Hi everyone,
I was hoping to get to my sewing room today but actually didn’t until after 9:00 this evening…again! UGH!
I was running out of time, so I thought I’d show you something I was wanting to wear to church for Mother’s Day. Last week I was at the Goodwill and found this vintage April Cornell dress. Anyone besides me remember her things? She became famous for her fabrics and bedding, but her clothes were just as pretty. Even though the dress wasn’t bright colors like I generally wear, it was nice and I thought with a dainty cream sweater, it would work… So, I bought it and brought it home to try on. (They’ve taken out the dressing rooms at our Goodwill, but you have 2 weeks to return things if you don’t like them.) I knew it needed to be steamed to get some of the wrinkles out. It smelled like it had been laundered.
Here is a picture of the dress…not the greatest as it looks just flat to me… no shape on the hanger. You might have to enlarge these pictures to see the “flaws” better. Click on any picture to do that.
It has 2 different fabrics used for the fabrics. Rayon at the top in a beige and sort of orangish print, and the bottom is a taupe/blue and some rose. In between the 2 fabrics, there is a light peach ribbon with buttons sewn around the whole dress. The ribbon separates the dress from the chemise and the bottom tier which is very slightly ruffled. There are darts in the front and in the back. Then a little narrow tie cinches up the waist however tight or loose you like.
I tried the dress on and my hubby liked it. I did too, but wanted to make sure it was in good condition because of its age. I like to hold fabrics up to the light so you can see any flaws or holes. Well, I was holding the dress up to the light in my bedroom and got all the way around the hem and the last look I took I saw where someone had obviously ripped a tear in the bottom tier and had tried to fix it themselves by gathering up the tear and hand sewing it together.
Then as I looked a little closer, there was another hole/tear about 6″ from that. Waaaahhhh!
I started to have second thoughts about the dress, thinking maybe it was too far gone and just return it. So, I called my hubby in my sewing room and hung it up like you see in that picture and asked my hubby to come and tell me what he thought…
As I hung it up and was looking at it, (before he got to the room), I noticed another hole in the dress… right smack dab in the front, just about 5 or 6 inches down from the center front… I’m pointing it out so you don’t have to hunt for it…
Well, this is what happened. My hubby liked the dress and said, “Oh, honey, you’ll wear the dress to church, you’ll have a sweater on, nobody is going to see that… (he was thinking of not fixing the hole in the front!!!) Then he said he knew I had fixed worse things than that before… and to just do it… nobody will see it.” I only paid $6.16 for it, so I decided to give it a try.
So here is what I did…
I fixed the small hole in the front first. If I didn’t like it, there was no need to go any further…
I pressed the hole area with my iron and got the threads to lay down. Then I used some Wonder Under fusible webbing on the wrong side of the dress and covered up the hole and then cut a piece of beige fabric (to try and match the fabric background) to cover the Wonder Under. Then I pressed it on the backside… I made sure it nice and sealed up the hole as much as possible…
Can you find it?
Okay, I was happy with that…
Now to the other problem areas…The tears in the bottom ruffle of the skirt. The longer tear had to be unstitched to see if it was a hole without any fabric or just a tear that could possibly be fused together…
It was a tear with a lot of frayed edges…and almost was like a flap…
So, I did the same thing as I did with the hole in front… used Wonder Under on the back and then cut a piece of fabric large enough to go over the Wonder Under… then I pressed it down hard to make it set.
It looked like this when I was finished fusing it in place…
Then I worked on the square-like hole. It did have some threads still connected to each side, so it worked a little better…
Anyway, I won’t bore you with all the steps… I just did the same things as I did with the other tears and holes. When I was finished, I used a little bit of Fray Check on the front side and sealed all the threads…
Here are the rest of my pictures… I think it will be okay… at least to wear one time and if I feel funny, I’ll give it back to the Goodwill… (maybe with a note attached inside for the next buyer!) :o)
The 3″ tear and the 1″ frayed hole are so close to the ground, I really don’t think anyone will see them either. Who stares at your ankles?
Well, that was what happened at my house…
See you Monday, Aunt Sally is coming…
Blessings, Jeanne
Happy Mother’s Day to All! It is also my oldest daughter’s 70th Birthday! Fifteen of the family are going out to a Farm to Table restaurant. She doesn’t know but I arranged for a limo to take us out to eat. She thinks there are only three going out to eat! This should be fun! We are having a big party on the May 16 when the out of towners can make it! Hope you All have a great day! Jeanne the dress will be perfect, you have done so much work on it you could have made one from scratch! It would take a long time to sew all those little buttons in place!
Happy Mother’s Day to you, too, Sylvia–and to all the rest of the sofa sisters, as well. And a very happy birthday to your daughter! That will be a lovely surprise for her–the limo ride, etc. Such a lovely thing to do for her
Congratulations to your daughter on her milestone birthday. Your celebrations sound like a lot of fun.
