Working On A Historical Outfit

 I am sewing up the last of the winter fabric I used to make placemats, etc. I decided to make a pattern I got for Christmas. 

Simplicity 9516

I made the apron first and it is cute. The hardest part was cutting it out of scraps of fabric. I did succeed though I had to line the bodice with broadcloth. The sewing was fairly easy; the hardest part was the square neckline. The instructions were a bit vague but I got it figured out. 

The apron fits a bit big so it can go over the dress. The doll is wearing a skirt that got tucked between her legs when I stood her up. I enjoyed making the apron and did learn how to do the back seam a different and more simple way. 

The dress was next up and I squeaked it out of .5 meter of fabric. That was a miracle and I had scraps of fabric left over. Let's say enough to make the insoles on 2 shoes. I have another scrap I am hoping to make the shoes out of. 

The bodice of the dress fits a bit tight in the sleeves on my doll. But it isn't too small in the back which is great. I did sew lace onto the sleeves where the hem stitching is and then hand sewed the lace to the neckline. 

When I lined the bodice, the instructions said to stitch the sleeves into both pieces of fabric. I didn't choosing to hand sew the lining down to hide the sleeve cap seam. It was slow and time consuming as I had such a small space to work in. But so worth the time and effort. 

I love the skirt as it has a curved waist line that is gathered to within an inch of its life. It took me 2 days to get it onto the bodice due to time restrictions. I spent a lot of time teasing the gathers to lay straight and sewed the skirt to the bodice at a turtle's speed. When pressing the dress, the iron spit a rust mark on the back of the skirt. I had to race upstairs and wash it out with Dawn soap. A disaster was diverted. I put it out to dry under the deck umbrella. 

Sewing the dress ended at that point. I have to press the dress, hand sew down the bodice, sew up the back seam, hem, add lace to the hem, and sew on snaps. That won't happen until Saturday. I have to work on getting a quilt ready to take to the quilt shop so it can be quilted on a long arm machine. 

I am looking forward to seeing how this dress turns out. Though not sewn in my usual fashion and not exactly historically correct, it is really a nice change from sewing my usual way. 

Happy Doll Sewing....................................................................