Pink dress by request

The other morning before I went to work Esme tried to convince me to stay home and 'play dress.' She picked out a wide pink satin ribbon and said she wanted it with this fabric, which I had been saving for a long time (since Mother's Day, actually).. She wanted a dress just like the one she was wearing (dragon front brown dress) but in that pink fabric. So, I told her I would - but not that day. She was pretty upset with me at first - I told her not to cop an attitude, to which she gave me a great HUH? look... I washed the fabric last night and had it ready to cut out and sew tonight. The sleeves are a tad long, but she will grow into them quickly - if history tells anything over the last few years! Ha. She likes it a lot! Pattern is McCalls 8001 again, with skirt front alterations and the dress sleeve laid over the coat sleeve and cut out.

Blue Rabbit dress

I made this a few days ago, mentioned it but did not get a chance to take any pictures. She wore it to town today. It is a McCalls 8001 alteration - with the two pleats in the front instead of one, and a dropped skirt front as well. It is the last bit of the blue dobby rabbit fabric from Japan bought several years ago. It was previously featured as two pairs of pants, so it has done well for two yards!

She put her socks and shoes on herself. We had to take a package to the 'mailman' for Grandma, and Esme enjoyed the idea of helping with that, even though she was more interested in reading her bike book when we got there. The train set pictured is a clearance item Daddy found for her and she nearly lost quite a bit of hair to it yesterday - we had to work it out! She still did lose a little hair, but it is very hard to tell, as Daddy did a good job rescuing what he could from the track mechanism before finally cutting a small lock off with it. Hopefully she will be more careful with it now.

Today I am inspired by the Betsy McCall paper doll archives I found on the internet. I can't believe I hadn't seen them in all this time! Several of the dresses shown for the paper dolls have the corresponding McCalls pattern number the dress can be made from.


January 1960 McCalls magazine paper doll dress
brown dress with a white pinafore
Betsy McCall sees Leonard Bernstein's youth concert...
It lists the pattern to use is 2358

I saw one brown dress with a white pinafore (January 1960) that I really liked. I want to replicate the look but with a brown and white gingham check pinafore. I bought some fabric but could not find any brown rick rack at the store - they had a place for it, but something else was there. :( I'll poke around and see what is in my collection, maybe I have some hiding - I know there is red and blue... I'd like the pinafore to go over a blue dress or a brown dress. Esme has been painting a lot lately and both of her new short sleeved dresses have bodice and skirt frontispieces FULL of paint splatters.... that don't wash out! Well, that is the good thing of being a seamstress... clothes are not irreplaceable, it just takes a little time set aside to make or remake them. And paint splatters do not make them unwearable... just maybe not the best attire for town trips et al.


McCalls 2358 girls dress and pinafore sewing pattern
I've passed up the chance to buy this one a couple of times... I wouldn't again!
It looks so different in the plain brown above with the white pinafore

I also know I have another pattern (or two) that are similar enough to work with... going to go sort through them now and find one about a size 5. Side note: Mark got me some peppermint coffee which is VERY good. :) I really love peppermint coffee and am sad it is only available during the 'holiday' season.


McCalls pattern 6631
'red riding hood style cape'
size 6, 1940s

I've ordered a copy of this pattern to come in the mail. I don't see Esme wearing the armholes like that - but I could be wrong. And, it doesn't mean I can't alter it into something she would wear. I am very interested in the assemblage of the hood - and the general idea itself. I might be able to expand it larger to make one for myself... which I probably would wear as pictured.

finished McCalls 8001 - can't love it, but it works

I finished McCalls 8001 dress tonight. As Esme says: "I can't love it" But, it does work. Remember it is a size five, which she just barely doesn't swim in. There is room for growth here. Take a look at how the skirt is open when she is sitting, and relaxed when she is standing. That was not easy to get right, and I still think I did it a little haphazard. The ties in the back were essential to not making it stick STRAIGHT out in front of her. Note: These are also the 'wiley pants', although the major feature of them (a flat tummy band) cannot be seen.


Heading off downstairs with her broom and 'wand' (a pencil)


skirt detail and 'magic wand'
It would do nicely with a red ribbon sash all around the middle.
Then I put her hair back up, so she could see and I could see her.


The dogs decided to take center stage.


Partially because they realized
she had a cookie and might drop it!


McCalls 8001 size 5, circa 1961

The reason I bought the pattern was for the coat, which is still to come ... the dress was just tempting and fit the type of fabric I had on hand better, although I did have to piece that, too -- the two color version of the dress was due to not having enough of either to make the whole thing.


And a better shot of Nova's puppies


She is still very protective of them and has not left them for very long at all.

Now for cupcakes, as the laundry and dishes are nearly done.
//note// Esme quote of the night : Upon seeing Lisa Simpson kiss Nelson, and while standing on her head in our bed... 'ew gross. That's a gross kiss.' Daddy and I both lost it. Mark says: 'And... I guess that's four?' (as in years old)
//note// We played with the pattern blocks at her request. They were a very good investment. We read one of her easy books together and she knows more words by sight than she used to - mostly color words and a few words like 'and', 'the', 'come' and 'for'. That is all from Starfall. She said the word 'sleep' was 'sheep' so she is just memorizing the look of the words.