Boy, you ladies were really chatty Saturday… glad you enjoyed visiting with each other. We were working at the International House Saturday and I glanced one time on my phone to see if things were going okay and there were 8 comments… then when we got home and after dinner, I checked again and there were over 30 comments! Yikes! Thanks for staying around even when I’m absent… we are almost finished and Monday we are giving it a big push to get everything done, BECAUSE Rebecca and Karn are coming home this weekend to celebrate my birthday with me! YAY! I can’t wait to see them!
Okay, I’m in a quandary as to which way to proceed… and I know what will happen, half will be for one idea and half will be for the other idea… so after I ask a question like this… I’m usually no better off, but maybe one doll will stand out more than the other.
I guess you can tell from the title that the dress is either a 70’s dress or a Civil War dress… obvious…
So this is what happened… Friday, Pixie Faire had a promotion where you could buy $10 in patterns and get the new Keepers Dolly Duds Dirndl pattern for free… I put it in my cart and the same pattern for the Ruby Red’s, but I needed something for a few more dollars to get the Keeper’s pattern for free. So I began looking… I found one I liked and thought it would make a pretty Bohemian dress without too much trouble… and I loved the double ruffled sleeves… so I bought this one…
This was another picture of one more of the versions…
My plan was to make the dress without any bias trims at the neckline and sleeves, but use that pretty selvage as the edging on my ruffled sleeves. I had just enough selvage “trim” to do the sleeves. They looked like this when I was finished with them…
Okay, that’s a good start, but what next? I decided to go with Julie, since she’s “kind of” the Bohemian girl of my bunch… I wanted to make the skirt like the one in the pictures, but add one more ruffle to make it longer… I was hoping for a kind of “Maxi” or almost Maxi look which was very popular in the 70’s when I was in high school. But when I added 3 tiers of ruffles; each one a little fuller than the one above it, I ended up with this… the circumference on the skirt was P-R-E-T-T-Y F-U-L-L and I thought it looked like a Civil War dress and I wasn’t planning on making another Civil War dress so soon. (The dress isn’t hemmed in my pictures, but just pinned up…)
I had a brown and coral colored ribbon that matched the print perfectly, so I tried tying it around her waist to see what vibe I was getting…
I tried shortening the dress to Tea length or a little longer… it looked like this…
I did love that look… and thought the color worked well on Julie.. she wears the muted colors very well with her platinum blonde hair…
But… I decided to try it on Rebecca and she looked like this in it…and the colors looked very nice on her too!
So I got out Addy and tried it on her… The color isn’t that appealing on her skin coloring and her cloth body… the colors kind of compete with each other…(I personally think she looks better in brighter, cooler colors.)
I pinned it up short first…
…then let the hem down for the longer look…
I took the ribbons and tied them around her waist…
With the brown ribbon, I added a piece of lace and button…I could make a detachable collar using one of my vintage buttons… or a shawl possibly?
So, see my dilemma? Anyone have any thoughts? I don’t know if you can see it as some other doll dress, but I’m open to suggestions… I thought this was going to be so simple, and the top half did work out well, but now I just need to get the skirt part right!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I see what you mean about your dilemma, here! So, my thoughts:
1–if I recall (was in my late 20s-early 30s in the 1970s), the skirts of the maxi dresses weren’t so much tiered (unless the fabric was something Very lightweight, thin, and floaty, like voile) as just a long skirt and possibly a wider ruffle down at the very bottom. So, judging from the look of the tiered skirt, I’d go more to a vintage era (Civil War or whatever).
2–I love the bodice and sleeves, and I agree, it Would make a good start to a Boho dress, but with a different styled skirt.
3–Although I’m really not a “brown person”, I prefer the brown ribbon on the dress–except when Addie wears it. The pink is better on her, IMHO.
4–I wouldn’t put the lace on–you will be hiding that beautifully perfect square neckline!
5–If you have plenty of this fabric left, you could remove this skirt and do a new one (see #1 above), and then later use a different bodice with this skirt, and turn it into a Civil War or whatever gown. Otherwise, leave it long, and let it be CW or some other historic era.
I actually missed church today; I had messaged the organist to let her know I might not be there because of my back, but when it came right down to it, I fell back asleep after I’d been up for a while! I was just plain exhausted from Friday and Saturday! First time I’d missed church in several years, I think!
Dear Charlotte, I am glad you got some rest. It sounds like that was just what you needed.
Okay now I feel myself exonerated. You and I are the same age, but I could not have kept up with you the other days. Sorry you missed church, but I know I would have been exhausted after going for so long and crashed myself. Now I feel better about myself. LOL
Yes, Jeanne, you DO have a dilemma here! I think the top part can be for Julie, with the boho vibe, but when paired with that full tiered skirt, it looks more like a Civil War dress! I don’t recall dresses in Julie’s era to be that full, like Charlotte mentioned. I actually like it on Addy the best, but why didn’t you put the brown ribbon underneath the pink one when it was on Addy? I think that would look good.
