Before we get to Felicity and choosing a color for her neckline… I wanted to share a few pictures from my readers…
Melody sent me this sweet set on her Tella… I’m sure you remember Turtle in my Pocket… Well, look how adorable Tella, a My Meadows doll, the same size as Navi, (6 1/2″) looks in it. Melody said Tella was introducing Timmy the turtle to Tella’s puppy… I wonder how THAT went??? :o) Thanks Melody!
AND… Barbara received good news… Magalie finished painting her Little Darling and she is being shipped…May I present to you… Greer Adele! She will join the other girls in the Easter Tea Party photo shoot, but Barbara just couldn’t wait to show us… I don’t blame her…
What a beauty, Barbara… AND a redhead… be still my heart! :o)
I’m going to include one more picture… Joy sent this to me… and just said, “Need a laugh?” I think it’s self explanatory!
Okay, now if you’ve stopped laughing, I need your help… I have the dress for Felicity finished… all the snaps are sewn down the back, the hem has been done by hand and her petticoat has been made… I’ll show you her petticoat first…
I know it’s not authentic, with that elastic waist, but I wanted it to be able to be moved up and down in case the winner wanted to use it for a shorter dress. All they have to do is slide it up higher on her belly… I had some cream tulle with a small dot in it, and used it for the top part, but added a piece of vintage lace I had in an ecru color at the bottom… I added a ruffle in a bit stiffer tulle to help hold it out at the bottom. I wanted her dress to look like it stood out but not have the boned crinoline I usually make. I thought a young girl would like something more like this.
If you click any of my pictures they will ENLARGE…
I used a coral colored 1/8″ satin ribbon and ran a casing with it enclosed… just for a little something extra…
It just peeks out below her dress…
Now this might be like opening a can of worms, and I maybe should have just given 2 choices, but I have 5 to show you… I looked at LOTS of my silk ribbons and these 5 were the best choices…
We’ll call them mint, rose, coral, creamy yellow and organza mint green ribbons..
I ran a strand of each of the ribbons through the neckline lace and took these pictures in a nice naturally lighted area and think the pictures are pretty true in color…two pictures for each color.
Up first is Mint green…
Next up is Rose…it’s a bit pinker than I thought…
Next is the Coral…
Creamy yellow…
…and a sheer organza in the mint green…
I didn’t take time to thread it through evenly but if this color is chosen I will make sure it’s not folded over like in my pictures..
So that’s what I need to decide on now…what color ribbon do you like the best… send me your comments below or in an email… (Click on the Contact Me tab at the top of my post.)
Here are a few pictures I took of the dress on Felicity without the ribbons but with her slip. I also grabbed a piece of netting lace to show you what a fichu might look like around her neck and a pearl necklace…
By the time I got to these pictures it was dark outside, so my pictures below aren’t the greatest…
Well, I’ll be waiting to hear what you all think…
Blessings, Jeanne
My vote is for Coral, I do think you have to consider if you are having a hat what silk flowers
etc. would match the trim. That might make a difference in the color you pick! Where do you find the silk ribbon, I was looking for some and was unable to find any of the stores here.
Also Jeanne what is the name of the glue from Hobby Lobby you use for your straw hats?
Thanks and have a good day!
Sylvia from NH
Oh, what nice pictures from your readers! A fun way to start the week! Did you show Navi the picture of “her” outfit on Tella? If so, was she jealous or sad? I hope not.
Congratulations, Barbara, on Greer Adele! She’s gorgeous!!
Joy, I had to laugh at the meme you sent!! Too funny!! Considering how narrow fabric was in those days, and the length/width of those skirts, there is probably 2-3 bolts of fabric represented in those dresses!
Now, Jeanne, as to the ribbon choices:
Of those five, Definitely the coral. It really brightens everything up. The creamy yellow was okay, but the coral was better. I seem to remember a more burgundy colored one the other day, though, too–is that out of the running now?
My least favorite would be the organza one, as I’m pretty sure something like that wouldn’t have been available in the 1770s. The silk ribbons are much more true to the period, probably.
We are having very un-springlike weather in the Seattle area–the thermometer seems to be stuck at 43, and the weather gauge is stuck at rain and wind!
