Made It Myself Monday: The Preppy Piped Semi-Blirt!

Okay, first things first:

Thanks for all the entries in the Hundred Dollar Iron Giveaway!

Oh. My. Lord.

I thought a few folks might want a serious iron upgrade, but I truly had No Idea!

It's so fun to see my blogland friends in there with so many new Commenteers!

I do hope you newbies will keep visiting me and say hi whenever you have the time!

If you haven't entered yet there's still time!

Now... on to something craftier!

Well here is another example for a garment with piped seams a la the grande tutorial of yesterweek.
This was conceived as an Homage to the adorable Blirt (blouse'n skirt look but in a one piece dress) made by Dorie at Tumbling Blocks.

The empire waist kind of killed the blirt-y illusion, but dress is very pretty and comfortable. Made from linen blend from Sew Mama Sew and a rescued vintage curtain, it gave me a bit of a work out dealing with combining fabrics that have a disparite drape and weight. There were many seams that required multiple basting attempts to get the fall I wanted.

In this situation I am not sure if the piping trim is helping or hurting the structure of the dress.

And I need to find a better alteration for dolman sleeves and my slightly sloping shoulders, or are they supposed to do this? Double stick tape? I'm  open to suggestions.

I think I'm going to add little lingerie snaps in the shoulders to keep all my undergarments out of sight when I wear this one.

3/4 yard new linen: 10.00
rescued vintage drapery from thrift store: 3.00
homemade piping from thrifted bias tape and sting .50
3/4 yard lining fabric 3.50

Total dress cost:17.00

Not my cheapest but a pretty decent frock for the buck. My biggest regret was not doing a lapped zipper. It was just beyond my sewing courage level to combine the corded seams and the new lapped zipper skillz into one dress.

thanks to flickr's Norma Frances for this fantastic digital backdrop

Maybe Mrs. Home Maker is right and looking stylish for less can be easy if you sew for yourself.

Mrs. Home Maker Gets Ready for Valentines Day

Well, Here we go getting ready for Valentine's Day! And none too early either! There are Vintage cards to be glittered. These were so cute as a freebie on Vintage Indie, those thoughtful darlings!! ( These are fantastic too! and there is still time to print glitter and deliver if your sweeties are nearby.)

... and a tart to be baked, raspberry jam with local chocolate ganache...Yummy.


Just a quick check in the mirror before I take my reusable grocery bag to the store for some sustainable fish to grill and some organic veggies to roast for tomorrow. Thank goodness I finished the scalloped skirt from Blueprint's Second Issue, it's cozy and festive in red. Such a shame about that magazine though.
Oh! and I better get a cupcake to celebrate Calamity Kim's Birthday today! Happy Birthday Kim!!!


I got a fun question about my doll and whether it might be a "Lenci" which was what Edith from Edith and the Bears was... It was actually the second time someone commented on the similarities. Wow, don't I wish?




Well definitely not a Lenci, the bag I got from the thrift shop had 9 of these "pressed cloth doll faces", most were babies and larger sized. There were a couple that were really different, one had googley eyes and looks flapperish, one was a familiar look from the 70's and one had a letter, sock, and the name "Seventeen" stamped into the bottom. The letter was regarding a doll making contest sponsored by Seventeen Magazine. It appears to have been typed on an electronic typewriter and has hand drawn images of how to make a body from a sock to complete the doll which would be sent to the Foster Parents' Plan Inc.

I have no idea how old these are and can't find many examples on Ebay or anything. So, I made up my own patterns for everything and am having a ball. Most of the other faces will end up in the shop, I think... better be soon too..

I always did like playing with dolls.

Mrs. Home Maker Action Figure

Thrift Thursday and WIP Wednesday Join to present:

The Mrs. Home Maker Action Figure.
Saving the world one reuseable shopping bag and organic rutabaga at a time.

She buys used. She makes it herself. She has handmade new vintage dresses. She gardens, line dries her laundry, has cute reusable grocery bags, cans organic produce, buys local, raises chickens, and has brilliant, politically aware, sensitive artistic children. Plus she always looks adorable... and she wears aprons in public whenever possible.

Right now I have just started on Mrs. Home Maker or Little Betty, as I like to call her. She has no shoes and her skirt is just basted and tragically unhemmed but in my dolly dreams she will be fully accessorised, armed and outfitted as the perfect future retro house honey. My ideals and aspirations all in one huggable package.

Somehow putting all this together at 1/5 actual size just seems more do-able.

(Mrs. Home Maker is made from a vintage doll face from the local thrift shop and stash busting wool and wool felt. She is dressed in a wrap dress made of Joel Dewberry fabric and has restrung vintage "pearls"... all clothes and accessories provided by Bitter Betty Industries.)