I do like the top on Julie a lot, but I think a higher waist would look better, like an empire waist, and the skirt without the ruffles. You could also use the ribbons for that, and for sure, I would not use that lace around the neckline. It does have a Gunne Saxx vibe to it, but I like it on Addy, so Civil War, as the dress is now, would be my take, and on Addy!
It’s funny, but from my monitor, in contrast to what you say about Addy’s coloring not working out so well with the fabric colors, it actually looks better on her, as compared to Julie, who seems to blend in with the colors. Addy is darker, so the fabric looks lighter when on her and there is some contrast there, instead of Julie, who has no contrast.
Well, I guess there will be plenty of other opinions from others, so hopefully, you will find somehting to go with!
What would you think about adding a separate Pelerine collar? I thought this would be particularly attractive on Addy’s dress.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/877268250/pdf-sewing-pattern-1830s-pelerine-collar?click_key=13f976fa6fee9d5fdb67bae7b278068613e267f9%3A877268250&click_sum=59e13368&ref=shop_home_active_13&crt=1&sts=1
Love the dress top on Julie. However, needs to be an empire waist and a different skirt. Should you be short on fabric, besides the maxi skirts of the 70’s, a regular gathered mini skirt without ruffles would also fit Julie’s era. When the tiered ruffled skirt is added to the cute top, it just looks a bit off. Definitely, do not shorten the ruffles. Don’t like that look at all. If you decide to keep the long ruffled skirt, it needs something to tie it in with the selvages on the top. Like tiny chocolate brown trim at each ruffle as well as around the square neckline. I don’t care for the coral at all, but the brown ribbon is similar to what was worn way back in early 70’s. 🙂 Oh, and she will need a brown satin ribbon choker around her neck. No charm necessary. 🙂
A little cutie from Linda Macario is headed this way. Little Cupcake will join her friends Penny and Mia here soon. She’s 7″. 🙂
Great news that Rebecca is coming for a visit. I’m sure Reuben will be more than thrilled. 🙂
That square neck and ruffle sleeves are just made for that fabric! I actually like just two ruffles and the shorter length like the Pixie Faire pattern…but your readers always surprise me with all the various ideas. Whatever you decide will be awesome.
Have fun on your Birthday with the newly weds visiting!
Charlotte take it easy…when I read about your week of things to do at the Gair…just reading it made me dizzy😉 Take some time to relax.
Happy Monday everyone🥰
Love it in all the different looks! I prefer the tea length, it has to have both the coral and the brown ribbons. Brown to bring out the selvage edging and the coral adds extra punch. What’s so cool about this dress is exactly what you’re struggling with. It’s perfect as a dress whose era is determined by accessories. Lucky winner gets to dress her girl for the preferred era.
I hope you aren’t getting dizzy Jeanne, reading all these different suggestions!🙃
Dear Jeanne, I will defer to the sewers on the sofa.
I just wanted to remind you and the Sisters that the Virtual Doll Convention begins this weekend. You can register by paying what you want. Rachel Hoffman, the sponsor, calls it a “tip jar.” All of the content will be taped and will be accessible for viewing even after the event ends.
Here are some things you can do: On Friday – make paper dolls. On Saturday – attend a sewing class. On Sunday – visit a toy shop in England.
https://www.virtualdollconvention.com/
Click on “sample schedule” to see all of the activities planned.
I can’t wait!
Had to comment very quickly on the pants to school. In grade school I wore uniforms and we could wear pant under the jumper to school, but had to to them off inside. By sixth grade (1978) we could wear navy blue dress cords as the uniform IF the temperature outside was a certain degree.
In high school after freshman year I went to a public high school and we could wear whatever. We all liked our jeans dark and I, and many other girls, wore jumpers or skirts to class with flats no less. jeans with flats were the 1980’s look as well. We wouldn’t have been caught dead with jeans with holes or rips.
Too busy Saturday to read the blog so i didn’t vote in on the fabric. Well, the sleeves are not Civil War to me unless the top ruffle was smaller close to the shoulder like this. https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.zMkubo7WRftLx_RWWEEugwHaLI&pid=Api&rs=1&c=1&qlt=95&w=80&h=121 The tiers don’t look quite right either. Much as I love Civil War dresses I have to admit this strikes me as a 1970’s dress much more. Take Joy’s suggestions, I think she’s nailing it.
I love the sleeves. If going with something for Julie I agree with someone that the top should be empire and the skirts of the “granny dresses” in the 70s were not full. I know because I made a ton of them. I loved the look.
But I do like the dress with a full, tiered skirt (long) and that is definitely not 70s so it would have to be for a Civil War gal. I do think the dress looks fine on Addy and I like the brighter belt, but the brown looks good too so maybe you could include both. No matter what I really do like the fabric and the edge makes for an interesting embellishment.