I’m thinking the coral ribbon too, but am somewhat confused as to why are you also showing the fichu and necklace. Is it ribbons, or the fichue and necklace, or both used together? I think all that is too much, but if the fichu were optional and an extra piece, that is a different story. Just the pearl necklace with the coral ribbon woud be enough for me. It would also be sweet with a bow on the outside of the sleeves , the way you sometimes do, Jeanne!
That slip is to die for! I woud buy that on it’s own! I love that lace and it is perfect peeking out from the hemline!
Navi’s dress is a perfect fit on Tella! Oops, it’s NOT Navi’s dress anymore, is it? LOL
Wow, Barbara, your new doll is gorgeous! I hope you have clothes for her, since Easter is coming and she will want to fit right in with the others! She almost looks like she could be Felicity’s little sister!
That picture of all the matching dresses reminds me of when I was in college, my sorority had a “sorority dress” for lack of a better term, a dress and jacket that we all had to make and wear on special occasions! It was a pinkish coral, linen-like fabric, nothing like those dresses! I wonder if they were a part of a group or even a cult? Gosh, that’s a lot of fabric!!
Beautiful weather this weekend, sorry Charlotte! It was up to 77 and sunny skies for us in St. Louis!
Hi Jeanne I too like the coral. It makes the lace stand out and would be a good color for flowers on a hat–if you add a hat. Barbara what a beautiful doll, she is gorgeous. I love her red hair
I vote for coral too!
I went back and forth with all the colors and then ruled some out and after looking at the pictures 4 times the winner and I think by a landslide Coral. The yellow cream is very pretty but doesn’t talk to me. Oh, my that slip is gorgeous especially the lace at the bottom.
Barbara you are on lucky lady as Greer Adele! is stunning!
I almost spit my coffee on the monitor when I scrolled down and saw the image of the ladies all dresses the same. Yikes. Decades ago I sewed 52 red and white checked skirts for a civil war group that my father was in and I thought that was enough but at least they were covered for the most part in their jackets. Thanks for the laugh.
I also like the coral, best. I’ll bet the creamy yellow would look nice with the pearls.
I asked about a “bretelle” tutorial. I always thought if it as a shoulder ruffle, so when I got a pattern book I had trouble figuring out the pattern piece I needed. Had to do a little detective work, at first all I saw was referencing suspenders and I was stumped. Anyway, with no instructions how do you set the ruffle? Sew it on the sleeve and gather as one or gather the ruffle, sew it to the armhole, then do the sleeve? Any helpful hints? The pattern book I got is by Rosemarie Ionker who designs for Boneka, wonderful books but few instructions. But that’s what I love about your easy and detailed instructions.
Dorothy, if the marks (notches, dots, whatever) on both the sleeve and the little ruffle part match all along, you can gather them together as one. However, it may be, even in this instance, that the ruffle will stand up a bit better if it is gathered separately from the sleeve, and then attached. You might want to try some samples with scraps, mimicking the curve of the sleeve cap, and see which look you prefer. Hope that helps.
Greer Adele is a little beauty and Magalie is a genius. Now all you need is a Jeanne Marie dress for her.
Before I read the comments, I chose the coral ribbon and wondered if it would be the most common choice — I see that I agree with everyone else — it’s the clear winner. The petticoat is lovely and I like that the winner can have it show or not. It will also work nicely under other full-skirted J-M dresses.
I agree with Linda on the sleeves. The fichu and necklace may be too much except for very formal occasions but I like them for variety/options. I’m still hoping for a hat because you decorate them so beautifully.
Our temperature matches Seattle, bit we have snow with more expected today and tomorrow.
Melody’s, Tella looks so thrilled wearing her new outfit. Sweet. And I’ll bet Greer Adele can’t wait for her trip in a box to be over so she can meet her new mommy, Barbara. Love Magalie’s girls. 🙂
The slip’s off white color is perfect with the outfit and matches the rest of the lace. Love it. Really makes the presentation. As to the ribbon colors, yesterday I was torn between the two rust colors, one more pinkish than the other. Today, I’m seeing the coral and creamy yellow as my favorite choices because neither mint seem to match the dress background nor does the rose go with the flowers. If you want a color contrast, then my choice would be the coral, but if you want to accent the beautiful lace and keep the color soft but still accent the lace, then my choice would be the creamy yellow. If you are going with the fichu, definitely the cream. The necklace pearls seem a bit large. Maybe a smaller pearl or something small dangling from a creamy ribbon choker? Whatever you decide, the dress is wonderful with that beautiful petticoat and lovely vintage lace. Lucky Felicity. 🙂
Ribbons. Color is better than neutral. The neutrals are too bland.
