HI everyone,
We are in for a real treat today. Elizabeth sent some pictures of some Civil War dresses she made of her dolls. You’re going to LOVE them…
This is what Elizabeth said in her email.
Your post today of the Civil War era fabrics reminded me of my stash of similar fabrics and the two dresses I made from a Pemberley “Molly” dress pattern! I also used their bonnet pattern but still adjusting the pattern for a better fit. The dress pattern was reduced to fit the RR dolls. The neckline trims on the dresses and the bonnet were my mother’s sewing items and are probably considered vintage. I made the undergarments and the shoes as well. I enjoy looking at the dolls in their outfits on my art room shelves!
Freida, a 14.5″ Ruby Red Fashion Friend is our first model… (from Jeanne: Isn’t she and her dress gorgeous?)
Now it’s Hanna’s turn to shine! Beautiful, Elizabeth!!
Couldn’t you just look at them all day long? I’m glad Elizabeth has them on a shelf where she can see them often!
I’ll see you tomorrow, with Sissy’s pictures from MDCC (Modern Doll Collectors Convention!)
Blessings, Jeanne
What a treat to see Elizabeth’s beautiful fashions today! It’s fun to see all the details, like the little edging around the neckline of Frieda’s dress (rickrack, I think?) and the bias cut cuffs on the sleeves of Hanna’s dress.
I have several RRFF dolls, and Hanna and Frieda are my favorites. Thanks for sharing the pictures, Elizabeth!
Oh my goodness, Elizabeth, what a treat for us today! I just love those old fashioned outfits for the Ruby Red’s, and my Sara is green with envy! I love those sleeves! The color of the first one is perfect for a fall day, and the green and white is oh, so beautiful!
What perfection of the hats and shoes! I love the flowers and lace on the hats! The shoes are so stylish and perfect for the dresses!
I would love to see what Jeanne could do for the Rubies too! (Hint, hint)!
Thank you Jeanne for sharing Elizabeth’s treasured Ruby Red girls today.
Both of these ensembles are precious.
Frieda’s dress is very nice with the neckline, The sleeves are really beautiful.
Hannah’s dress is my favorite. I love the hat to go with and the special shoes, just lovely.
Happy Monday Dear friends. I hope all of you are looking forward to cooler temps this week.
I have about 6 mosquito bites to keep me in a mildly irritable state.
A big thank you to Jeanne and Elizabeth for sharing these fantastic photos. That is the pattern I liked so much from Pemberley. I love the neckline and sleeves. Both outfits turned out perfectly devine. The bonnets are lovely too and the shoes so dainty. Is the shoe pattern also Pemberley? What a fun way to start Monday. Loved seeing the great designs. 🙂
Haven’t checked this morning, but yesterday, the Napa fire was only partially under control. Hoping that they were able to do more overnight. Since we have fog this morning, that should help with the moisture content of the area. We’ve had so many fires this year in CA and in reality, fire season is usually the worst in September and October so we’ll see how it goes.
I was finally able to get back to doing some more weed clearing. Going back over areas already done as well. They keep coming back. 🙂 Hope we can make more headway on the deck today too. As soon as it’s screwed back together, I get to do the prep work for painting. So messy. And, I have to cover all of the plants I have living in pots below the deck. Don’t want they to have a TSP bath.
And on to Monday.
Hi Joy,
I went to hunt for the shoe pattern after I asked thinking it might be an Ann Van Doren as a have a couple other of her shoes pattern and it is.
The colonial slipper is made for Sasha dolls, but I guess with a tiny reduction it fits the Rubies. Easier than trying to guess on the 18 inch version.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/569246033/18th-century-colonial-slipper-made-to?ref=cart
Thanks so much Laura. Definitely would be easier for a Sasha down to 141/2 than from 18 down to 141/2. 🙂
Elizabeth’s dolls are just too adorable! I love those sleeves, the fabrics, the bonnet, petticoat, daine ty shoes, so sweet all of it. Thank you so much for sharing.
I have sent Jeanne lots of photos of MDCC and she asked for MORE! I told her that I have sent more and that she should show them to y’all during two days there are so many. We shall see tomorrow what she decides.
Hope to take my granddaughter and her mom to the wild life refuge to see birds and alligators today as well as make meringues to day with her.