I think I prefer the fabric and style on Addy but I don’t know much about the Civil War era, it tends to be all Victorian here and in UK. That stretched from the 1840’s to 1900 and covered a lot of different styles.
Barbara to go back to your question yesterday about ‘winkle pickers’ I am sure you had the same style just called it a different name. Winkles in UK are tiny seafood in a shell and you poked them out to eat them (raw) with a sharp tool called a winkle picker. I think they are as gross as they look! I think, but I am not sure (was never interested enough to find out) they are called Pipis here. You probably call them something else. Anyway to get back to the shoes they had very sharp pointed toes and high heels. They also tended to be narrow so chiropodists were up in arms about them with good reason.
I didn’t realise that sleepouts were so Kiwi though I admit I have never seen anything similar on the programmes I watch. In the past they had to be permitted though no one took much notice. The first time I came across one was just after we moved here and friends across the road had a three bedroom house with three children. The eldest was a boy in high school, then a girl then the youngest another boy who was about 8. Having the two boys share wasn’t working so they converted their shed into a room for him. Anyway the rules have relaxed now. You can legally put a structure on your section (another Kiwi word which means your land/garden) as long as it is under 20 sq metres. It is still subject to regulations concerning power supply and has to be built to certain standards. Ours was built off site in sections and then brought to site so don’t know whether they had to be checked or not. It is for sleeping only, no kitchen and no water supply. These ones are both 12 sq metres but since they are separate, individually they come under the regulation size so are fine. They are also relocatable so in the unlikely event of the children moving out we can just sell them on (or more likely, move out and let someone else decide what to do with them). We could also make a proper bathroom where the toilet is in the workroom since water and sewerage is already there (permitted).
Tiny House Nation has just restarted here. Sam and I love to watch it. It wouldn’t work for us either we would need a separate two just for our craft supplies. Still it is fun to watch what they actually achieve in such a small space. It is a great idea for some people but yes getting the money is a problem here too if you are trying to get a loan and very hard to find somewhere to put it. Land is pretty expensive to buy.
We have been very lucky here weather wise in spite of all my moaning. Nelson at the top of the South Island has had massive floods and land slips, one house was moved off its foundations and now sits in the middle of a road! I think I prefer earthquakes to floods (or fires) though I think earthquakes are more frightening and they don’t stop, we had big aftershocks for 3 years or more and still had the occasional big one after 5 years but most people could rescue important items like photos. Roads will be the biggest problem, so many have been very badly damaged. NZ is a very small country and tends to have one main road between cities so currently Nelson is cut off from Blenheim one way and from West Coast the other way. After the Kiakoura earthquake when State Highway 1 was closed (half a mountain fell on the road and the railway line) residents there were unable to get in or out for a year except by helicopter, all supplies had to be flown in.
Anyway I must go. I really must stop writing a book every time. (and I’m not nearly as creative as Joy lol)
I can sure see how the sleepouts would be popular. Really solves the space problem. So, who gets a new bedroom? Exciting for them I’m sure.
And please keep writing a lot. I love reading about your home, creative adventures, and the country in general. 🙂
I love reading your comments no matter what length, so I hope you won’t stop. Besides, I have the same problem. I love to write and when I’m commenting I imagine myself sitting on the sofa chatting with everyone and I like to talk so they do get away from me at times.
Most 70’s skirts were narrower, but my roommate did have one just like that, and Julie looks beautiful in the dress as is. I like the full-length skirt.
You could go Civil War era — the pelerine collar is completely wonderful. What if you made a separate collar more or less like that and separate matching undersleeves that were elbow to wrist. In that case, I’d want the ribbon tied in back. Without collar and sleeves, but with flowers for her hair and a ribbon at the waist, it would be a Julie dress. Wonderful Two Ways!
It’s almost a Felicity dress, though I don’t recall any tiered colonial skirts. But it would be lovely with a Felicity/Williamsburg hat.
I think I wouldn’t take the skirt off — the dress is lovely — I’d work with what you have and either go Victorian or go both ways with extra pieces. Then I’d make Julie a similar short-skirted version.
I wore something similar to the short skirted version, but with a straight skirt, to a Victorian lit class. I hadn’t had time to pin my hair up, and it was long enough to sit on. We had been reading Jude the Obscure, where Sue has just killed herself. My classmates mistook me for Sue and treated me carefully, as if I’d just died, the whole class period. So there is a relationship between the 70’s and the 1860’s. It’s going to be fun to play with that.
The fabric is so pretty, especially with the coral & brown. However, I don’t care for the white lace, it seems too stark next to the muted colors. Do you have any brown or coral trim to use around the collar?
I think the ruffled skirt makes it wrong for a 70’s dress. Also, those lovely sleeves look Civil War to me. We had sleeves similar to that in the 70’s, but with only one ruffle. Also, it seems to me that I wore a lot of A line skirts with simpler lines back then. And empire waistlines, or shifts with no waistline at all. This definitely looks Civil War era to me. I love the lace collar idea, too.