Remember the red and white checked fabric I showed you yesterday? The one I had cut out the bodice and started on the white collar? Well, I was working on it again today and thought this should be an easy dress to make… a thin cotton fabric, almost like a homespun fabric. Loosely woven but still not terrible at raveling. Sounds like a dream to sew… right? Well this fabric had a surprise in store for me…
Here it is… nice and soft and brightly woven in red and white.
Here is a closer shot of it…
I started sewing the shoulder seams together and it seemed like the fabric was a bit thicker than most homespun cotton fabrics I’ve sewn.
I didn’t think too much about it until I started pressing it… it seemed like my iron would press it flat on one side and when I turned it over to press the other side, there were wrinkles in it. So I pressed that side and when I flipped it over the first side was wrinkled again… Actually it wasn’t so much wrinkled, but it seemed kind of “puffy.” Which was really strange because most homespun fabrics press as flat as can be and stay that way.
So I got to investigating this fabric… and discovered this…
There were actually TWO layers to it… yep… it was the strangest thing I’ve ever encountered with a fabric… If you look closely at the white squares, you can actually see the red threads in the same area but on the back side.
It wasn’t TWO layers that could be separated… it was TWO layers that were “tacked” in place every so often in the fabric.
I haven’t ever sewn anything like this and was quite surprised at it but just kept going without needing to line the bodice. I carefully made sure I kept the lines straight and not let the ones underneath shift.
SO NOW… may I present the new dress on the doll who will model it… MOLLY!
Many of you guessed Molly or Kit… it would work on either doll, but I chose Molly because it just might work for the Fourth of July and Molly is the Patriotic girl of the 1940’s!
After all that manipulating the fabric, I only had the bodice “mostly” finished… at least enough for you to see. Here is a close up shot of the bodice… I may add a hint of navy blue on it somewhere, or make that optional…
I think it has the potential to be really cute… Hope you think so too…
I will see you tomorrow… I especially hope Sissy gets things straightened out… I did see your second comment Sissy, but didn’t get it approved until 1:00 a.m. this morning. It was “pending” because you had changed your login and had added a period at the end. Anything new or misspelled has to get approval from me, before it goes in the comments.
I’ll see everyone tomorrow…
Blessings, Jeanne
Aha!! I was right!! Molly….she is definitely a “red” girl!!
And….what you have is actually called doublecloth! It is exactly what you said…two layers woven separately, then tacked together at intervals. It’s often made with two different colors or patterns–perhaps solid on one side and a stripe on the other–and there are techniques for making a reversible garment out of it. I think Threads magazine had an article on sewing with doublecloth a while ago. So, now you know!
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you–Ron is much improved, his blood infection is gone, and it looks like he’ll be going back to the adult family home tomorrow or possibly Thursday. There is some equipment (including a good hospital bed) they need to get yet, but the care specialist is working with Elizabeth to get things in place there.
And….our grandson Eric and his family came to visit today! It was a good day.
Charlotte, this is such great news!! God Bless
Thank you for sharing your vast brilliance – for that is what you are!!!
Oh, my….thank you, Rosemary!! I just happen to read a lot!! I don’t recall ever having actually sewn anything from doublecloth, although I do have some doublegauze, which is similar, but a thinner fabric pairing!.
Well, that was a surprise hearing about double sided fabric, Jeanne! I have never seen or heard of that, and wonder when it was a “thing” or still is! Charlotte, you certainly are very knowledgeable about sewing to know this! I’m not nearly the seamstress that you and Jeanne are!
So Molly, which I first suspected! When Marilyn mentioned Kit, I could see that too, but Molly was always a red checked patriotic girl, and with the Fourth coming up, that worked out perfectly! It certainly does look right for the holiday, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of it will look like! I love those puffed sleeves, so perky!
I can’t understand if Sissy can write one word on the blog, why can’t she write more? I guess that could never be explained to me in a way that i would understand! I am clueless on the workings of technology!
Glad to hear that Ron is ready to go back to the home, Charlotte. Happy days to you again!
the fabric is really cute Jeanne, I have some fabric almost sort of like that,…. somewhere in my pile of stuff, but I do not know if I got it from my mom’s linen closet years ago. I do not believe it is double layered though. I think my mom used it as a table cloth, a small one. It should not be too difficult to find ( red and white 😛 )
The weave is so loose, yes you will have to serge every edge. I am an excellent sewist but that weave would “tip me over the edge” with out of control.
Still, the gingham pattern in the multiple sizes is just so cute!!!
I love Molly.
Hubbs and I are moving out of our house in February (I think) so I have many months of clean up and packing to do. I have not been working on that, I have been foundation paperpiecing cone flowers. Oh gosh, I have an excellent foundation paper piecer and it can use the tiniest scraps. I even found a couple bits in my “trash bag” haha
I hope everyone has a beautiful happy day today.
I really should set up up daily plan for rummaging through my stuff and get this house packed up….
Yay, Molly!! What you’ve done so far is really cute. The red and white check is really cute and the perfect size checks. You definitely need some blue as we head into July soon.
Gosh, half the year is almost over !!!???? Where does time fly?
Charlotte- I’m happy for Ron and glad he’s doing better.
Double great news from Charlotte today. Ron’s much better and will be heading out of the hospital and the Great Mystery of the Double Sided Cloth, is solved by Charlotte. Doublecloth. I’ve never heard of or seen it before either. Thanks Charlotte.
And Molly’s double dress is coming along. So perfect for the 4th or a picnic in Jeanne’s backyard. Maybe Molly needs one of those cute little flower decorations in navy to pin on the bodice for the holiday? Oh, and a small quilt from the squares Jeanne recently procured to decorate the table for the picnic. Such a cute outfit.
I’m also wondering why only a word or two comes through on Sissy’s posts? Know there is a problem, but what it is is baffling. Maybe we need a code key and she can send letters only that we can decode? Crazy, I know. 🙂
I finally finished my week three dress for the Sew Along. Yay. Now on to the 4th. 🙂 So behind.
How great for Charlotte and Ron. Answered prayer for sure.
I never heard of double cloth in all my years of sewing. How interesting. So glad Charlotte could give us that great bit of information. Now if Jeanne could only discover the technique for pressing the fabric.
Molly’s dress is going to be adorable. I love the sleeves. And a bit of navy blue would definitely make it a dress for every patriotic holiday.
I finished my Disney Animator doll’s summer outfit yesterday. It is really cute, and Cindy Ella looks absolutely adorable wearing it.
Rain has arrived here and will be off and on all day. Not sure for how many days because I forgot to watch the weather yesterday.
I would love to see your Disney Animator outfit. And hope the rain doesn’t turn into something big and dangerous.