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Sep
9
Okay….we did it. We completely broke our promise to ourselves to shun any and all public voting sewing competitions in the near {and distant} future.
Of course, we began justifying it….stating, “It really isn’t a public voting sewing competition because judges have to select the top 12-15 entries. So, it isn’t as if we are automatically entering and competing….RIGHT??”
And then there was the argument of “Maybe it’s a private voting competition….we could do that, couldn’t we…and who knows if we’ll even make the cut??”
But, our final {AND BEST} justification was, “If we were to enter, we could sew an Easter dress for CL and have one of the girls’ outfits marked off our Spring Sewing List!”
D.O.N.E.
That did it!! We decided then and there to throw our creation in the amazing group of entries for the Cottage Mama’s Sewing Contest. You see, we win either way!! Or, should we say, CL wins….either way :)!?!?
Ohhhhh, that’s not to say that the prizes didn’t intrigue us….SERIOUSLY!?!?! A serger?? Yeah, we NEED that…as in, we don’t sew with a serger…and we really, really, really would like to use one in the future….
So, we’ve entered: The Georgia {Peach} Vintage Dress.
And, it is as we envisioned it – an heirloom keepsake for our niece, a labor of love, and one that is detailed to our taste and preferences for Easter {Spring 2015}.
We began with the Georgia Vintage Dress – a Cottage Mama creation not previously sewn by us, but one we’ve eyed for quite some time. We combined views B and D {with a lined skirt and satin sash}, lengthened it to an “heirloom length,” and then embellished, embellished, embellished!
Taking it from the top…The entire dress was sewn in a fine, white Swiss batiste fabric and then lined with a slightly heavier peach batiste. Due to the heirloom nature of the garment, we opted to use French seams throughout…
We piped the Peter Pan collar and sleeves with peach fabric {same as the lining}. Then, on the collar, we added bullions, French knots, and lazy daisy stitches on the front and back portions. Truth be told, we always hold our breaths while stitching Peter Pan collars….until we see how it all lines up! This time, PERFECTION {as we wipe our brows}!
Although we sewed the bodice area as view B, it was detailed with 5 baby pintucks on either side of the center front – giving a nod to views A, C, and D.
The skirt had its fair share of embellishments as well – specifically, around the hem area.
Our starting point was stitching an insert of embroidered flowers {bullions, French knots, and lazy daisy stitching}.
This embroidery was then framed by entredeaux and mirrored, “pearl accessorized” fagoting. We opted for fagoting in order to showcase the peach lining underneath the main fabric layer. *And, side note: the pearl accessories occupied our oldest niece for well over an hour – handing them one at at time to Ashley {frances} as she worked through the fagoting. Quality talking time at its finest!!
Finally, 10 pintucks {5 on either side of the fagoting} further framed the embroidery and fagoting to complete an elegant, heirloom design. These pintucks also complimented the bodice detailing nicely.
We used a satin ribbon for the sash to complete the overall appearance of the garment.
We are so pleased with the outcome….thrilled that we were able to meet the deadline, but more ecstatic to have ONE of THREE Easter dresses completed for next spring. AWESOME, huh??
And, we aren’t the only ones that were pleased with this dress. Our oldest niece might, or might not have, requested a “dress just like this one” for her birthday. Sorry to disappoint, but it won’t be happening before October…
We plan to link up the Georgia {Peach} Vintage Dress in Project Run and Play’s Signature Style linky party as well…once it opens up in a few weeks! While we don’t sew heirloom dresses nearly often enough, the details within this one make it enough of “our style” to count!
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Ladies, this dress is breathtaking. The details….wow. ❤️
P.S. I am so surprised you don’t have a serger, you need one!!!!!!
Confession: We have one, but can’t figure out how to use it properly!! So, we don’t….. Surely we could ‘figure out’ a new one :)!!
Stunning. All those details and embellishments! Wow, you certainly did it again…keep it up.
WOW. well i’m blown away. it’s impeccable and simply gorgeous. really nice work, you two (and your niece!).
Thanks, Kristin!! Our niece was pretty pumped at her ‘role’ in completing this dress…..maybe that was why she was bucking for one of her own :).
Wow! Amazing detail and definitely heirloom!
This is stunning!!! Incredible. I really have no words to describe how amazing this is. What talent!
Stunning. Breathtaking. What an absolutely beautiful dress to cherish!
Holy Moly! This is perfection! I never thought I’d say this to anyone but…you do beautiful faggoting. The beading is a beautiful touch.
And, we’ll gladly take your compliment :).
Truly breathtaking (and it wouldn’t surprised me if it wins)!
I can’t pick a favorite detail (maybe the faggoting) and I’m sure this will be a well-loved heirloom dress (your nieces will love it).
