Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Those Crazy Tea Towels!



Ok, it *could* be said I have an addiction to tea towels (may be called fingertip or guest towels where you are).  I find them fairly easily (thank you thrift stores and estate sales!).  There seems to be no end to the designs that creative embroiderers thought to stitch on them.  

Making these dresses is a bit like eating salted peanuts...it's hard to quit once you start! 
Each is a bit of a surprise when it is done and I find myself digging out "just one more towel" and making another, and another....  

For the trim on each I make my own bias tape out of 100% cotton fabric because the ready-made stuff is poor quality and doesn't have much variety.  I also use vintage rickrack which is 100% cotton, unlike the new stuff.  Vintage is also much smaller and more delicate (and the very devil to get tucked under the bias but ya gotta love a challenge!)  

These are examples of my work, and as such are sold, but I plan to make more and will post them when I do!  I charge $30 each and they include a panty because we don't want those girls going without! 





towels with animals are very hard to find!
this is not vintage....they are currently made in China, but the stitching is still very nice!

huck toweling with embroidery floss woven in the "floats."  I took a class on doing this and never could quite master it!

Modern towel with a fun camel machine embroidered on it!

Towels with people are hard to find, too!


More huck toweling mastery! Kudos to the talented embroiderer, wherever you are!

A pretty little embroidered spot that I had to back with fabric so we can't see her undies!


Is it my imagination or has Gia managed to model a lot of these dresses?!


Sometimes the stars align, and so does the embroidery!  I like the way it wraps around the neckline.

Gia again....give someone else a chance, would ya?


The embroidery was so delicate that I used lace instead of rickrack...it seemed like the right thing to do!

Modern towel with a cute bunny!! Who could resist?!

I particularly like this one....should have kept it! sigh....

I found 2 tea towels alike...rare!  I did different trim colors on each (see below, too!)


A friend's pretty girl in a dress with coordinating sandals!  I wish she could do all my photography!!

the "headless photography" phase begins....



Saturday, January 7, 2017

Something for the boys!

We all love the ruffles and lace for the girls, but the boys need some clothes, too!  Here's some examples of boy's clothes I have made in the past.  I don't often get to use vintage fabrics for the boys; mostly I use new or recycled fabrics.  These are examples of boy's styles!


Boys T-shirt and cargo shorts. I prefer this "no waistband or elastic" style because it is smoother fit
T-shirts are $10 and shorts are $15











Corduroy overalls and plaid shirt with white
hand stitched running stitch  $45
Another overall style with working pockets front and back,
plus a long sleeve T-shirt  $45 for set

Boy's summer pajamas with a piped band front and
short sleeves and short pants $25
I like this pant style with no waistband and a trim fit.
It looks great with sweaters because is doesn't have any
bulkiness at the waist.  Good style for girls, too! $15 pr 
Boys need undies, too!  This was made from recycled tie-dyed fabric
and is a nice T-shirt and underpants set $15


Basic T-shirt can be made with short or long sleeves $10 each




Long sleeve T-shirt $10

Caleb doesn't mean to look so "macho"
but he just wanted to show
the slim fit pants with suspenders
with "D" ring catches $15
Back view of suspenders



















A shirt made from a vintage napkin!

I made these cuddly one piece pajamas for boys
and girls, but didn't photograph the boys! Flannel
with zip front and drop seat in back for those
cold nights and you have to go!
back view of pajamas!

Monday, January 2, 2017

style examples from 2016

The hazard of posting pictures of clothes I have made is that all of these are sold.  However,  I can reproduce these styles again, although usually the fabric will have to be different.  I also put the prices on them so you have an idea of my price range. 
Enjoy!!


This style is my capris and tie-front blouse.  It has snaps in the front covered by buttons, working tie, elastic waist capri with contrasting cuff.  This also comes with a triangle headscarf (not shown) to complete the look.  It reminds me of outfits I had as a child in the 60's!  This style with the 3 pieces sells for $45.



An example of a baby dress made from a vintage tea towel.  It has a cap sleeve and the bodice closes with snaps in the back.  Matching panties are included so you can't see the little baby's bottom!  Each tea towel tends to be OOAK, but each seems to turn out pretty!  This style sells for $30 for the 2 pieces.



A pretty yoke style dress with an apron made from a vintage placemat.  Dresses such as these can be made with long or short sleeves, shorter or calf-length and band collar, peter pan collar or no collar at all!  All of my dresses come with a matching panty.  For shorter or more modern looking dresses, I make a modern panty style but for more old fashioned or longer styles, I often make "drawers" instead! The dress alone sells for $45 and dress and apron $55.



A dress with a slightly-higher-than-waist dress made from a placemat.  These can have short or long sleeves and any variation of collar you desire.  The price on these varies depending upon how much the vintage piece cost!



Another example of a yoke style dress.  In this case, it was a placemat.  This shows the shorter style with long sleeves and a peter pan collar.  Typically sells for $45 unless the vintage piece was pricey!



A little sleeveless A-line dress made from a tablecloth!  It is fully lined and has a contrasting gingham bound neckline with a tiny, tiny vintage rick rack inserted.  (I use 100% cotton for trims and bias unless otherwise noted.) It snaps up the back and also has a matching panty, of course.  This style sells for $30



Let's not ignore the bigger girls!  This is made from 100% cotton corduroy.  I smocked the front and back with a simple design. For underwear, I use the classic original pattern with pleated legs and elastic waist.  I made this particularly short to mimic a dress in Sasha Puppen, but it can be made "knee" length or calf length.  I also make studio shoes as seen here.  This dress style would be $65 with smocking, $55 without.  The shoes are $25



Another example of a yoke dress with a tea towel apron.  Seems like this was crying out for a wee ruffle on the shoulder, so I complied!  100% cotton gingham for the dress, of course!



I was trying out a different sleeve style and like it a lot.  It is fuller at the upper arm and tapers so that it isn't gathered at all in the cuff.  Although this was brand new cotton plaid fabric, I often find exactly what I am looking for in used men's shirts. They have the best tiny plaids, quite often! again, $55



A new style for me with a simple pleat down the front of an A-line dress.  I set in contrasting sleeves and collars to make it appear to be a jumper and blouse!  I used tiny piping around the cuffs for interest as well as little buttons holding the pleat at the top.  This style would be $45.



Playing around with hankies led me to this style I call my "mad men" dress since it reminds me of the 60's.  (probably the bow gives me that impression!) Hankies aren't enough fabric on their own, so they need some "help!"  Snaps up the back and matching panty.  This style sells for $45.



This dress is another attempt to enlist hankies into Sasha dresses! This is rare because I actually had 6 matching vintage hankies, can you believe it?  That is the equivalent to finding a unicorn (almost! lol!) The dress is lined both at the bodice, but also the skirt part as hankies tend to be sheer. Price varies on these dresses depending on the cost of the hankies, starting at $50 and up.



Every now and then my girls pitch a fit and then the dress has to stay here on a permanent basis. Such is the story with the strawberry dress.  It began life as a runner for a dresser and was a cotton organdy and sheer, so I lined it with red China silk.  The ravel-ly organdy and the ravel-ly silk were having a contest to see if they could turn into a pile of threads before I could get it sewn!