Here are his gowns. They still need buttonholes and buttons in the back but they are done enough to take pictures of.
The Autumn Gold Gown:
This is really a mustard yellow and dark brown print fabric, but "autumn gold" sounds so much more fetching, don't you think? It is a nice, soft cotton I picked up at Wal Mart for $1.50/yard. The gown took exactly 1 yard so it is not a bad dress for so cheap a price! The hem falls to just above Malachi's ankles. Long enough to cover his petticoats by 1" or so. The skirts are about 60"-62" in circumference.
The bodice has a jewel neck and is gathered at the waist and is quite roomy. The sleeves are gathered bishop style and are joined to a closed cuff band. I am somewhat of a pipe-aholic so I piped the neck edge and the armscyes and the bottom edge of the waistband even though, due to reading on the Sewing Academy, piping is not necessarily necessary for childrens gowns. Hey, I like how it looks. But I tell you, piping teeny little armscyes in dresses is *not* fun. That was the worst part of the entire construction process. Usually I handsew piping into baby armscyes but this time I used the machine. It's actually faster and easier to do it by hand. It looks like there is a pucker at the armscye in this picture but its just a fold in the fabric; thankfully no puckers resulted from machine-sewing the piping in. Here is the yellow dress with one of the pinafores. The pinafores are a little short, I think but I had to use the fabric I had on hand. I had a yard of this green cotton print but the lady who cut it did a horrible job on the cutting. The ends were both cut on *extreme* angles so by the time I evened it all out I had a lot less fabric than I wanted. But it works. It will keep Malachi's dress clean and that is what matters. The Half-Blood Print Gown:So yes, that is a stupid name. And yes, I've been on a horribly dubious Harry Potter kick lately. (I even dreamed about H.P. a few nights ago) But this cotton does sport a lovely deep blood red color with little tan and white designs.
Here it is with the other pinafore. This pinafore was made from leftover fabric from Judah's Pumpkin Colored Gown I posted about earlier this year. I'm not sure if I like the orange and red together so I may switch pinafores when Malachi actually wears these items. I'm not sure yet.
So that is the breadth of my sewing accomplishments this weekend. I did acquire a work table for my sewing room over the weekend, as well as a lovely bookcase for the sewing spot to keep things tidy. Hopefully I will not get behind on my other projects!I do wish you all a lovely holiday. It is a beautiful day here. David is fishing - later we're going walking by the river - and tonight he will make some steaks and we'll have a key lime pie (which I still need to make!) as a last salute to the summer.
Blessings, dear ones!
Love,
Sarah
Sarah, the gowns are lovely! Pinafores, too. You're such a wonderful seamstress; your children should feel so blessed.
ReplyDeleteI'm just finishing up a gown from fabric I had stashed from last summer -- the dress you made V fits well, and since I didn't want her to wear the white sheer (it's not done, anyway), I quickly made up a second gown for her to wear for day 2 of the reenactment. They're so fun to make!!
I sure wish I had some fall/winter gowns. Not that it gets terribly cold here...but it gets cold enough. :)
Sarah, wonderful work! "Ox blood" is a period term, that suits the 2nd gown nicely. I like the bitty pinafores as well, can't wait for that!
ReplyDeleteParis
Both pinafores and dresses are very cute. I like your names for them, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI am continually awed that you get so much sewing done with those three little guys. I am also impressed that you did piping in those little armscyes.
What Pattern are you using? The look very good!
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous, and can't wait to see photos of the boys in them!
ReplyDeleteI think they turned out quite wonderfully! I especially love the colours you chose - they go so well together! I hope you've had a wonderful holiday weekend ~ and have a beautiful rest of the week!
ReplyDeleteHow darling, I love it. You're so talented. I'm glad your camera is up and running again. God Bless!
ReplyDeleteThose are adorable! I love the pumpkin pinafore! I've been on a Harry Potter kick this summer too. I read the whole series and just finished yesterday. So good!
ReplyDeleteLissa, I agree, the books are good. :) I read them all (or all that were out at the time) when I was pregnant with little David, during the first few weeks, and all I could do was lay in bed and read or else I would get sick. I read the new releases as they came out and I like the way they ended. Now I look forward to each new movie that comes out, although they leave SO much out that is in the books!
ReplyDeleteRebecca, thank you! I don't really use patterns, that is, I usually make my own. I use period shapes and measurements taken from the boys to draw them out. It's pretty easy, and saves money from having to get a pattern. Skirts are just rectangles and waistbands/piping are strips cut to measure. I only have to make the patterns for the bodice front and back and sleeves. I've got a TON of patterns I need to scan and upload to my pattern blog as I have time. This most recent one I made for Malachi's dress is size 12-18 m.
It is absolutely astounding how much sewing you get done! The gowns are cute!
ReplyDeleteOh my, Sarah, I LOVE the "Half-Blood Print" name! It made me laugh out loud :D And the little dresses and pinafores are darling! I still cannot fathom how you sew so quickly...
ReplyDeleteO, Sarah, I came across these toddler gowns recently and they are so lovely? How did you learn to draft patterns for yourself and your little ones? If you still have the patterns for these and would be willing to share, I'm sure many of us would be grateful. :) Last week I started work on an 18m gown for my DD using your Mid-19th Century Short Sleeved Toddler Gown. I cut it WAY too wide and long. Lol If it wasn't for the small sleeves, I'd save it for a few yrs down the road. I'm debating taking it apart and making it smaller. Living in Alaska, tho, longer sleeved gowns would be more practical. :)
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