That is stunning!
Such attention to detail! Absolutely gorgeous!
Perfection! I’m speechless. Beautiful……
This is stunning. Gorgeous work.
Simply Beautiful! I looked at the contest entries last night to see if you had entered your “teaser” yet. 😉 The girlies will have gorgeous Easter dresses!
Thanks for not giving up on us….and checking back in!! We were sooo excited about completing it!!
This is beyond gorgeous! Every detail is perfect – and I think your style is all about the details so this dress is a great entry for the contest that really represents that times 10!
Thanks Renee…..sometimes we get carried away over the details!
It’s beautiful! Heirloom sewing will always remain my favorite kind of sewing because it truly is a work of love. You have three very lucky nieces
I know….it always takes soooooooo long to do {but our heirloom projects are the ones we love the most, time and time again}!
This dress is sewn so perfectly with gorgeous detailing! So beautiful and such a labor of love! Good luck in the contest
I love this dress, it is gorgeous! I love heirloom sewing and haven’t done near enough of it for my girls.
That is absolutely gorgeous! The rows of tiny pintucks… the embroidery and beaded fagoting, the delicate white fabric on top of the peach… I love every part of this dress. Beautifully sewn!
It’s just wonderful!
Absolutely gorgeous. How I love this beautiful classic style. I am so thankful there are still those who appreciate such beauty and attention to detail. You do it so well. Thanks for sharing.
This is LOVELY! French seams were the way to go, even with a serger, the garment is so much more elegant that way! Do you do the embroidery before the dress is put together, or after?
We did our embroidery before construction….however, we added the pintucks after the embroidery insert, and probably should have sewn those prior to the adding the embroidery. Hindsight is always 20/20 isn’t it??
AMAZING, love all of the details, truly outstanding, I just tried making a dress with all french seams and there was some harsh language, do you know of a good tutorial, I was making it up as a went.
Thank you Mara for your kind words!! For French seams simply place wrong sides together, and zig-zag with a small stitch. I use 2.5 length and 1.0 width. Trim the seam close to the stitching. Fold the fabric over the seam so that you have right sides facing, press. Sew a straight stitch enclosing the zig-zagged seam. Is that similar to what you were trying? **The only place in our dress that we needed French seams were in the skirt because everything else was lined.
Thank you, I didn’t do a zig-zag stitch or trim, but now I will next time, Thank you.
Wow, that’s stunning! I feel ashamed of my version now, yours is spectatular! I love the embroidery details!
NEVER be ashamed of what you create!! It is a masterpiece, and one you should be proud of…..embrace your creativity :).
This is remarkable, I am in awe. How did you learn these beautiful techniques? Any recommendations for a sewist who would like to branch into learn heirloom skills?
SORRY for the delay in response {this kind of got buried}.
We learned a bit of handwork prior to machine work {probably NOT the best idea….but, we are becoming more comfortable in machine work}.
As for someone interested in learning more? Check out smocking.org {it is the Smocking Arts Guild of America site}. There are various workshops available, and you might find one near you. Also, they have a facebook group you can join…full of information / upcoming events.
You girls are crazy, but in a very good way! This is amazing! You rule…
I’m so impressed that you did that faggoting all by hand! What patience and beautifully done. And I love that you did the back closure “English” style.
Holy moly, this is incredible!! You guys have some lucky nieces!!!
THANKS :)!! They’re pretty special….
Classic & timeless like always. http://xoxograndma.blogspot.com/
Gorgeous!
I am in awe! Amazing!
This is absolutely beautiful. Perfectly heirloom. You have amazing talent!
We “dapple” in heirloom…..and our bullions are quite “free style!”
Beautiful! I love all the details. And I also will only do sewing competitions if I can mark already planned projects off of my to-do list. I have so many things on it that I can’t possibly add more. PRP helps me with motivation to get things done and have fun at the same time.
ABSOLUTELY!!! It’s always so much fun to see how everyone interprets a given theme, as well as what they create from it.
Oh! This is so lovely. I admire all the attention to detail, the love! And that perfect Peter pan
stunning!
just lovely!! that really is a great summary of your style… everything you guys make is amazing!! I just linked up my all boy style and I’m loving all the other links! Emily
Awww, you’re too sweet!! Sometimes we think we are gluttons for punishment with handwork….but those are the items we are most pleased with, time and time again :).
This is so beautiful! Such detail! Plus I’m a sucker for a good Peter pan collar 😉
You can’t go wrong with Peter Pan….right??? Thanks for the compliment!
This is stunning and I would love to make something similar for my daughter’s first communion next year. Can I ask where you purchased the fabric for the dress?