Have a great day, Y”all.
Thanks so much Elizabeth for giving us the pleasure of seeing your wonderful creations and thanks to Jeanne for posting them. I love both dresses and the sleeves of the dresses are some of my favorites. The hat is absolutely gorgeous and looks so good on Hanna. The shoes are amazing.
Sissy saying she and her granddaughter and her mom are going to visit the alligators reminded me of something I saw on the news the other night. Recently the waters around Galveston have been beautiful and clear, unlike the usual water from the muddy Mississippi. Some people were taking advantage of the rare opportunity to swim in the waters off Galveston when you can actually see the bottom but what they noticed was not on the bottom but swimming on top. They watched an alligator gliding through the water near the beach. Evidently alligators often seek salt water to remove parasites from their skin but it’s rare you see them doing this. My biggest worry would be where is it going to decide to get out.
Big fan of Pemberley Threads here! Also am guessing that the shoes are Ann Van Doren’s pattern? Thanks for sharing Elizabeth and Jeanne.
Wow, just wow!! Those are both outstanding, Elizabeth. The fabric you chose for Freida’s is just perfect for her complexion and what darling little shoes. Are those a pattern also, please? The pintucked petticoat is very sweet.
Hanna’s is absolutely gorgeous! I love the choice of green and then those darling shoes again and the adorable bonnet. These are the perfect style for the RRFFs as I believe they belong being historical.
A gorgeous day here – bright sunshine, blue skies, and 72 degrees. Perfect!!
Never mind. I found the shoe pattern. i have a few more of Ann Van Doren’s shoe patterns that I hop to try this winter. Just added this to the want list.
I would appreciate knowing by how much you reduced the Pemberley Threads pattern as I believe that was A Freebie Friday. Will have to look through mine before purchasing again.
Dear Jeanne, thank you for sharing Elizabeth’s dresses. I especially like the shoes.
One can learn so much about dolls and fashion (historic and contemporary) just sitting here on the Sofa!
Thank You for your comments, doll fans, on the Ruby Red doll outfit photos I sent to Jeanne!!! And thank you again Jeanne for sharing them! Sewing the dresses and crafting the little shoes are my motivation to enjoy this hobby each day!
I did locate my Pemberley “Molly” dress pattern for a 16 in. doll and did reduce the pattern pieces by 90%. The slip is one I made without a pattern, however I do have the Ann Van Doren “Combinations” underwear pattern for the 14in. dolls and the one piece pantaloons set is adorable when done. I have also used the pattern pieces and made just pantaloons and a separate under-top. The shoe pattern is also the Ann Van Doren pattern you mentioned, Laura….and it helps to fit the shoe to the doll during construction, especially if it is worn over socks.
Charlotte….yes, the neck trim on the pumpkin color dress is indeed rickrack, but what doesn’t show up well in the photo is the gold thread woven into the rickrack with a gold “French knot” at each rickrack “dip”…It was in my late mother’s stash and I’ve never seen any like it before.
I manage to do my share of household tasks and weeding garden areas of the home I share with my middle daughter, too. But somedays I hurry up first thing in the mornings to water the flowers/garden areas in the front of the house, pull weeds every 2-3 weeks, vacuum, & Swiffer the hard floors as necessary, clean cat litter boxes every other day, empty wastebaskets & take out to the trash containers, clean up the kitchen and keep up with my laundry. I work through the tasks as my form of exercise and to help out since I am retired and my daughter works full-time, as well as handling a lion’s share of utilities and TV subscriptions. We each do our own laundry, and clean our own bathrooms, and she feeds the four cats breakfast each day since she is up before me and I help with their dinnertime and snack treat times. She also helps with litter box changes on the weekends, and prepares some mighty good main-dish recipes! Daughter and I share cooking and meal planning and on two evenings she meets her dart-league friends after work so I usually heat up leftovers and grab a piece of fruit so I can keep sewing straight thru the evening and sometimes into the night! Finishing the “chores” in the mornings means I can return to my latest doll sewing project by the afternoons! It’s all about the motivation!
I’m glad that you mentioned the trim. I enlarged it enough to see the lovely gold detail. It’s a beautiful dress. 🙂