guess you have to buy them on line these days. I think they are a bit out of my price range.
Weather is definitely autumnal at the moment. Your 69F sounds lovely Jeanne. It rained on and off yesterday, I hate to complain though it is the first we have had for some weeks so the garden really needed it.
HI Anne,
I’m glad you saw how I did my piping… although I “may” be taking the sleeves off to redo them… just thinking about it… and need to decide soon.
Yes, the Liberty of London fabrics are a bit out of my price range too…that’s why I treasure each piece I have ever gotten… Occasionally you can find some on Ebay… a remnant or a sale or some that the person has no idea what they have…
We have WIND today… 25 – 37 mph wind gusts… and just about blows you over when you go outside.. . I Hope you get your rain soon… and then some more…
Blessings, Jeanne
Blue (and shades thereof) is definitely my choice of color. I was just out this morning looking to see if the grape hyacinths and crocus had started their appearances yet… very soon. Emmie’s eyes just sparkle.
I also think a wide satin ribbon in a bow would really dress up the dress and then a matching one to hold on her Easter bonnet. Always a fan of piping as it makes the outfit look so “finished”.
HI Laura,
I know you are a blue person, so I knew you’d like Emmie’s dress. She does seem to look prettier in the blues…
I’ll have to check out my ribbons and braid for a bonnet… Thanks for your sweet compliments.
Blessings, Jeanne