Petticoat. I always thought of your audience and potential customer as adult. In that case, go more accurate to the Era. The elastic etc. looks wrong on many levels. Were tiers a colonial thing? The lace at the bottom is good. The ribbon placement is awkward floating in the middle. Bottom line, the slip is not working for me.
I’m in the minority, here. 🙂 I prefer the mint or creamy yellow – mostly because – with the darker color, it looks more like a fall dress than a ‘spring’ dress. The minty looks ‘springy’. The Creamy color could fit with either season, imho. They are all lovely, but…. 🙂 Good thing you have to decide…not me. LOL!!
I vote coral. It seems to stand out better. Was that your choice? I love the slip with the cream lace. I agree the Pearl necklace is too bulky/chunky. If you use the coral ribbon, could you do a cream fichu and skip a necklace?
Greer Adele is beautiful.
Oh, my! What a dilemma! The coral and the creamy yellow are my choices, but they give two different looks. With the fichu and the pearl necklace I do think I prefer the creamy yellow. I have to agree the pearl necklace is a bit chunky but smaller pearls would work.
The coral looks a little harsh next to all the lighter colors – to me. The coral would look great with the right necklace, but it does look fallish as someone said. Doubt that helps much. I love the beautiful slip and the lace peaking out from under the dress is a great added touch. I just read Joy’s comments on the ribbon colors and just want everyone to know I did not plagiarize. I laughed when I realized we pretty much came to the same conclusion.
I finished the ruffle tiers (4) on Stella’s dress using the three gathering thread method. It was a painless chore this time. Thanks for that little tip. Even with all my years of sewing, including having aunts that sewed and a friend of my mother’s who was a professional seamstress who offered valuable tips from time to time, no one ever mentioned this. My mother’s friend once told me to make sure to sew the seam on the line of the gathering stitch but probably never knew about the third thread idea. That’s one thing I’ve noticed in sewing over the years, there are so many new ideas and techniques to keep up with. A yearly refresher course probably wouldn’t hurt.
Thanks for posting Greer Adele’s picture. When she gets here I’ll be sure to show it to her. I know she’ll be pleased. Her hair is actually Chestnut. I had chosen a darker color but Magalie had the wig I wanted in Chestnut and since that was the color my hair used to be I was good with it. Chestnut does have a lot of red. My grandmother used to be amazed at how red my hair looked when I was out in the sun, but brown otherwise. I was not going to make Greer Adele an Easter dress but have her wear a pretty dress I already made, but then I got a great idea. Last year I made adorable lookalike Easter dresses for my LDs Claire and Fallon using a Raccoon Rags pattern. They were made from a set of fat quarters with the same patterns in differing colors. One dress was done in a beige and rose theme, one in a green and pink theme. Each outfit uses four fabrics. They were fun to make and had the cutest hats to go with them. I have some of that fat quarter set left in blues and pinks and had just enough options to make Greer Adele her own lookalike dress and hat. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out. May be cute enough to post on the Little Darling Facebook page.
Your picture of the fabric sale reminded me of a neighbor I had in high school. Her husband bought her a sewing machine and she took the classes provided with the machine. She was like a big sister to me. I was 17, she was 24 and had two small children. It was amazing to see the things she made for her little girl just starting out. The Easter dress and coat with drawstring bag she made out of yellow and white gingham was absolutely precious. She and her sister-in-law who also sewed found some fabric on sale one day and bought yards of it. They gave away some of it but were still left with many yards. They were making everything they could out of it to use it up. One day her sister-in-law’s washer broke and she came over and they did their laundry together. It was hilarious. Nearly everything on the clothesline was made out of this fabric.
Dear Barbara, your new daughter is beautiful. I love the name! How did you select it?