What a fun treat for your daughter. Nothing like a limo ride. 🙂
Oh. My. …. goodness.
This is very pretty fabric. I did not look at the price.
Excellent hunting skills, Joy. I will go see.
Wow. Happy
Oh nice. You will make a lot of progress and the gardens will be spectacular!
This is great, Joy. I am going to the webpage right now!
I need some new handmade blouses!!
That was a good save on that dress, Jeanne. I have done much the same thing at times, and it can really save the garment for at least a few more werainigs!
I don’t remember the name,April Cornell, at all though.
Well, Nolan is happy . I finally started on his new t-shirt to go with the board shorts I bought from Jeanne! He picked the blue with the fish swimming around. It’s a scattered print, and some of the fish are smaller than others; so when I cut his little t-shirt out, I tried to cut the pieces from those sections. Stay tuned!
I am tuned, Charlotte. 👕
Happy Mother’s Day
Oh, interesting post on fabric repair. Jeanne, is so patient to do all of that. I think it will be a cute dress, but I would choose a light colored thin short sleeved tee shirt to wear underneath. I think that would be nicer instead of a sweater. And what is the length of the dress? Couldn’t tell from the pics. Maybe Jeanne will try it on and get a pic? I’d love to see it being worn. Haven’t thought about what to wear yet for Mother’s Day with the grands, but it will be comfortable. Probably jeans and a tee. No tank top styles for me here. It should be fun to see everyone.
I was so proud yesterday afternoon to finish the big clean up of the mess by the deck that other person left after using his cutting tools. I managed to do the embankment part too without falling off into the roses. There is still a maybe ten by ten foot area that needs to be tackled, but it is surrounded now by clear mostly, areas. Back on semi flat ground, I worked on more pathways, weeding. I wonder if I will ever finish? There is still the playhouse area and two big beds on the upper area and and and. But, we are going to hit some hot weather for a couple of days this next week, so not sure if I’ll be able to work in the heat. We’ll see.
I happened to glance out the kitchen window as I was scraping mud off my hands when I saw little Winnie, the dog next door, running after other person who was mowing the front lawn. Winnie is not supposed to be out unaccompanied, but will often show up while her mom is in front working in the yard. So, I grabbed her milk bone treat and ran out in front. By that time, our across the street neighbor had flagged down other person and pointed behind him so that he would spot Winnie. After greeting other person, she immediately came running when she saw me. Sometimes, Winnie will come to our front door and scratch or whine or in the backyard, bark and stick her nose through the hole in the fence if she hears us. Not long after Winnie’s escape, Becky, her owner came after her. Winnie has excellent hearing and vision, and apparently, Becky, had left the front door open a crack and turned around and Winnie made a daring escape. She ran right across the front yard, down the hill, and jumped onto our lawn trailing her leash behind. Fortunately, she never goes out into the street, but just wants to come over and see us, play, and of course, get her treat. So much for excitement around here.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Oh how nice a furry visit from Winnie. Yes, I worry about the street! What a happy visit.
I am happy you are making progress on the yard! I am sure it looks great already, but the work is never ending that is certain! and fortunate to keep us busy and mostly out of trouble 😄
So, April Cornell is still making fabric. Found it at Hancocks of Paduka,
and here is her site. https://www.aprilcornell.com/category/fabric-by-the-yard/?s
https://www.aprilcornell.com/category/fabric-by-the-yard/?sr3Jrslti
Not sure the address will work, but you can Google her and find her fabric. Some is pretty expensive though.
Funny internets today. Joy, all three of my comments to you are above underneath Sylvia’s comment.
Thank you for “hosting” Sylvia hahahah 😄
Yikes! $24 a yard?
I saw one or two prints there that weren’t too bad–the bright blue one particularly appealed to me. I really prefer brighter colors/prints; I tend to “die” in anything that has a hint of yellow, cream or beige in it. And, yes, the fabric is a little pricey, but not as expensive as Liberty of London (and we won’t go into how many pieces of That I own!! 😂). Generally, you get what you pay for in fabric, and if you’re looking for something nice for a blouse or dress, you’ll want to look to lawns (which all of my Liberty is), fine shirting, and similar fabrics. That blouse I won two rosettes on at the fair last summer? That was Liberty Lawn.
Good morning dear lovely friends. Happy Mother’s Day week-end to all of you: Mothers, and those of you that had a mother, or love a mother.
Jeanne, this dress is so pretty. You did an incredible repair job. Just for that! This dress deserves a Mother’s Day presentation at church. Your repairs are excellent. Honestly, you would be surprised how most people do not even notice the flaws in clothing. The dress you found is a treasure and I know it will look really cute on you Jeanne! Perfect find!
