To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. Isaiah 61:3

Monday, June 15, 2015

1895 Sailor Dress Complete!!

Oh my word.  With the exception of the Ruth DeWitt Bukater green boarding suit, this sailor dress has taken the longest time to make.  I'm not talking hours of construction...I'm talking, I started this very simple 1890s dress in April and I have just now finished it.  I even did something that I very rarely do...I stopped construction to make a whole different dress from an entirely different era!  Weird.  I even had a hard time taking it up again after the salmon 1920s dress I made for an event a few weekends ago.  I don't know if it was burn out, or the hot weather, or the fact that I was beyond exhausted, but I just didn't feel the desire to sew on this dress.  And that is so sad to me as I have been enamored with this dress for a very long time.

BUT!!!!!

It is now completed and almost ready to wear!  I just need to sew in a few hooks and eyes and I need the assistance of my Mother to do that, because try as he might, my fabulous husband just can't seem to make the placement of the hooks and eyes work.  It is however, done enough to photograph and blog about!  Huzzah!!!!

I am in love.


My sweet sailor dress in a representation pose of the extant dress...


Original from The Museum at FIT.

I LOVE love love this dress!  I would really like to see an image of the original owner wearing it!



All that soutache....

Can I just interject here a moment!  I LOVE how soutache looks on garments.  It is simply elegant and divine.  However....the sewing on of said soutache makes the back of my right eyeball hurt and oft times the air in my bed/sewing room to turn a lovely shade of cerulean blue....I'm just sayin'. 



The collar for this baby gave me some trouble as I had to draft it myself.  I had made one, complete with about 8 hours of soutache application, only to find out that it was waaaaaay too small!  Oh what a happy occurrence!  So, back to the drawing board I went.  Finally, I achieved collar joy and all was right with the world!

Well, now I have to wear it somewhere.  Don't know where, but I now have a fourth sailor dress in my collection!

I'm sooooo heppy!!! 

Blessings to all of you my lovely friends!

g

20 comments:

  1. Oh this is grand! I can't wait to see pictures of you wearing it! Do you have a special outing planned?
    -Emily

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    1. Thank you so much Emily!! This is actually one of my what was supposed to be a yearly Sailor Dress Making dress. I was waiting for the fabric to show up and it finally did so the sewing began!! But I have it ready and waiting for when the event calls for a sailor dress!
      Blessings!
      g

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  2. Oh my gosh, it's *perfect* !!! Can't wait to see you in it. What a charming ensemble!

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    1. Thank you so much Lauren! I was quite thrilled with how it turned out and equally thrilled that it is over!
      Blessings!
      g

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  3. OH MY GOODNESS! Can't decide whether this dress looks as good as the original or even better! I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out! Oh my! I have to take a break now, haha

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    1. Whoo hoo!! Fabulous compliment Eleonora! Thank you so much! I can't wait to wear it!!
      Blessings!
      g

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    2. And I can't wait to see you wearing it! Please do HURRY! Haha

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    3. I will try!!! hahahaha!....need to make the hat first.

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  4. " I even did something that I very rarely do...I stopped construction to make a whole different dress from an entirely different era! "
    Need I say C.A.D.D.?
    I see another visit to the seashore. You'd look fabulous on the shores of Port Townsend bay.
    Val

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    1. Ok, Val....C.A.D.D. is a new one for me!! hahahah!!! Yes, I need a worm hole so I can go to Fort Warden at Port Townsend to have a photo shoot!!!
      Blessings!
      g

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    1. Thank you Breanna! I hope you are having a grand time in the place you are!!
      Blessings!
      g

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  6. The replication of the original is stunning. Great job and thanks for forewarning about soutache braid!

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    1. Thank you so much Jeannine! I can't wait to wear this somewhere!! Yes, take your time with soutache and be a bit on the patient side, unless you have an old fashioned attachment for an antique machine!! But the efforts are so worth it!
      Blessings!
      g

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  7. Gina, there is only one word for your newest sailor dress: FABULOUS!! You are truly too talented for words!

    Also, I've nominated you for a Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award! (Link here: http://youngsewphisticate.blogspot.com/2015/06/sisterhood-of-world-blogger-award.html) Have fun & keep inspiring us, Anneliese :)

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    1. Thank you so much Anneliese! Both for the compliment on my dress and the award nomination! What fun!
      Blessings!
      g

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  8. So pretty - and sooo much soutache! I love the way you've got every last detail of the original, even the sloped belt holder.

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    1. Thank you so much BT! It was a fun/irritating/maddening/silly trip with this dress! But I am so happy it is complete and can't wait to wear it!!
      Blessings!
      g

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