Aletha's Dress Finished

Letha Mae has finally seen her dress.  
Getting her to smile for the camera is a 
tough one, as she's a bit shy.  Inside, 
I know she's beaming!

I made her a little hankie.  It's actually cut 
from a old hankie, that I just added some
 lace to.

Her apron is made from a sheer stripped

batiste.  I added a pocket for her hankie.
Young ladies blow their nose, not wipe
it on their sleeves.

Miss Mary's dress is described as having a "full"

skirt.  I stitched 3 rows of synchronized stitches

 to gather her 160 pleats.  I removed the bottom

row, and left the top 2 rows in the finished dress.

  It's hard to see, but there is also a fold in the skirt
 to coordinate with the fold in the sleeve.

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Here's a link to an earlier post on:

How To Make A Gauged Skirt

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 Miss Mary's dress did not have buttons, but

I added 4 early 1900's milk glass as a decorative touch.
 Aletha is named after my mother & she loved milk glass.   
They're a bit too big, not the right period, but sometimes, 

that's what gives a dolly's dress all it's charm.

I stitched some old fashioned socks from a pattern I
found on Dixie Redmond's site, Maida Today.  They
remind me of the Wicked Witch of the West, but
red and white stripped socks were quite fashionable
in the mid 1800's.
Maida Today Old Fashioned Sock Pattern

Miss Letha's asked me to make a
 matching outfit for her favorite doll Jane. 

Jane the Cook is a character from the book
 The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter,
Aletha's favorite story.

 This doll was made by Fred Laughon, a
well know wooden doll and furniture maker.
You can read about him at the link below.  If
you visit pinterest, just search his name to 
see some of his lovely dolls.
Fred Laughon

  I stitched a simple outfit for Miss Jane.  She
doesn't have an apron in the book, but I
thought she needed one.  It's made from an
antique sheer gauze fabric.  It was not easy to
work with & I'll avoid it in the future.  The 
pantalettes & petticoat have cotton string ties. 

 I made button loops for the

tiny buttons with silk thread doubled.

I have a couple stitches that aren't 

pulled firmly & I didn't get all the loops

the same size.   I have to say,

it was very tiny work & my eyes and

fingers just don't do what I want

sometimes.

 Button it up & it looks just fine.

  

 Next project is doing some work on 

her oak bed and making the bedding.
It's a large one, so I will use the dreaded
machine.  I think I'll use some red
and white stripped ticking for her 
mattress and pillow.  A quilt is
probably in order too. 

 Aletha needs some shoes, but for now she'll
just have to be content with clothes!
 

Happy Sewing!

Aletha Mae's Undies & How To Make a Point On "Tie Ends"

Aletha Mae, my beautiful doll made by Martha

Bishop of Martha's Dolls, has her undies.

 

 I had a beautiful piece of cotton cambric or batiste.

 Cambric was used for childrens dresses, fine under
garments, babies gowns & hankies.  It's soft, finely 
woven, thin and has a slight sheen to it.  It was just big
 enough for all her under garments, if I kept them 
plain and simple.      

Cambric or Batiste Fabric 

I made her chemise with flat felled seams and 

 underarm gussets, it easily slips over her head so 

there was no need for a back closure.  She has french seams

 in her split drawers that tie, and her gathered petticoat 
also ties.  They're trimmed with a small cotton cluny lace.

(These photos turned out blue??)

The petticoat and drawers have a waistband, with 

gathered ties stitched within the band on both ends.

This is how I made the ties with a point on the end.

My finished ties are about 3/4 in. wide and 15 in. long.

I wanted enough to tie a nice bow.

I cut my strips.  2 for each garment.

Folded & ironed the tie end toward the back side.

I clipped the edges.

Then folded & ironed toward the back, about

 3/16 on each side of the tie.

 I folded those edges again and ironed.

I clipped those little corners.  It's always good

 to reduce bulk if possible.

I folded the end as shown below & stitched it down.

Then whip stitched the folded edges of the ties.

Sew Easy!

Sew Pretty!

I have been very busy working outside in

the beautiful spring weather.  As much as I

like the "hobbit" look for the cabin, when 

the ivy starts growing over the windows and literally 

poking through the chinking, it's time for a major 

haircut!  There is also my meager garden to 

plant, decks to power wash, an old cabinet to paint,

a dolls rope bed to string.......

 I love spring!

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I haven't given up on painting, I am working on the 

plaster of Paris big Easter bunny, little piggies and 

some whittled wooden farm animals that Maddy

requested.  I don't care how they turn out,

my goal is to learn more, practice & enjoy it this time!

How To Sew A French Seam & Maddy''s Undies

Maddy is so happy to have some undies!
But first a very short tutorial...........
The French seam has been around for ages, literally since
 the 10th century.  It hit it's heyday here in American during
 the Edwardian period, when sheer thin fabrics were so popular.
 The French seam is neat and tidy, and perfect for fabric
that tends to fray easily.
Sew simple too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fabric has a right side & a wrong side.

For a regular seam, the right sides are placed together

and sewn on the seam line.  Indicated here in blue.

The French seam begins by placing the wrong sides
together.  I have shown the seam line in blue.

The first seam line is sewn about 1/4inch away from
the regular seam line, on the side closest to the raw edge.
(Adjust for small doll seams)
 
The seam is then trimmed,

unfolded and pressed.

 Fold again with your right sides together.
You can now see the original seam line I
drew on the wrong side of the fabric.

Sew on the original seam line.

Open up and press.

 

 The outside looks just like a regular seam.

On the inside the raw edges are completely enclosed.
Neat, tidy & no raw edges to fray.

How simple is that?
 Well worth the extra effort!

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 Back to Maddy's undies.........
A linen chemise & cotton bloomers.

Both are edged in a vintage petite cotton
  lace with a blue edge.

The chemise has flat felled seams, 

gores & tiny underarm gussets.

Her bloomers are sewn with French seams

and a hand sewn buttonhole. 

(I'll do a tutorial on buttonholes if anyone is
 interested. Really, they aren't that hard.)

Her pin tucks are a bit crooked, but I was heavily

involved in a movie on TV. 

She has a flannel petticoat & one made from the

ruffle of an old nightgown.

I used a button loop with an antique calico button

for her fancy petticoat.

Maddy's oupa has whittled her a doll & she

has requested some whittled farm animals.
She would like them painted.
 Me and a paintbrush..........????

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Lucy and Annabelle have found homes on
the old wash stand with the little quilts.
They each have their own special chair.

 Next in line for undies is Miss Lucy.
I must say she hasn't complained.  Give her

some books to read, a teddy to cuddle &

she's a happy content girl!

Annabelle hasn't learned to read yet, but
she loves the pictures.  Lucy's shares her
books, but has told Annabelle not to dog
ear the pages!

Happy doll making!