Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Five O'Clock Tea


                                       
            (Painting: Five O'clock Tea by Mary McMonnie, American, 1858-1946)


It was so busy around here that I finished my sewing quite late and then hurriedly did a sketch of it, so the color and drawing is not the best.

                                                   
In my previous post I mentioned Laura Ashley because it is in the spirit of her designs for the home that I have been making a trousseau.   I am not actually using any of the Laura Ashley patterns in these posts.  Instead, I am using New Look Pattern 6352 and putting sleeves from other patterns on the garment.  I am trying to see how many ways this dress can be made by adding sleeves and hems, ties, tucks, trims and so forth. Today I am showing the aqua one, all cotton.  

In the previous post there is a link to a video about Laura Ashley, and her son speaks of a white cotton blouse that was so popular they had to create more factories in Wales just to meet the demands for this blouse, worldwide. He stated that at one time her clothing stores and manufacturing jobs were a great boost to the economy,  right on a par with farming.   Although the blouses, skirts and dresses were supposed to be for the average country girl at home, they were worn for other occasions by many women all over the world.  I was first attracted to the garments because of the pretty little cotton prints, which we call calico, and the more bold patterns with roses. 

       
I wanted you to see what a cumberband is, and how it is made.  It is just a long sash that is wide in the front, with extra long, thin ties. The wide part on the front is lined with medium weight iron-on interfacing so that it will not wrinkle.

       
This is what it looks like when it is wrapped.  Make the ties longer for tying a bow in the front.

I have inserted white piping for a nice contrast around the belt, neckline and sleeves.

                                    

                                         Sometimes these are called obi sashes.


                                        
                           It is harvest time, and you can see how dry the land is here. 

  The obi-sash, three-quarter length gathered sleeves and hem ruffle give this dress a country-western look. This is a David Fabrics brand , cotton calico, about $2.96 a yard, from Walmart, and a total cost of approximately $12.00. Check out Cattle Kate dresses online to get an idea of the western style---but oh, what a price-- each dress is usually over a hundred dollars. If you can afford it, they are probably very high quality and very lovely to wear, but a hand made one is infinitely less costly, so you can have a lot more of them if you have the time to sew them. The advantage of a hand made dress is manifold. You can always use it for something else if it does not turn out well: an apron, a child's skirt, a quilt.

                                        


                   

                                 

Now more about the pattern I am using.  I have tweaked it so much for my own preferences that I almost have an entirely new pattern, which I have cut out of muslin.  I take tucks at the shoulders and add elastic in the back.  I also include more fullness in the bodice.  If you make this pattern, do it on some fabric you do not care about, as practice, just to see if you will like the style and fit.  I make this bigger than my normal size and it like wearing a Hawaiian Muu-u-mu.  

                                            

12 comments:

quakerhillfarm said...

Very feminine and pretty! Thank you for sharing your design. Great inspiration!

quakerhillfarm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rachel said...

Dear Lady Lydia,
How lovely and beautiful! Nowadays, and even more with the excuse of summer, it seems the whole world has decided to walk around almost naked. No matter where you look, it is a constant visual attack (really short shorts, tattoos, underwear worn as usual clothes, and so on). Finding a lovely, gentle, soft lady smiling is a refreshing and inspiring vision indeed! A powerful testimony, even without talking about the Lord. Thank you so much for your inspiration.

Unknown said...

I wish more ladies would dress this way. Laura Ashley had the prettiest designs, I used to admire the softness in the dresses while looki ng at my Mums old Victoria Bliss magazines.

Do you ladies know a good place for a long dress slip? I can't seem to find them ... or if I do, it's only skirt slips which are horrid under a dress thanks to elastic lines...

Unknown said...

I wish more ladies would dress this way. Laura Ashley had the prettiest designs, I used to admire the softness in the dresses while looki ng at my Mums old Victoria Bliss magazines.

