Category Archives: clothing

Boy’s Christmas Vest

Six year-old Robert’s Christmas vest is finally ready.  With dress pants and shoes, he will look very grown up.  Initially,  a vest was not what I wanted for the little guy I have dressed in smocked rompers and Jon-Jons for Christmases past.  Sadly, there will be no more button-on suits for my towheaded boy.

Anyway, his skinny little bird legs don’t look as good in short pants as they did when he was a toddler.  That boy needs to eat more gingerbread and pumpkin pie, which he would do happily if he didn’t have to eat his vegetables first.

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Christmas Dress Upgrade

Laurel before church with lace added to sleeves.  That collar is just too big.

DGD Laurel’s Christmas dress just fell short of my expectations for a variety of reasons.   Originally, the sleeves were simply bound, but it just seemed too plain so I have added gathered lace which helps.

plain, bound sleeves

unadorned sleeve binding

It also fell short of the desired length.   After we attended the Stetson Christmas concert, the dress returned to the sewing room so the generous hem could be dropped.  Several holiday dresses ago, I learned that asking a non-sewing mother to measure a child for length was risky–also ridiculously unnecessary since I see Laurel 2-3 times a week!   But I had not taken the measurement so I took the precaution of adding several inches to the turned up hem.  Whew!   Three more inches added to the length gave a more pleasing fit. Continue reading

Gingerbread Christmas

I’m scrambling here, working on the grandsons’ Christmas outfits and preparing for tomorrow’s arrival of 2-1/2 year old Alastair.  He will be with us for a few days and will have my undivided attention.  So there is no time for a new blog post. I hope you will enjoy this re-run.

The children’s ages and Christmas garments are not current.  But the upcoming gingerbread house decorating activities will be just as described below–except that Robert may have a little more restraint with the candy.  Then again, he is a little more experienced and might get away with even more this year.

Whatever.  We will have a grand time decorating.  I hope you have a chance to do this with a child.  It is messy, yes, but sooooooo much fun.

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“And I had but one penny in the world, Thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread.”  William Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost

 

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Laurel and Robert, wearing the gingerbread John-John now worn by his little cousin Alastair

 

Unlike the character in Shakespeare’s play, I’m not sure that I would spend my last penny on gingerbread. I’d probably go for a scrap of fabric or lace, or a needle …..but I digress. This is about gingerbread and Christmas outfits for my grandchildren.

 

The marshmallow snowman had a short life. And he did not melt, did he, Robert?

The marshmallow snowman had a short life. And he did not melt, did he, Robert?

 

If you have read more than two or three posts on this blog, you will know that gingerbread plays a huge role in our Christmas festivities. Robert and Laurel, at ages 2 and 3, seemed ready to be introduced to this family tradition. They made their first gingerbread houses, received gingerbread ornaments for their personal collection, added a charming book, Gingerbread Land, to their library in Nana’s nursery, and wore smocked gingerbread outfits for various holiday activities and on Christmas day. Continue reading

Christmas Dress~Sleeve Tip

Having just returned from North Carolina last night, I’ve hardly unpacked.  But the exquisite Stetson Christmas Candlelight Concert was this afternoon, so that took priority over properly settling in at home.  Last night I pulled a long session in the sewing room finishing up Laurel’s dress so she could wear it for this, the first Christmas-dress-worthy event of the holiday season.

She looked as sweet as any Christmas treat, though I am not completely happy with the dress.  For a rather small 7 year-old, her Sarah Howard Stone collar is rather large, even though I reduced the size considerably.  After putting the dress, collar and sash all together, I really think I need to put lace on the sleeves.  There just wasn’t time before we left for the concert but I’ll tend to that this week. Continue reading

Embellished Ralph~White Wednesday

There are so many wonderful opportunities for children to wear their holiday outfits, from the hometown Christmas parade to Santa’s lap pictures to church services and Christmas dinner.  Some of these events are casual while others require more formal wear. Given enough time, I like to make seasonal garments for my grandchildren to meet more than one of these occasions.

We all know the time saving benefits of starting with ready made fleece or tee shirts. But when I found this monotone smocked Ralph Lauren dress, marked down by 75%, I began to look at ready-to-wear with a broader view. I knew that with the addition of a little red and green hand embroidery, it would make a great Christmas dress for my 5 year old granddaughter.

