The Wedding Dress

The wedding dress has been a year in the making.  Becca asked me to make her wedding dress in January.  She brought me a picture for a place to start.  She is not a fluffy-frilly kind of girl so the dress has simple lines.  We re-designed things as we went.  It has been an educational and fun creative project.  I am learning that period sewing techniques are not that far off from modern couture.  I used Wild Ginger software to make the pattern.  The lace came heavily beaded and sequined.  It was beautifully elegant and the highlight of the dress.  Although I only spent a little over a month actually sewing, the dress has been on my mind almost constantly.  It has been mostly handsewn because I have learned that sometimes you have more control over where your needle goes in at if you stitch it by hand.  I have learned to love the creative process of hand sewing. 

The back closure of the dress is button loops with a zipper behind it.  I learned that a button loop closure is very weak and that most dresses made with a button closure are actually closed with a hidden zipper not to be confused with an invisable zipper which is also weak closure.  The last thing the bride needs on her wedding day is a wardrobe malfunction!  The buttons instead of being fabric covered were a shell looking shank button.  I have to admit that I did cheat on the button looping.  Maybe someday I will make a dress with fabric button loops but they made me nervous so I used a prepared tape with elasticized loops.  The back bodice comes to a point about hip level.  Initially, the front was to have the same point but when we got it finished, it just wasn't what the bride or her mother wanted so we changed it to a straight across the front with a slightly dropped waist.

The neckline is a sweetheart shaped with piping.  The sleeves are a satin cap sleeve with an elbow length lace overlay.  The lace overlay is continued in the skirt with the satin ending eight inches above the lace so that the lace detail really stands out. The skirt went through a few transitions as well, we started at tea length like the inspiration picture, then we tried floor length and then back to tea length.

The lining of the dress has been completely hand stitched.  The fabrics are an antique white bridal satin, a nylon beaded and sequined lace and a cotton lining. 

All photos of Becca were produced by Neil D. Johnson Photography .

The Yellow Rose of Texas

This project has taken a while.  I have learned quite a bit from it. The dress is one that I have made several times.  The cuffs on the under sleeves are embroidered.  The bonnet was all hand stitched and took me just over a week.  The purse or reticule has been embroidered by hand.  It also took just over a week.  I have not done satin stitch embroidery before.  I learned that you can really tell when you have done padding stitches under the satin layer and when you haven't.  The embroidery pattern is called the Tree of Life.  It is an authentic 18th century pattern.

The bonnet had some lessons as well.  The foundation of the bonnet is made with a stiff fabric called buckram.  The outside of the brim and the outside of the crown have had wire attached to make it malleable.  The foundation has been covered with cotton batting.  I did this so that the weave of the buckram would not show through the yellow cotton fabric.  If I make another bonnet like this one, I will run the wire around the outside of the brim then around the back.  The directions had me stop the wire at the front edge of the brim which gives a weak joint.  By running the wire from the front of the brim to the back of the crown, it will make this much stronger.  I also learned not to pull the covering too tight or it will make the buckram buckle.

The client that this is for plays the Yellow Rose of Texas for a historical group that performs at rodeos.  I did a little research on this character from history.  Here's an article that I found:  http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/yellow.htm I didn't really know that she was a real person from history. 

All in all, I am very please with the way this project has finished.

On a personal note, Mary is now in 5th grade and she really seams to be enjoying her teacher.  She has grown to just over 5 feet tall.  She makes dinner quite often.  She is good at broiling meat and making salad as well as making spaghetti.  She likes to experiment with new recipes.  She has made pizza, including the dough, pretzels, refrigerator cookies and a couple of kinds of candy.  Most things have turned out really well.  She is in the process of decorating for Halloween.

The love of reading

I started this post as a reply on a friend's blog and it grew beyond a reply, so here we go.

My father was not a reader but he understood the need for books. He bought the first set of encyclopedias the year I was born. He wanted a different set than what they had at the library, so he purchased the Book of Knowlege and World Book. In my school years he renewed the encyclopedias 3 times. We also had Bible encyclopedia, Animal and sets of reading books.  I'm sure the Grolier salesman thought my dad was an easy target.

