The Trouble With Suits

Arthur's Father, The Invitation and Annabelle Revealed.....

The Trouble with Suits, Dear Readers..... is that they make me want to make almost ANYTHING ELSE but them! So I will begin tonight with a little Diversion. You may Remember that the setting of the DATE for the Wedding was being held off until Arthur's Father could be Located. He is a lepidopterist...... and travels extensively in search of new Species of butterflies to study. Everyone had Thought he was in Africa..... but it turns out he was finally located in South America deep in the Jungles!

He is here now.... may I introduce you to Harold?

Can you see the family resemblance?

(Of course, now I have ANOTHER suit to sew.....!)

Arthur is very Happy that he is here!

But PLEASE, Don't tell Celeste....

it is better that she doesn't find out until the last minute!

(I'm sure it will all work out alright....... It IS a Wedding, after all!)

So much for the Diversion...... I still have all those suits to sew!
I started in bravely on the jacket for Arthur's tuxedo..... fitting the sleeves first.
I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures of the patterns I made... I simply traced around the parts of the jacket he already owned..... the casual one..... and used that to cut the pieces for the jacket.

Formal jackets are tricky because the FIRST part you have to complete are the collar and the facings..... and you can't really test the fit until they are completely sewn! So I jumped right in! Here you can see the collar facings sewn and attached to the jacket body....... I forgot to take pictures of most of the steps... so this is really NOT a very good demonstration.....

And when I had stitched all the seams together and hemmed everything....

I tried it on Arthur.....

Only to discover that it was TOO BIG!

It really is.

It looks Terrible.

But perhaps ALL is not lost.......

Because I think it fits Will just about right!

So I started over at the beginning for Arthur......

And cut all the pieces a tiny bit smaller.....

and stitched them and hemmed them and pressed them......

and then tried them on........
And I think that looks MUCH Better!

Then I decided I had to make the buttons.......

So they really button.......

First one......

And then two......

And I think I can say I have completed One Suit!

And Will just needed some new trousers to go with the jacket.......

And I will have to do the buttons....

And that will be TWO suits completed!!

Meanwhile, I KNOW that Some of you have been wondering

WHERE your Invitation was.....

Well, until they Found Arthur's Father,

they were Reluctant to send out the Invitations!

But now that he is here,

the Invitations are ready!
And just in case they get lost in the mail for being so tiny...
I will show you here.....

And a little closer so you can read......

sorry about the blurry photo......
(And the sloppy writing....)

Inside the envelope is the Invitation......
like so.......

Maybe it IS too small to read clearly......

Here is a larger version....

(Yes, I know... it is very rustic and home-made looking.... they are all hand-lettered!)

We DO hope you will come!!!

And just because I Know you are being SO Patient,
waiting to see the gowns for the bridal party...
I will give you a Quick peek at the Flower girl.....
Annabelle is ALL dressed and waiting!

In spite of ALL the Diversions......

I STILL have more suits to sew!
They're really Quite Challenging!

That's The Trouble With Suits

Makeovers!

Over Dressed... Or Dressed Over....

It Must be Fashion Week at my house, Dear Readers, because I was home on Vacation and I spent the ENTIRE Week with a Parade of Little People crossing my worktable in search of new Fancy Clothes! Now, I know some of you might be wishing to see the Bride's Gown or even the Bridesmaid's Gowns.... but I am not going to spoil the surprise and show them now! You will have to wait! But I feel it is acceptable to show you the Other Doll's gowns... and we will start with Helen, Pollyanna's Grandmother. The top picture shows her with her regular dress on... and me testing the fabric for her skirt by wrapping it around over the dress. This is just to spare her modesty.... she is one of the Vinyl dolls whose clothes are removable.... so I was able to start from scratch with her! But I did not take photos of all the steps.... so you will have to be content with one before photo (above) and half a dozen after photos! Below you can see the completed gown! It is made from antique purple silk with a purple (also antique) silk chiffon capelette with pleated ruffled sleeves.....

The gown itself is a sleeveless floor length sheath with wide shoulder straps....

Here you can see the profile of the pleated capelette......

And from behind........

And even closer...
to see the details of the antique pleated chiffon...

I think she looks quite Elegant!

But before I could move on to making the gowns for the other dolls, I had to make a decision. Most of the other dolls had clothes which were FIRMLY attached! Should I Sacrifice their regular clothing in the name of Party Fashion.... or should I Overcome the problem by dressing them OVER their clothes? It wasn't really a Hard decision..... I Certainly didn't want to have to make Completely new Wardrobes for ALL the dolls... so I decided to Make their Gowns Over their clothes! So If some of the gowns are a little bulky... or Not in the Highest Fashion.... you will understand!

