Fun With Dots

Introduction

I really appreciate all the kind comments on my daughter's Easter dress! It really was pretty easy to make, and she's very happy with it. BTW, the pattern is from the current children's issue of Patrones, I showed the pictures from the magazine in the first post.

I promised some vintage fun, so here it is: Vogue Special Design #4415, from 1953.

I need a dress to wear for my luncheon lecture at MQX in a couple of weeks, and of course, it will be vintage. I plan to make it up in the fabric shown below, hence the name Fun with Dots. The fabric is a poly charmuese, which of course is not in the recommended fabric list on the pattern. I will be underlining it with white batiste to change the hand of the fabric to make it more suitable for the pattern. We'll talk more about that in another post.

I will be making up the collar and sleeve cuffs in white. For the two buttons on the collar, I've decided to make two covered buttons: one will be red and the other one blue, just for fun.

Once I actually get this cut out - I couldn't today, I had to finish client work - it should go together quickly as the pattern only has one tricky spot.

For accessories for such an dress, I've decided on a white wide brimmed hat as is seen on the pattern envelope, which I'll show you when it arrives. I have vintage blue shoes and vintage red shoes, but I found these red, white and blue shoes on Etsy, that I absolutely love, but are a bit later 50s style than the dress. They're also a bit matchy-matchy, but the 50's (and unfortunately the 80's) were that way. I'm also a bit undecided on jewelry. I found this really, really cool red, white and blue necklace on eBay, but am not sure yet.

I think I'd look like a train wreck if I went red, white and blue on everything. I may just stick with the plain shoes, gloves, hat and purse and get the eBay necklace. On the other hand, I could get the Etsy shoes and go plain on the rest of the accessories. What do you think? Remeber, I'm a petite person and with my size especially, I think there's a point where you can get too matchy-matchy - and then you look just tacky-tacky. Do go take a look at the links and let me know what you think.

Parting Shot: Gorgeous Fabrics. I got these fabrics recently from Gorgeous Fabrics, and they really are lovely. If you have any doubts, her fabrics are so much better in real life than on the computer screen. The green rayon jersey knit, as you can see, is already cut out for a quick project (details later) and the yellow is waiting for the right project. I've got a few ideas for it, but I bought it because I have plenty of summer companion fabrics for it.

Easter Dress - Part 5

Done!

I finished the Easter dress yesterday! Here are a few of the final details.

The inside of the front. Note that the trim is sewn only through the fashion fabric, not the lining, too.

I finished the armhole by binding it after the sleeves were inserted. This just completes the very clean look of the interior of the dress.

Both hems, just simple, narrow 1/4" hems.

The ribbon at the wrist; she wanted the bows to be beige, which was fine as I had no green ribbon and doubted I could find any to match.

There will be more pictures at Easter, which will give use time to get the right shoes and accessories.

Tomorrow: vintage fun as promised! I'll introduce you to my next vintage dress project.

[Brenda: Don't worry, I will answer your question this week - it needs a whole post!]

Parting Shot. Real Fur? Kiwi had to check out the rabbit headpieces last week. I'm sure she was wondered what that fake fur stuff was.

Easter Dress - Part 4

Side Seams, Hems and a Little More

I've been busy the past couple of days finishing an article for Fibre&Stitch, an online fiber arts magazine, so I haven't had much time to sew on the Easter dress. I had to make a few samples for the article so that took up some time.

I did get the ties and the side seams of the dress completed. As you can see in the photo below, the side seam of lining and the dress were each sewn separately. On the left is the lining side seam, pinned and ready to stitch. To the right of the armhole is the dress side seam, already stitched, trimmed and pressed.

Once those seams were done, I was able to put in the hems. Remember that I said the back pieces would be too long because I had to recut the front armholes? Yes, that's exactly what happened:

A little trimming took care of that! This is what is done so far:



I've started the sleeves, but so far have only put in the buttonholes for the drawstring ties at the sleeve hem. These, of course, are easier to do before stitching the sleeve seam. My daughter chose the beige ribbon, below, for the ties. Right now I'm in the progress of french seaming the sleeves, as I am not lining the sleeves.

