A New Day

Winsor Manor

by Thomas Kinkade

   Do you ever end your day with feelings of defeat or remorse? One reason we so carefully taught our children to pray in the evening at bed time, was to ask God to erase the sin of the day and help us wake up with  a clear conscience, free from the previous day's burdens and errors.  The old people told us, "Things are always darkest before the dawn," and it is true. After a night's rest,  responsibilities and unfinished housekeeping seem surmountable.

On this new day I am considering a new sewing project:

In a recent Chadwicks catalog, this dress sells for  more that $50.00 when the postage is counted.  I found fabric at Walmart that looks very like the print in the picture, for a third of the price; no postage, and I'm keeping the labor light by using a very simple pattern. I like pastels and tiny calico's and subtle patterns but sometimes I like bold colors and prints like this.

Here is another way they are using that fabric at Chadwicks, for a pleated skirt.  I had seen this fabric at Walmart and thought it looked interesting but could not imagine how I would use it to sew a dress, until I saw the Chadwicks catalog.  This is one way I get ideas for sewing. I see something I like that is ready-made, and think of the possibility of sewing it myself.

The approximate cost of the fabric for making the dress, below, was $20.00. It was a pleasure to sew, and wearing it is a dream. There is a sheen or glaze on the fabric that looks like glitter (it does not flake off) and it makes the fabric sturdy. There is some "give" to the fabric also, which makes it comfortable to wear. I have sewn the glittered fabric before, when I made my "butterfly dress" and found that the garment lasts a long time.

The finished dress, (use your magnifier to see the piping at the neckline, which I use to make the dress higher quality)

with jacket,

and here is the fascinator. I always like the fascinator or hat to reflect some element of the dress. Since there was a ruffle on the hem of the dress, I took a scrap of the fabric that was oval shaped with pointed ends, and ruffled it by and stitching down the middle, pulling up the threads to gather and hot-glueing  it onto a piece of cloth, which was then hot-glued onto a headband. I buy headbands in packages of 2 or 3 for a dollar, in the color of my hair, if possible. That way, the finished item will look like a hat and the headband will blend in with my hair.

I also made a stretchy "scrunchy" with elastic, to wind around a pony tail.

Here is the pattern I used,

and here is the sleeve. I like it because it has a sleeve facing at the wrist, and I could add piping there, too.

In case you want a puffed sleeve or wider sleeve from the existing pattern you are using, just down the top middle as shown in this rough drawing, and open up the cap of the sleeve pattern. Lay it on the fabric and cut around it. Add gathering stitches and pull them up to match the armhole.  A sewing hint: the double notches on a sleeve indicate the back of the arm, and the single notch is the front.  This comes in handy because a "foreign" sleeve from another pattern can be confusing. Just match your double notches to the double notches on the back dress arm hole, and the single notch to the front of the armhole.

There has been a discussion going on in my home about the way people dressed in the 1950's.  We did wear jeans, but only for farm work or to play in, or under our dresses in the cold weather. We were embarrassed to be seen in them and if we had to wear them under our skirts in the winter, we went to the ladies room at church and took them off before we entered the assembly to worship.  

At airports we dressed up to meet someone who was coming in, but also, we chose our outfits carefully for travel, and even wore gloves, although not always hats.

Around the home we had more casual wear but it could suffice if we had to go to the hardware store or the grocery store. All we did was remove our aprons. If we thought our house dresses were too sloppy or worn, we did not mind changing into something better.

It was considered respectful to dress up to visit someone in their home. I remember as though a line was drawn between the dates, the first time I saw young women show up to a formal event in jeans, shorts and sweatshirts. It was greatly disappointing because the lady who hosted the ladies tea had such an elegant home and it was such a privilege to be invited there.

There is a "pink lemonade"

 collection at Chadwicks, including tennis shoes. A pretty white blouse under this dress would be nice, or a cardigan sweater or blazer. This is another one of the garments I hope to make soon, for just a few dollars, including sleeves.