I never go thrifting.. because it would be dangerous for me. I find things.
I know you are more careful, I am not a “seasoned thrifter” You find the gems, Jeanne.
In the few times I went inside Blue Ridge Hospice Thrift shop in Leesburg Virginia, I was overwhelmed with the lovely items. The clothing mostly!
I gave a lot of clothing to this shop a few months ago, all of it in superb condition, but I see with this dress, it was just the right buyer. YOU Jeanne, to bring it back to it’s original beauty. There is also a Salvation Army shop on Route 7 close by that is also huge, and I have been there a few times.
Well done Jeanne.
I hope all of you enjoy a happy nice week-end with beautiful weather.
It is nearly noon here already!
Yesterday .,… I got in my car and drove over to my estranged daughters home and delivered a Mother’s Day card, a bunch of fresh tulips, and FOUR gooses!
I took pictures before I brought them over, so I will share those one day. Not fancy pictures, just documentation haha. Elizabeth called me this morning and thanked me. … OH, I drove over to her house and just set them on her front porch and left. I did not want to invite myself, or show up. Since she does not respond to emails, and I did not want to call and ask…. Yeah, it is weird but we are coping, I am coping. She told me this morning that the kiddos love the gooses. I made the baby goose for Asher.
Anyway, The weather is delightful. I am going to go to Homie Depot and get some dirt! and a few more boulders, and then trim my roses, and water my plants. I need to go to the neighborhood “club house” and get the reflectors for the lawn. The mowers use that beast mower on our sad uneven already property. Hugs all around 💋💐
We picked up 10 bags of steer manure yesterday at Home Depot. Going into the raised beds. We’re picking up the rototiller this afternoon. Then, we can plant. 🙂
Good morning, late for me at least! I have been working in the yard, then, and wanted to get it done e before the rain that is expected this afternoon.
I am another one who never heard of April Cornell, Jeanne, but I think you did a wonderful job on repairing the dress! I don’t think I would have even tired to do anything like that! I will be wearing a cute dress I bought at Cracker Barrel! They have some really nice things in the gift shop, and this was even on sale! Since my daughter is booked with her own children who are taking her out for brunch, so she and I will go out the following Sunday for our brunch. Our son lives in too far to see, in Denver, so he will probably call us.
Have a nice time with Aunt Sally, even though she can be trouble sometimes!
Oh, Linda, I LOVE Cracker Barrel for their clothes and stuff!! (Food, too!) Sadly, our closest one is about 500 miles away (in Idaho, I think), so I rarely get to one. But you remind me, last June when I was in Michigan, we went to C.B. for lunch, and I bought a dress, too! And it was on sale! It needs a little alteration, and then I can wear it. I had it pinned, sort of, but that’s as far as I got last summer. Thanks for the reminder!
Hey, Y’all, we went to the Y and had a lot of grocery shopping because my older son will be here on Sunday for Mother’s Day and most of the week. We will be finishing up dusting and such and I will make his favorite cookies and a Key Lime pie.
Jeanne, Jeanne, the Fixit Queen! I know you will look lovely as always on Sunday. I love the fabrics and the style, and the buttons. Have a lovely Mother’s Day and weekend.
Wishes for a happy weekend for all, and a happy Mother’s Day for those who celebrate it.
I love April Cornell’s things, although I never had any. Also Laura Ashley and Gunne Sax. Never the real deal either, but lovely dresses made from the patterns. Maybe better as mine were unique. It’s great you were able to repair it.
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone!! 🌷🌸🌹🌺🌼🪻
I did comment yesterday but when I looked today it wasn’t there. Not sure what happened.
Good save on the dress Jeanne. I’ve never heard of April Cornell. In fact, till I joined the sofa I had never heard of Gunne Sax either.
Sam and I have a stitching day today aka UFO day. Next week is another Alice day. I will be working on the border blocks for that. 100 diamond in a square! Today I am working on the quilting for the Crossroads quilt. Sam did a bit of sorting yesterday and found yet another UFO of mine I had forgotten I had. She suggested I make it for Jono since he hasn’t had a quilt since he was three (he is now 23).
It is my DIL’s birthday today (Saturday). She was actually born on Mother’s Day. I don’t think we are actually doing anything tomorrow. My birthday is a bit too close to have two big celebrations. It isn’t my turn to cook anyway so I will have that to look forward to. It is amazing what I can enjoy eating when I don’t have to cook it!
Have a lovely day tomorrow, I hope you all get spoiled.
Dear Anne, I hope your week-end is great too.
I am glad to hear the latest goings on where you are!
Enjoy your stitching time and a nice time with friends.
I do not have anyone to stitch with….. yet.
Enjoy the time with your family this week-end as well!!🌸