Once the sleeves are done, all I have to do in install them, bind the armhole seam and I'm done! If all goes well, it might be done tomorrow. A true miracle indeed, getting the holiday outfit done two weeks before the holiday!

Parting Shot: Cat Basket. I know, it isn't a cat basket, but since we have one basket and two cats, it is always a contest to see who gets into it first. They won't share, either. Kiwi has decided that it is just as good for her to make her own cat basket out of our top blanket. I found her like this yesterday. No, I did not put the blanket on her; yes, I make the bed every day.

Rabbit Report #17

More Rabbit Headpiece Refinements

After seeing the children perform in the rabbit headpieces on Tuesday, I knew that the headpieces needed some retro-fitting. I knew that there probably would be, I wasn't kidding myself about that. I set aside a day this week to work on them so they could be returned to the school for the next rehearsal.

I knew this because these headpieces seemed big when I was making them and trying them on my son. Both the paws and the headpieces seem big for the pattern I'm using. Do recall that I took 2" off the length of ears for the larger sizes. I bought the pattern in a smaller size (2-3-4-5) for the smaller rabbits, expecting some of the pieces, the ears especially to be scaled down in size for the smaller costumes. Check out the ear pieces below, do think that was true?

I didn't think so. As I was cutting the pieces out of the tissue, something about the size of that ear struck me so I got the larger sized one (6-7-8) to compare. They're the same size whether you're making the costume in a size 2 or a size 8! Right. I cut shorter and narrower ears for the smaller rabbits.

I got some headpiece advice via a comment from Kathleen C., which was much appreciated and excellent. She is a professional costumer, so she knows what she is talking about! One of her suggestions was to make the base of the ear into a circle, wire that and then hand stitch the ear to the head, giving it a better support base. I did a modified version of that to help with ear stability as they were a bit too floppy in rehearsal.

Another thing I did was to put a dart right at the corner of the face to tighten up the headpiece around the face, and prepare it for the next little modification.

The next modification is the bane of all children's hats and headpieces, and I know the rabbits probably won't like it: the elastic chin strap! This is one way of keeping the headpiece in place, because these rabbits hop. Those rabbits hop a lot, too!

I had my son hop around the house a bit with a retro-fitted hood and his stayed nicely in place. We'll see at the next rehearsal! I will get rabbit photo posted when I can get the costumes back for a short bit, just to get the children dressed in them. That might be next week, but definitely would be the week after, as the play is in two weeks.

Parting Shot: Butterick 2407, c. 1962. This is the last pattern that my daughter chose. She chose this one not for this summer, but for school next fall. She liked the dress and the jumper, soI suppose I'll have to pull this one out in the fall.

Easter Dress - Part 3

Pleats and Trim

Today I was able to work more on the pleats and the front trim. Below you can see the front from yesterday, all pleated and pressed:

Since the dress front was ready, I needed to work on the lining. I decided the lining needed a small facing of green right along the front in the center of the neckline between the yokes. I wanted to keep the color consistent all along the neckline edge should any of the inside show. To add a facing for this type of bodice, this is what I did. First, I pleated the lining and then cut a strip of the green silk and pressed under one edge. You can see it just laid in place below.

Second, I pinned it in place and stitched the folded edge to the lining:

This lining piece with attached facing is now assembled with the front and yokes as I did the back. After pressing (and a few alterations, keep reading for that), I understitched the facing to keep it from rolling out.

This afternoon when my daughter came home from school, I tried on what I had assembled so far. This was primarily to determine where she wanted the trim to be positioned. I also checked the neckline at the same time, and needless to say, it wasn't bra friendly. As you can see from the photo below, I ended up taking out a little over 2", which is more than I thought it would be when I was pinning it up.

Now, of course, you know that taking that much out of the yoke is also taking that much out of the front armhole. I then had to recut the armhole to make it match the back and the original pattern:

This in turn will change the length of the side seam, but I will fix that when stitch the side seams and make the hems. I can simply trim off the amount at the bottom edge of the back.

Lastly today, I was able to stitch the trim in place, here it is all ready to stitch:

Here is the front, complete with alterations and trim:

I still need to make the ties and stitch the side seams. I need to check with my daughter to see if she wants ties that make a knot or a bow. Tomorrow I should get that done, along with the hems, and then I will only have the sleeves to make.