I’ve got this thing about family names although none of my dolls have names from my family. With the exception of Owen, none of them work well for first names. My other Magalie LD is named Fallon and I like the family name Greer. I rarely give my dolls middle names but felt there should be one to go with Greer. I was throwing names around in my head when I suddenly settled on Adele. It seemed to go well.
Oops! I forgot to mention how cute Tella looks in her new outfit. But I’m not so sure about Timmy and Tella’s puppy…
I prefer the coral myself. I also think the pearls are a bit big. The outfit is looking great, The slip probably isn’t authentic but looks lovely.
Barbara, I love your Greer Adele. I think the LD dolls are so beautifully painted.
The ‘funny’ was hilarious. I wonder if it was because the fabric was on sale or they thought it would be great if they all dressed the same lol.
I thought I had better make some microwave bowl cosies for the market. They are a bit boring to make but are good sellers. Have 6 nearly finished and two finished completely so should be able to do the rest this afternoon. What I really want to do is make some more bags! Or dolls outfits. I have a few more days sewing till Sunday so may get some done.
Fun start to the week. Tella looks very sweet in her new outfit and ready to get into the garden. Any chance see wants to come and help me pull weeds, Melody?
Your Greer Adele is absolutely lovely, Barbara. I hope we get to see photos of your girl’s tea party.
Ha ha, love that Joy!! Wish we knew the story behind the picture.
I’m going to make all my comments and post before reading anyone else’s.
Felicity’s petticoat is very pretty and I love the lace. No, not period accurate, but what is there about lace not to love??
As far as the ribbons… I picked the coral immediately. It matches best with the flowers on the dress and sets off Felicity’s hair. Tbh, the pearl necklace looks a bit heavy and out of period place to me. Those seem 1940’s-50’s. Maybe a single drop pearl or coral bead on a neutral ribbon? I definitely think she needs a hat, but I don’t think she needs a fichu. Not sure young girls would have worn them as they were for modesty for women..
Tella is as cute as a button in her outfit with Timmy the turtle! And Barbara’s Little Darling is very beautiful. Love the red hair and the coloring of Greer.
I agree on the girls with what ribbon to use on Felicity’s dress. Coral. It is beautiful,Jeanne! Another fabulous creation.
Still laughing at Joy’s picture!
I’m in the minority as well, I prefer the mint green. It really brings out the background color of the fabric. 🙂
Thank you for all the nice words about Tella in the strawberry outfit. She’s thrilled to bits to have something new! As for Timmy and the puppy…Tella has let the puppy keep my new BBFlockling Lambie Shoohoo company, for now. I’ll send Jeanne a photo of my little blue boy to share when she has space. 🙂
Greer Adele is absolutely gorgeous! Lucky new mom! I don’t have a Little Darling, I’m not sure if I’m sad or happy about that, lol!
Dear Melody, what a sweetie Tella is in her new outfit. She looks very pleased.
The most beautiful Coral in my opinion
I vote for the coral.. It looks fabulous!
Melody and I both like the mint green…but I like the coral too. What I really like is the fabric itself! I can see how you centered the coral flower center front but now in the world did you get the gathered flower in the skirt right under the same flower in the v on the bodice? Pretty amazing 😉
Barbara…Greer is fantastic! I have my 3 little darlings all set out right now and never get tired of looking at them. Dianna was an amazing artist. Can’t wait to see more pics of her.
The bit of lace showing under the hem is just perfect.
I like the coral best. It brings out the color of the flowers on the fabric.
Dear Jeanne, I think that with the pearls and the neck scarf that no trim is needed. This is spoken as the non-sewer, though.
Beautiful dress! I think coral ribbon looks best.
Coral!
HI everyone,
I’ve been working on “things” today and it looks like Felicity will be getting that coral silk ribbon run through the lace trim… It was my choice too… I have run it through and then tied little bows at the sleeves… Now I’m working on her hat… and trying to decide if I could get away without making a round eared cap… I just don’t have much I could use for it, and it takes away from Felicity’s red hair… so I’m debating what to do on that…
All in all, it’s coming together bit by bit…
I hope to have some nice pictures to show you tomorrow…
Back to my “crafting!”
See you tomorrow…
Blessings, Jeanne