Do you ladies know a good place for a long dress slip? I can't seem to find them ... or if I do, it's only skirt slips which are horrid under a dress thanks to elastic lines...

Unknown said...

I wish more ladies would dress this way. Laura Ashley had the prettiest designs, I used to admire the softness in the dresses while looki ng at my Mums old Victoria Bliss magazines.

Do you ladies know a good place for a long dress slip? I can't seem to find them ... or if I do, it's only skirt slips which are horrid under a dress thanks to elastic lines...

Christine said...

Laura Ashley... I liked her style, when I first saw a dress she designed. I copied it for my wedding dress. Every once in awhile you can find one of her designs in a thrift store!

I am enjoying these last posts very much. I like that you sketch, model, photograph and describe each dress. You look marvelous!

Dawn said...

What a pretty dress! And you are such a lovely lady.

The white piping really brings it up a level. Such a small touch adds so much, doesn't it?

I really enjoy seeing your sewing projects and how lovely they look on you.

I imagine that you must be so efficient at making dresses that it takes you less time to make one than to go out shopping even if such dresses were available in the stores.

Lydia said...

Marilla,

If there were stores of pretty dresses for women, they would wear them. I blame some of these clothing stores, even Walmart, for trying to be trendy and selling things for women that used to be considered in very poor taste, and not bringing out the best in women. And the sales clerks at grocery stores and other shops are required to be dressed modestly, so it should be a hint that the customers should cover up better. I will write more about a lovely experience I had with two other ladies, as we went to tea and then visited the antique stores--what a reception we got all over town, even from high school boys and girls who couldn't say enoughositive about our rose covered, long dresses! It made me see how much women could help men appreciate what is good and lovely, if they would dress the part.

Christine, my hope was one day to make dresses similar to the 19h century paintings of Edmund B. Leighton,
Dawn, it is such a distance for me to go anywhere and then to look around from place to place for the right dress, would take several

outings. It might take as long as a week to finish a dress, when I get to the sewing room just a dew minutes a day, but I have already chosen fabric I like, and know what pattern I will use.

Heather, Laura Ashley designed clear back in the 50's or 60's so her styles went through several phases.
The best place for a long slip might be a bridal store.

Traditional Simplicity--sorry I accidental erased your comment because I am using a device that has very small print and hard to see. As for five o'clock tea, that was the name of the painting at the start of the post, so I named the post the same. The artist was an American, and she must have had a reason to call it five o'clock tea. There might have been American tea traditions that we don't know about today. In some counties dinner wS served much later in the evening and so a five o'clock tea might not have been unusual.






anonymous said...

Oh this new dress in green is so pretty on you Lydia. I love your sketches. Have always wanted to sketch like that too. Where did you learn to do that?

I have loved the Laura Ashley styles since the 1970's when I finally took notice of them. From that time on I purchased several of the patterns and still have them. However I've grown up and out since the and need to make them larger. Not quite sure how to do this.

To the lady who wants a full long slip: What I do is find a mid-calf slip and either add wider lace at the bottom of the hem which makes the slip longer or I cut off the top under the breast area, make a thin casing and add 1/4" elastic to make an ankle length half slip. Then add a console which creates a full slip.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful post and dress with us Lydia. Hope you are staying cool in this heat.

Janet.

ladypinktulip said...

Beautiful dress and beautiful post

anonymous said...

My mother used to say that the clothing designers were making a mockery of women these days. She said her grandmother's wore beautiful clothes.

Mom was so disgusted with ready to wear clothes, she started making her own. I feel the same way.
About three yrs ago, after reading your blog, I started making and wearing very feminine dresses and skirts. Often men and women would compliment me. To my surprise a young teen girl stopped me and asked were I bought my dress because she liked it and wanted to purchase one also.

I believe people want to wear and see others wear clothes that bring out the best in then.
Have noticed lately that some of the "Maxie" dresses have come back into style again.hmm!

Janet.