Parting Shot: Seen Better Days! Simplicity 4275 from 1953, below, has definitely seen better days. The pieces and instructions are all there, so it really isn't a problem. This is your basic fitted round necked bodice with peter pan collar and large skirt sort of vintage pattern, although it does have a square neck and a sleeve variation. My daughter likes the sleeveless square neck version.

Easter Dress - Part 2

Starting To Make Progress

Thank you all for the kind compliments and the encouragement on the Peter Rabbit costumes! I'm pleased with them and the director is very excited about the costumes. The children were very excited yesterday to see their costumes and to try on the rabbit headpieces - that was a lot of fun, to be surrounded by all those little rabbits.

Today I had to do some retro-fitting on the rabbit headpieces, but once that was done, I was able to really get started on my daughter's Easter dress. Actually, the studio seems a bit empty without all the costume pieces, plus notions and fabric hanging about. It also seems very weird only to have one project to work on (not counting the new socks I'm working on). I'm the sort of person that usually has multiple projects going at the same time. With only one, I feel a bit lost almost. Don't worry, that will change soon!

The first thing that need to be assembled was the yokes. The fronts are joined to the backs at the shoulder, both the dress and lining. The dress and lining are then stitched together along the neckline. This unit will be treated as one for the remainder of construction. I have chosen to line the yokes in the same green silk as the dress because I thought it would look nicer.

The next step is to add the body of the dress. Both the fronts and the backs will be added the same way. First the pleats are pinned in and then the backs are placed right sides together with the yoke in between the two.

Once the seam is sewn, this construction will result in a clean finish on both sides, inside and outside.

Because this silk is prone to shredding, I've decided to use the pinking shears on the seam allowances, even though they are hidden.

Next, the pleats for the front. As you can see there are many - that is the entire front piece in the photo below. The dress pleats will most likely have to be basted before attaching the front band, so that's what I'll be working on next.

I still have one or two more rabbit posts, so I'll try to wrap that up this week along with this Easter dress. After that, some vintage fun!

Parting Shot: Simplicity 2057, c. 1957. My daughter really liked this one! Depending on the fabrication, yes, it could be a fauxlero. Even the envelope states: Top of bodice is fashioned to look like a bolero. The skirt is enormous, too, with *double* inverted pleats.

Rabbit Report #16

Peter's Coat and Shoes - Done!

I finished Peter's coat and shoes before leaving for rehearsal today!

Once the lining and coat were joined along the front and collar edges, turned and pressed, all the remained was the hems and buttons.

The buttons are not functional - you can see the velcro inside to help keep the jacket closed and make it easier to remove.

Here are the rabbit shoes:

They're really nothing exciting, and actually are slippers of the same fabric as the coat with that really stiff fusible Pellon in the soles made from Simplicity 3935:


I just made sure they were large enough to be worn over shoes and rabbit feet and that they could slip off during the garden scene.

That means I'm done but not done, if that makes sense. I'm done making rabbit costumes, but I'm not done *fitting* rabbit costumes. I took all the costumes to rehearsal today, and as I suspected, I will need to tweak the fit of all the rabbit headpieces. I knew about that, so tomorrow I will get to work on those. I'll see how they look at Thursday's rehearsal with the changes. I hope to bring home a few costumes on Thursday so that you can see how everything looks put together.

Now I can work on other, more exciting things! I need to make my daughter's Easter dress and then I'm going to make myself a new vintage dress for my luncheon lecture in April, since I'll be the one speaking. After that, I'll be working on church dresses for my daughter - the patterns are in and fabric is on the way! (More about the patterns below.)

Parting Shot: Simplicity 4419, c. 1953. It seems that my daughter likes vintage patterns, too. I bought some for her for summer church dresses, so over the next few days I'll show you those. The one below is the only one I didn't buy in her size, but I bought it for the novelty of the pattern. Check out model 4 in the lower right. On the envelope, model 4 is described as a blouse slip: flared slip joins blouse at waist and has front opening extending into skirt. Very interesting! Maybe that's how they kept those blouses tucked in and looking neat all day. Today, I can see this being made up for the summer, maybe with trim along the bottom and different skirts of varying length worn over the top of it for different looks, some exposing the trim and some not.

