Fine Heirloom Sewing, Smocking and Hand Embroidery

"Baby will be well and smiling in little garments made by Mother, Auntie, Grannie and loving friends!"

Please join me as I teach the old fashioned techniques and skills needed to sew baby clothes. You will find lessons that start at the very beginning and take you step by step as we sew little baby clothes together. May you find much joy and pleasure in making them.
It's easy and it's fun!!

Visit My Heirloom Sewing Webshop www.oldfashionedbaby.com




Wednesday, February 2

White Wednesday - Pretty vintage Baby Dresses

I was the lucky recipient of these two lovely baby dresses.
I have been appointed caretaker.  
And for that I am grateful!

I will be a very good caretaker!  Promise.
Not only are they beautiful, they came beautifully ironed.

Notice that the embroidery design goes from right below the tucks to the hem.
The first dress  is entirely handmade and has exquisite embroidery.
I wish I had some history  about the baby who wore this dress.

The places of openwork are done in the Ladder Hemstitch.
The embroidery is Satin Stitch.

I think this yoke is amazing!
There are tiny Pintucks with Hemstitching and embroidery between them.  But my favorite is the openwork stitch that joins the top near the neck to the tucks.

I teach this technique in a class.  One name for it is Bermuda Fagotting.

The  back of the dress is lovely too.  Wider tucks  and the same  pretty openwork.
I like baby clothes that have a decorative feature on the back!

The second dress is a little larger.  Probably a toddler dress.  It is made entirely by machine with the exception of the buttonholes which are handmade buttonholes.

The yoke is made up of groups of tucks alternating with machine made Swiss insertion.

The cuff on the end of the long sleeve is made from the same Swiss insertion as used on the yoke.  And edged with  a Swiss edging.

I like this hem feature.  Two tuck that are about 1/8" wide are stitched right above the hem.  The hem is also stitched in place with  sewing machine stitching which is unusual. 

No history for this dress either but it would have been used by a family that was not wealthy.  I really like the simplicity of this dress but it's very pretty.

This is my White Wednesday for this week.  Follow along as I go peek at the others at Faded Charm.
All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2011 Jeannie Baumeister

12 comments:

stefanie said...

oh, I love the sweetnes of the vintage dresses!!

Martha said...

I love those. IS that Bermuda faggoting the same as Point Turc? So pretty.

Julia said...

how in the world is that openwork done in that curvy wave? I understand and have done openwork straight on the grain. Is it done in little sections that just appear to be continuous? Lovely!!!

Jeannie B. said...

The openwork is done by manipulating the fabric when you pull the stitches firmly. There are no withdrawn threads so it doesn't need to be worked on the straight of grain. Yes Martha, Point Turc is another name for it as is the Lace Stitch, Three Sided Stitch and Turkish Stitch.

Ellen said...

Beautiful fabrics and gorgeous dresses!

xoxo,
Ellen

Mary Ann Pickett said...

This takes my breath away!
Mary Ann

dandelionavenue said...

They are stunning. I can't imagine how long that must have taken to sew by hand. I love the delicateness of the short sleeved one. Thanks for sharing those!
Angela

Sherry Richardson said...

Beautiful!!!! I hope you will do a pattern for the baby dress! I love the neck and pin tucks. I absolutely love the entire dress.

Unknown said...

how beautiful!!! You lucky person to be the caretaker of these precious gems!!!

The Farmer's Attic said...

Just beautiful!!!

Lynn said...

The level of skill required to make such beautiful garments boggles my mind! Such an amazing art!! How wonderful that you teach classes on these techniques! Thanks for giving us a peek at these delightful baby dresses. I really enjoyed studying them. Happy White Wednesday!
~Lynn at www.cottageandcreek.com

Curtains in My Tree said...

I just love vintage baby dresses. I always stop and look at them at shops.

They are just precious. My Mom kept one of my baby sisters forever but misplaced since her death

Janice

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