A proper lady indeed

 No hoop skirt on underneath. Alex was so tired of fittings (who could blame her), she slipped her arms through the sleeves just so I could get a picture to give you an idea. Better pictures to follow at a later date.

 When my granddaughter first asked me if I would sew her a dress, there was no hesitation whatsoever. When she told me what it was for, I asked how soon we could get started, and what kind of deadline were we looking at?  Hours of online research went into this project, as it was required to be historically accurate for the time period she chose, which was the mid 1850's to early 60's. Throughout my sewing career, which began at the age of 11 on MY grandmother's old Singer treadle machine, I have sewn everything from swimsuits, to prom dresses, to doll clothes, to simple bridal gowns as well as bridesmaid's dresses, including dresses for Alex when she was a newborn, and older. In the past five years or so, I've only sewn a few things, but I entered into this project knowing I was still capable. With a two hour driving distance one way between me and my granddaughter, it would be a challenge though, as I have never used a dress form (except in high school clothing classes), and didn't think to buy one for this. I should have..it probably would've made life a little easier, and I now know this. I have no clue why I thought my seamstress days would be over once my kids were grown and gone. I LOVE that my grandkids are now coming to me for some of their couture needs. This dress took approximately ten yards of fabric. It is fully lined and trimmed out with piping around the collars, the dropped seam on the pagoda sleeves, the hems of the sleeves, and the basque style waistline. I won't lie. It was stressful at times, but only because I can be very critical of my work sometimes, and this needed to be perfect! I took the sleeves out three times in order to get them in the exact spot they needed to be. The five flounces going down the skirt were adjusted and readjusted three times. I had to modify the pattern a bit because Alex chose a bodice that didn't go with the skirt portion she chose. During this period, it was not etiquette for a lady to expose her wrists in public, so she usually had "undersleeves" that were detachable once she was home alone with her husband. I delivered the dress last night, and with still a two hour drive back home looming over my head, we realized there were no undersleeves. So, out came my granddaughter's sewing machine, some muslin and ribbon my daughter happened to have, and undersleeves were born at the eleventh hour. The dress is due tomorrow and it looks amazing on Alex!!! She doesn't usually wear browns, but this fabric is a reproduction of fabric a woman would've worn during this time. Her jewelry and makeup was also usually kept to a minimum. Years ago, I had given my daughter a pair of cameo earrings in the brown tones, and she had a locket brooch that attaches to a gold ribbon that Alex will wear at the center neckline. My daughter's paternal aunt had given her the locket one year for her birthday and had glued a picture of me and her dad in it. I was 16 and he was 18. Those pictures are so funny to look at now. My granddaughter made the comment to us last night that she will have her grandma next to her heart...awwwwww That made this journey totally worth it!! I will be able to share this entire journey with you at a later date and the reason for it, but for now, we are all looking forward to Alex presenting herself tomorrow as a proper young lady during the 1850's, who now knows how to take tea, ballroom dance, and carry herself with confidence, poise, and grace. This grandma is about to burst with pride!


I have finished the Traveling Woman shawl I was knitting for my girlfriend's birthday, so now I need to block it. I actually finished it on Monday, but just haven't had the time to block and take pictures. I will be giving it to Ro next weekend when she returns for a brief intermission in their vacation to be home for her mom and dad's 60th wedding anniversary party, which we will also be attending. It will be so wonderful to see her and her entire family again! It's been too many years since I've seen some of them, and I'm looking forward to closing that gap.
Off to go block a shawl....have a wonderful day!