Hi everyone and happy Monday to you! I was a very good girl over the weekend and managed to get LOTS of new things done on Noel’s Valentine dress… if the cold weather that everyone has been having, sticks around until Valentine’s Day, I think the winner of this sweet set will be very pleased. Not too Spring looking, but not a Wintery look either… I think it’s Just Right and Noel thinks so too… Now let’s see what YOU think…
First things first… those boots… they were driving me crazy… I mean, look at them on Noel’s feet… ICK!
I changed the laces to brown but they still weren’t working for me…
So, what do shoe cobblers do? They start over with a new pattern. I drafted one that is much more the size of her foot… and found a little bit stiffer leather in my stash. I actually only had a very small piece of this, so I couldn’t make any mistakes… I had some pink waxed thread for stitching leather and think it looks nice… I even laced them with the pink thread.
Here is a comparison of the old and the new… that first pair I made were just made out of too soft of a leather. It must have been something like a glove leather.
A while back I found a WAHL Nail trimmer for dogs at our thrift shop in town. It was in like new condition with the sanding rolls still in the package. I wondered if it would smooth the edges of my leather doll boots better than sanding them by hand, and I have to tell you, it was fabulous. I can’t wait to make another pair and use it again. I learned something on these… when you stitch the top pieces of the boot to the first layer of the inner sole, you need to have that inner sole extend just a bit, so when you trim it even with your boot edge, it will be even and no gaps from the layers will be seen when you add the bottom sole. When I used the WAHL sander, I could hold it parallel to the sander and know it was my trimming that off… Anyway, it’s a wonderful tool and I’m thrilled to have spent $4.50 and it worked!
The boots in those first pictures look a bit washed out… and light pink. They are actually a rosy color and very pretty with the dress.
They are a MUCH better fit too…
Here they are with the dress. The second picture shows them with the fabric up close.
I decided to add some handwork to the brown wool felt jacket, but not a lot! I decided to keep it on the simple side since the dress print was fairly busy…
Okay, anyone switching from the “not working for me” side to the Valentine-ish side?
Then… what else did this set need?
Oh, of course… a BONNET! I love making these simple kinds of bonnets… they aren’t necessarily fast to make, but I love the simplicity of their look. I used the brown wool felt, added some pink ruffled trim to the folded back piece and mimicked the handwork on the jacket to the ends of the bonnet…
I used a piece of cream corded elastic to go from side to side, and then tied a bow on the side. The bonnet just slips under her chin and onto her hair. I think she looks very sweet in it…
I know I have TOO many pictures of her, but I liked them all and didn’t want to cull any…
Okay, now let’s see the whole look from head to toe… or from Bonnet to Boots! :o)
I think I’m going to make ONE more thing… and that will be all… maybe this is closer to being finished than I thought!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, my, what a huge improvement the new boots are!! The old ones were cute, and might be fun to add to a play outfit or even a jammies and robe outfit at some point, but with this outfit, the new ones are just perfect.
I love the embroidery on the jacket (even the sleeves!) and the hat is as cute as can be! I think you have another winner!
Now, what’s next. Maybe a little purse???
Ron turned 91 today (Sunday). No party but my brother and sister-in law visited, as did our son. I had gotten pie to share at Ron’s home, and I think he was pleased.
Happy 91st Birthday to Ron. I didn’t realize his birthday was the same day as my DIL Dionne and grandson Azure. Azure was 3 and Dionne was 37.
What an improvement of the shoes, Jeanne! I always thought the first pair were too big, so this is a perfect solution!
I also love the stitchery you added to the jacket! I was hoping for that, not the usual felt flowers. This looks much more “real” and expensive, although that really isn’t the right word! Maybe richer or something, anyway, just darling in my book!
And the little hat is just the perfect thing to tame her hair and show off her pretty face! Love the side bow too!
From the pictures it looks like the pants are two different lengths. Are they really that different or is it the angle you are phtotgraphing them? Maybe because one leg is longer or shorter than the other?
Happy birthday to Ron, Charlotte! He has much to be thankful and grateful for in his long life!
We are off to a great start of the week, ice! What next??
Noel’s looking very sweet. Maybe she needs a tiny box of chocolates in a heart shaped box? Both the hat and jacket are difficult to see as they are so dark. I’d like to see the edges of both more defined with pink stitching at the edge just inside the decorative cut on the jacket and maybe even a blanket stitch around the front of the hat. I’m sure they show up better in person though. How about a set of those jacket flowers on the bottom of the pants on an outside edge? That would be cute.
Lots of rain here over the weekend, but let up enough so we could get in walks. No ice here fortunately and only regional flooding where the river floods every year.
What a sweet and adorable outfit. Your additions are perfect for this outfit. I love the scalloped edge you did for her jacket and the embroidery. Very nice. Noel looks wonderful in it. I agree the pink shoelaces look better than the black or brown.
Jeanne, you sure can pull an outfit together with such good ideas!
What a vast improvement on the shoes! The smoother leather with pink laces is so cute. The jacket and bonnet are just lovely. Such a sweet little set.
Happy Birthday to Ron, Charlotte. That is just wonderful.
Love the hat the most. It is so feminine and the bright pink really helps. The embroidery is great too.The new boots are a huge improvement. For some reason the others did not look pink on my screen.
Happy Birthday to Ron… so nice for him to get the visitors too🎂🤗
Love the new boots. This whole outfit is adorable! I like he embroidered flowers too. They really complete the jacket. And the sweet little cap is perfect. One more thing still coming? hmmm…