"Thank you. I saw it in the window and I just couldn't resist it."...

Sozzles for the long absence my little bunnies! My poor little old monitor went poof last week and I've just now got the new one all sorted.
On the up side, I've had time to do some sewing.
I've made a sweet little dolly dress using a vintage pattern and vintage fabric. I added a high collar that is as yet unfinished and put cuffs on the sleeves. I've still got to put in the back zip and hem it:




Once I get my Etsy site going, it'll be on there!

I also just finished my new (and probably forever) favourite dress. It's made using a 1959 Simplicity pattern that I found at an antique shop in town:




I made a toile out of some cheap vintage printed cotton that I'd bought at Wal Mart (oh, the shame of it all) a while back, just to test the pattern for fit....and to make sure that the new pattern piece I'd made to replace the missing one was correct. It worked and the fit was beautiful. It may go on Etsy as well...and for super cheapzies, as it's a toile and not 100% perfect!:



Armhole facings were, for some odd reason, left out of the original pattern completely. There wasn't even a mention of them. I'm assuming they expected that you'd use bias tape to finish them off, as I've seen that before in instructions from this era? And that just ain't something I'm keen on doing, thank you very much Simplicity.
Anyway, once I'd made my own armhole facing pattern, I was ready to make the actual dress in a proper fabric, so it came down to deciding just which vintage goody I'd use.
Last summer, while cleaning out my grandparents' house for sale, I found lots of my great-grandmother's things. In one box, I found some old plates. They were lovely, but it's what they were wrapped up in that made me jump up and down. It was a curtain panel that I remembered hanging in my great-grandma's entry room. You can see the panel on the door behind my parents (they were newlyweds...how cute!):



Even though it's from the '40s or '50s and hung in that room for close to 50 years, it was in almost like new condition. The colours just as bright as the day it was printed. I decided it would be perfect for this dress. I had just enough and the pattern isn't noticably unmatched. It's such a busy print that it's not obvious. Also not obvious is the tiny sequin sized brown spot on the back skirt panel. The green velvet of the waistband is from my grandmother's stash of vintage fabrics. All in all, it's a gorgeous dress!





I've decided to call it my 'Tara' dress. If Scarlett can look fab in curtains, by golly, this Southern belle can too! I can't wait to wear it with my pink boucle pumps!