Personally, I love tone-on-tone embroidery. But the ivory smocking, ivory silk ribbon embroidery and ivory bullions were just lost on this little ivory dress. Unless you viewed the child at her eye level, you would probably not even notice that the dress was smocked. Continue reading

Shadow Work Christmas Collar

Christmas 11 collar whole

 

Good grief!!!!  Less than a month until Christmas and I am just now getting the grandchildren’s holiday outfits together!  I’m sewing in the fast lane now.

 

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The collar for 7-year old Laurel’s burgundy velveteen dress is finished.  Swiss cotton organdy has been tinted with coffee.  The collar pattern is from Sarah Howard Stone’s Basic Yoke Dress.

The collar is lined so that the embroidery stitches will not show and also so that  the effect of the strong burgundy color shadowing through the ivory organdy is diminished.  The lining covers only the spokes, not the insertion.  The contrast of the lace spokes against the dark velveteen is very pleasing.

 

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The machine embroidered shadow work designs are from Suzanne Hinshaw’s Charming Embellishments collection.  Though the set was marketed for placemats and linens,  the designs are appropriate for many other purposes.

I really choked using metallic thread to outline the holly leaves.  But I thought Laurel would love it and I’m trying to mix a little contemporary in with my old fashioned Nana style.

 

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Thanksgiving and Sewing

Does anyone actually sew up the turkey today?

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day.  Just as last year, we joined  our 2-1/2 year old grandson Alastair and his parents at the home of his paternal grandparents.  Though none of the six cooks at our dinner were decked out with starched white aprons,  the food at our harvest feast was gourmet quality.  Each contributed some of their best dishes.

The guest list included Alastair’s 90 year old great-grandmother, Ruby, who baked two divine pecan pies (and drove herself and those dessert delights to dinner!),  both sets of grandparents and a host of aunts and uncles.

I love family gatherings that include all ages, from babies to the elderly.  Two year old Alastair was the only little one and he entertained us as only energetic little boys can.  At the other end of the generation rainbow was Ruby, like the proverbial pot of gold.  Not only is she an excellent cook, but she is witty and entertaining—a joy to engage in conversation.

Even though the day is all about thankfulness and food, as usual, sewing projects were evident amid all the festivities.  Still, no one sewed up the turkey. Continue reading

Knitted Christening Gown

 

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It was mentioned earlier that knitting was my first needleart.  Actually, for many, many years, it was my only  needleart.  So when I was awaiting the birth of our first child, my knitting needles were going non-stop.

This christening gown was one of the first projects I began for our eagerly awaited baby.  A delicate white knitted lace shawl was knitted immediately after the gown.

Unlike today, when this dress was made, expectant mothers rarely knew what gender their babies would be.  For many readers, that dates this dress circa Cave Man Era.  So when I decided—for whatever reason I don’t recall— to add lace with color, I purchased yardage in both pink and blue.

Days after our son was born, the blue lace was stitched in place. Four years later, when our daughter was born, the blue lace was removed and replaced with the pink trim which remains today.

 

knitted christening EcloseBrite

 

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Church Bazaar Projects

church bazaar sign

 

I love church bazaars–never met one I didn’t like.  To see such a concentration of women’s creative efforts is inspiring.  From baked goods, knitting,  quilts, crochet and sewing to  plants and crafts, the variety is enormous.  The effort put forth for such good purposes is proof positive of the kindness and compassion of women.

Doing my little part for our church bazaar is always such a pleasure.  I like to drag out unused items and try to make them marketable.  Then it’s always fun to try something new.  This year I did both.

 

church bazaar potpourri

Christmas sachet

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Winners!

1-Winners L dress

Does this child look excited or WHAT? Seven year old Laurel was thrilled beyond words when  she saw her polka dot A-line jumper had earned a Best in Show award in the junior sewing category.   The matching teepee bag is part of her “ensemble.” The matching, lined teepee bag is on the hanger with the ribbons.

 

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In September, after she had finished on a rainy day in North Carolina, she proudly checked it off her fair entry list. Continue reading