Rabbit Report #15

Peter's Coat Progress

I've made quite a bit of progress on Peter's coat over the last few days. I have the coat assembled and the lining assembled. All I have to do is join the two, hem it and add all the buttons and velcro. If all goes well, I should have that done tomorrow before I leave for rehearsal. I finished all the rabbit headpieces, so once the coat is done all I have left is Peter's shoes.

First, the buttons I forgot to show you last week, they are nice and large and shiny:

The coat lining is all assembled, complete with all of the interfacing. I chose to interface the facings rather than applying the interfacing to the body of the jacket. This is the fusible hair canvas and I didn't want any distinct lines where the front was interfaced or not. The fabric is pretty stiff by itself, so I didn't feel the need for any extra interfacing, except in the collar, which you'll see in a minute. I might take that out if I think the collar is too stiff.

I've added all the faux pockets to the front of the jacket. Basically I made all the flaps and the welt and then just stitched them in place without actually making a pocket. Remember, this is a costume, it just has to look good.

I've already stitched the shoulder pads in place, so really I'm almost to the point of finishing the jacket.

It looks like I'll be able to deliver these costumes either tomorrow or Thursday. I need to try all the headpieces on the actors tomorrow. I've dedicated Wednesday to retro-fitting and fine tuning all the costumes and finishing up any remaining pieces. I'm almost done!

Parting Shot: Video! I thought I've give you a little treat and upload a video of my son practicing his solo for the play. There are still a few issues that we have to work out between soloist and accompanist, but we'll fix that before the performances. This number is about Peter's desire for a tasty snack and where he can find one (Mr. McGregor's garden, of course!).

Rabbit Report #14 -Peter's Jacket

Introduction

I'm down to just a few more rabbit headpieces and Peter's jacket. I waited on the jacket because I knew it would be more complicated to construct than the rest of the costumes. The pattern I will be using is this one from Patrones (which really is the matching jacket for the trousers), minus all the bells and whistles, of course:


I wanted something double breasted and this pattern is perfect! I have four large silver colored buttons for the front of the jacket. (I just realized I don't have a photos of the buttons for today. You'll see them eventually, sorry!) The buttons are important to the costume because they get caught in Mr. McGregor's net and cause poor Peter to have to leave the coat behind in order to escape from the net. The buttons and buttonholes will not be functional, only decorative. I will use velcro under the buttons as the closure to the coat. This will make it easier for Peter to open the coat and get out of it since he'll have only paws and not human hands.

I will not be making the three welt pockets, either. Costume, not couture. I will do some pocket flaps just for decoration, but no real pockets. I'm not sure about that lapel yet, either. It might get modified before this is all done. I plan to use some quicker tailoring methods with fusible interfacing and machine stitched hems. The coat will still need a lining as it needs to slip off easily to when Peter is stuck in the net.

The jacket is cut out, I just need to get it put together! My goal is to deliver the costumes Tuesday afternoon when I go to rehearsal.


A few quick Q/A's, I apologize for not doing these properly, but I'll give you the quick answers for today. I've been asked if I am doing a SWAP this year. No, I am not. No one in the house needs an their wardrobe started from scratch and the rabbits have taken much of my time this winter. I've also been asked if I would show photos of the rabbits in costume. I'm not sure about this right now. These are other people's children. While obviously I have no problem showing you photos of my own children, I am certainly not comfortable sharing photos of other people's children even in costume with the faces smudged without permission. I'm not sure if I want to do that. I will have my daughter and son dress up in the costumes so that you can get an idea of what a full costume will look like.

Parting Shot: Sock Blockers. I got my sock blockers today and am very pleased with them! They're acrylic and much better than anything I could have bought locally at my yarn shop for the same amount of money.

They have the SevenYaks logo and Esty shop URL:

Those numbered holes? Those are needle gauges to help you figure out what size needles you have. Not all knitting needles are marked. I have (well, had) several pair of double pointed needles that I didn't know the size of. I had a pretty good idea, but now know exactly what size they are. These are numbered for US sized needles, but the shop announcements say that there is a metric version in the works for those of you not sure of the US to metric size needle conversions or who use metric exclusively.