Hi everyone,
My thumb “apparently” was “overused” yesterday and I wasn’t able to sew as long today, but it might look like it when you see my pictures. I looked at some 1920’s patterns for girls dresses on Ebay today and gathered a few ideas… and this is what became of them…
I took those pleated sections and sewed the long sides together and made 2 (sort of pleated tubes) that went over Violette’s shoulders and down the back. The front was stitched along the bottom edge and the excess in the back was trimmed off. It is crazy hard to work with this fabric… the more I sew with it, the more it reminds me of chiffon headscarf fabric. I believe tissue paper might be easier to sew.
Anyway, I spaced the pleats evenly in the front so they went up and over the shoulders the same distance apart. (I used a LOT of pins to hold it all in place!) It’s slippery when you are handling it too! Then I tacked it in place with some rose colored embroidery floss making some French knots and a few leaves and a couple of glass seed beads. I just tacked it at the back.
Since this pleated piece was stitched on top of a regular finished bodice. I tacked the pleated piece under the arms to the bodice and it made the top of the sleeve look more like a cap sleeve, and squared off, which was popular in the 40’s. You can see that it’s loose, as I’m sticking my finger from the side and out the front edge.
I pulled Violette’s hair up in just a messy style with a ribbon so you could see the shoulders better. Then I found a scrap of the fabric and tied it around her head, which, too, was a common style in the 20’s. I won’t be using that… surely I can come up with something fancier than that… but for now, it will have to do. It’s just to give it that 20’s feel.
Now to the skirt… I wanted to use the sheer part of the bottom of the dress, as it’s already fringed at the hem, but there was quite a bit of fabric at the dropped waist area. These are the layers… the bodice back, the bodice front, a very thin layer of interfacing, the pleated tube (2 sides of it), and then when the skirt was sewn on it was turned up, so there were 2 more layers added. When I was looking at 20’s drop waist dresses today, I did see quite a few that looked pouffy, and it threw me off, because I was thinking the dress would be slimming since the fabric was so sheer. But again, it’s not finished yet, and most of it is just tied on for now.
I realized the fabric differed in color from the bodice to the skirt, so I cut a piece of the pleated fabric, and hemmed it and just tucked it up under the dress for these pictures. I will most likely have to stitch it to the underside of the dress by hand.
Then I grabbed another narrow piece of the smooth part of the dress and cut it long enough to go around the dropped waist and see how it looked. By cinching it in at the back, I think it looks better.
Then I just grabbed one of the colors of the rayon ribbon I had laying out and tried it…
So that was it today for me…and my thumb. Some… but not a lot of work today.
Is she looking like a young lady from the 1920’s yet?
I will keep working and see what happens… any thoughts?
I’ll see you Monday!
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, even though You don’t think you got a lot done, I think you made some great progress at least in the design stage. And sometimes that’s the part that takes the longest.
First of all, I had a thought: I think that fabric is georgette. I remember in the 1980s, georgette made somewhat of a comeback, and at the Stretch & Sew where I worked, we had the knit polyester version of georgette. Now, georgette is usually made with crimped yarns which gives it that distinct texture; the kind we had, which was the updated polyester version, was really not all that comfortable to wear (I made a blouse….). If this is rayon, it probably feels softer than what I had.
I love how you tacked those spots with that lovely embroidery; it looks like it belongs there! The ribbon at the waist is a bit too bright and “pinky” for the print, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. ‘
All in all, I think we have another winner in the Jeanne Marie boutique!
I’m going to agree with Charlotte on the embroidery (charming and lovely) and the ribbon (which might work in her hair). I think the self-fabric belt makes the waist look fashionably lower and give the dress a more 20’s look. I love the medallion and the pleats in the top, and the softness of the skirt.
Will you make shoes? T-straps in that size would be challenging.
I think Violette was the perfect choice as a model for this dress.
Violette was a great choice. I really really loved the bodice as soon as I saw it yesterday. I would have liked it a little longer. Instead of the pleated shoulder covers being attached I would like to see them as a loose separate cover-up with maybe a band at the bottom that either ties or buttons in the front. I really love the feathered border material but I feel it’s too large for Violette as the skirt, to me an American Girl would be a better size. A slim line skirt in the same pleated material attached to the bodice with a piece of the flower border sewn just below the waist to lengthen the look. The feather border print might make a nice loose shoulder throw? This material and time period really calls to me and giving me all kind of thoughts, like instead of pink ribbon accent how about a greenish teal? And the headpiece HAS to have feathers or sparkle dangles. Still thinking sleeveless dress fits this style. Can’t wait to see what you do.
Please rest that thumb!
Lots going on here. I like the added embroidery spots. I agree with Dorothy L’s ideas. I’m not a fan of the pink ribbon and would prefer a matching blue. I’d like to see the dress longer waisted and it’s overall way too long. I think I’d chop off the skirt a lot at the top and probably do away with the band at the bottom to get it to just slightly below the knee in length. Then, the bottom band could be used as a narrow headband or even added to the bodice bottom to make it a drop waist dress. I did like the bodice when it was sleeveless too. Just throwing out ideas although I know you have something different in mind. I think Violette would like a long beaded necklace that can be tied in a knot in one of the dress colors. They were pretty popular. 🙂
I can sure see why the Jeanne’s thumb was overused and hurting. Please take it easy so you aren’t back to square one.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend although, we’re in for rain.
Jeanne, if this was a dress from the 20’s era, I would think that the top would be longer, and the skirt shorter and not so full. I do love the top part of the dress, especially with that pleating, but wish it had a longer waist. This one looks more like it stops at the natural waist. If you could somehow elongate the bodice, it would look more ‘20’s, and make the skirt not so full, and shorter. I wish the pleated fabric that you sewed for underneath the skirt, WAS the skirt!
The pink ribbon, like others say is way too bright for the outfit, and I would prefer a softer pink around her head, and thinner than the fabric one you have now, maybe with some sort of flower attached.
No doubt, with all the suggestions, you will get this dress done to perfection! Take care of that thumb!