Nighttime would find us reading in bed.  After lights out time,we would hide under the covers with a flashlight to finish. Mom would often tell us if we continued to read in such darkened conditions, we would need glasses.  She was right.  We all have needed to wear glasses but I think that it is more genetic than from reading in the dark.  Even after I left home, I would come for a visit and pick a book and drape myself in a chair and read.


My family tried several times to have a TV when I was younger. For some reason, weeks into ownership and the used, gifted TV always ceased to work.  I missed the landing on the moon and the watergate trials.  We read for knowledge and entertainment. I read Dr. Suess books to my little sisters until I could quote them in my sleep.

I was worried that my daughter wouldn't become a reader, but about a year ago, she discovered books. It warmed my heart when she exclaimed "Mom, I can see pictures in my head!"

Today, I have graduated from hard copy books to e-reader books. I love having a book with me all the time without the bulk of a book.  I love being able to pull out my i-pod and read whenever I am waiting for something.

Reading has helped me learn more about sewing, knitting, and all manner of handwork.  I have learned how to take apart small kitchen appliances.  I have assembled most of the furniture in my home.

My mother taught me reading comprehension at the same time she taught me sewing.  She would have me read the pattern guide and then tell her what it said to do.  I have learned that this is a skill that not everyone has and I am forever indebted to her for teaching it to me.

To read the post that prompted my response go here:  http://notmolly.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/booklove/  Elizabeth is a good and entertaining read.  I even read her sewing book from cover to cover before I used the information in my daily sewing pursuits.

I am Loved

I  miss Earl the most when my earthly burden seems too heavy to carry all by myself.  Today has been one of those days.  I get lots of support from my family but sometimes it is just not the same as having Earl physically with me.  I struggle for the correct words to say how I feel because I have such a strong testimony of eternal marriage.  Anyway, I digress.  Today I am feeling lonely, all alone in the world etc. (having a "pity party") then I received this inspirational e-mail:

 "You are never far from the sight of your Heavenly Father."


—President Boyd K. Packer, "Counsel to Youth", General Conference, Oct. 2011

Then this afternoon, I caught myself humming a song while I was working.  A primary song.  I didn't even know all of the words, I had to look them up

I feel my Savior's love  in all the world around me
His spirit warms my soul through everything I see

I feel my Savior's love its gentleness enfolds me
And when I kneelto pray, my heart is filled with peace.

I feel my Savior's love and know that he will bless me
I offer him my heart, my shepherd he will be

He knows I will follow him Give all my life to him
I feel my Savior's love, The love he freely gives me.

Childrens' Song Book # 74

I have been taught today.  I am loved.  I am never alone.  I do not carry my burden all by myself.  If I feel alone, it is because I am pulling away from my Heavenly Father.  He is always there, watching me, waiting for me to come to Him.  I am His daughter.  He loves me and I love Him.

Most recent men's outfit

This is an outfit that I have been working on since the beginning of November.  The trowsers are made from a fabric called kearsy cloth.  It has warp threads of linen and weft threads of wool. It looks like the fabric that the confederate civil war reenactors wear.  The trowsers are a drop fall front. 

The shirt is made of raw linen.  It has been made made from a Martha McCain Simplicity pattern.  It has been mostly hand stitched.  If I could see the stitching from the outside, I hand stitched it.  The buttonholes have been done by hand as well.

The vest is made from a Past Patterns pattern called "A Single-Breasted Shawl Collar Waistcoat" It has been made from wool flannel with a raw linen lining and back fabric.  There are welt pockets and hand stitched buttonholes. 

I am now on to some easier things for a couple of weeks and then I will be starting a wedding dress for a girl in my ward who also happens to be a distant relative on the side of the family that has all the sewing genes.  (Thank you great great grandma  Elizabeth Hocquard Carlisle).

I've been hacked!

My comcast.net e-mails and facebook account have been hacked this morning.  I am not in England.  I don't even have a passport to get out of the country.  I apologize if this has jeopardized any of your accounts.

Gray Wool Dress

This dress has been a long time in the making.  It is made of bluish gray lightweight wool with a blue cotton lining.  The trim is dark pink taffeta.  The collar and cuffs are hand embroidered.  The time period is around 1850.