Pollyanna's Friend Cherie is a good example......

Here you can see her with her regular casual clothes.....

And I have started to stitch her sleeves Over the shirt she is wearing.......

And here I am fitting the Dress over her clothes......

It is a Beautiful iridescent silk in turquoise and Apricot...

Perfect for her coloring!

Here you can see it completed...

I added a gold neckband and waistband to the Empire Style gown...

And just a Glimpse of her in the Castle Great Hall.......
Doesn't she look beautiful?

Next on the Parade is Joanna... Mother of the Bride!

She is one of the Caco dolls.... clothes firmly attached!

At SOME point I might explore the re-fashioning of her costumes..... but not now!

I started by adding a floor length gown in purple....faux suede this time......
Her skirt is cut on the bias with an overlapped petal hemline....

And a simple jacket over the top...

with sleeves tapered at the wrists.....

And two tiny buttons to close at the neckline......
This cloth was wonderful to work with and needed no hemming!

And here you can see her in the Castle Great Hall.....

waiting with Celeste.... Mother of the Groom...

who has also had her Gown Made OVER......

I failed to take pictures of the progress.... but you get the idea......

I simply covered the glittery Silver gown with a satiny velvet-figured organza......

in Purple, of course!

And as if THAT weren't enough SEWING for one week.....

I had to make a start on the Groom's Suit!

And this is where I really started to Question my Sanity!
Arthur is normally a Casual guy.....
He needed a Tuxedo!
I had to start from Scratch!

Here you can see the start of fitting his new trousers......

And starting on his shirt.....

I found a figured cotton I have had for AGES....

the only white cloth I had! But it is also part polyester...

so it is not easy to press seams and hems.....

and the weave is actually a bit loose..... but I managed!

Fitting the body of the shirt.....

Sleeves attached and shoulders sewn.....

And now came the tricky part... the collar!

I cut corners and didn't hem all the seams normally...

it would have been way too bulky.....

but I managed to make it look like I hemmed everything!

And he has to have a bow tie...... I KNOW....

they are not currently very Fashionable......

but they are more Formal.....

And I know it is a tiny bit too big.....

but it is as small as I could manage with the ribbon I had...

So it will have to do...!

And then I had to find the buttons...

and the cummerbund.......

I think he is looking VERY Handsome!
But I don't care What you say.... none of the Others are getting a Real Shirt!

And I haven't even STARTED on his Jacket!
This is going to take a While!

Makeovers!

Bridal Shower!

Did You Remember There's Going To Be A Wedding?

But BEFORE there can be a Wedding, Dear Readers, there are Million and One Things to Do! And not the least of these is have a Bridal Shower! So Pollyanna's Sister, Sally May, has decided to Host the Shower at her home.... even though she feels it is a Woefully Inadequate Venue for such a gathering! But since it is really just for Family and close Friends she has overcome her reluctance and opened her doors. She hopes Nobody will mind the horrid old floors and ratty wallpaper and even the gaping Holes where windows should be! Chip has Assured her that these glaring faults will ALL be mended... but nobody can do it all in a day! She Hopes that her Guests will not mind! She has laid out her china and the CAKE on her Very Nice dining table...... she wishes she had more to offer.... Annabelle is helping her to get ready.....

The guests are waiting in the Parlor.......

Sally May wants Pollyanna to start unwrapping her gifts......

There are Quite a few!

Annabelle is wondering when it will be Time for CAKE!

Pollyanna has unwrapped a Lovely Blue China Tea Set!

Sally May has found an extra table to display the gifts......

Oh LOOK! She has been given a Blender and A Coffee Maker!!!

(These are Refrigerator magnets I collected a LONG time ago!)

And here are a few more lovely gifts....

A prettily painted glass Decanter... a set of wooden salad bowls.....

Oh, and an old fashioned Waffle Iron!!!

See the waffle Iron...

it hinges open and can be set on top of a hot stove or fire.....

Oh, and she has some lovely blue Spatter ware....

a set of dishes and some pots and pans....

And of COURSE there is a Toaster!

And a Lovely painting

and a Beautiful Tree of Life Wall Hanging......

Of course, there are MORE gifts...

but I am SURE you are like everybody else....

you are ready for some CAKE and Tea....

Everyone gathers in the Dining room...

even the Latecomers.....

Pollyanna's friend Cherie and Great Aunt Agatha......

Annabelle is hoping it is Finally Time for CAKE.....

"Please".....(she says...)
"I want some CAKE!"

"Annabelle...!" says Sally May..."Guests first!"

"I agree with Annabelle" says Joanna...

"I want some CAKE too!"

I hope you will forgive me, Dear Readers, for leaving you there.... hungry for CAKE ... watching the late afternoon sunshine find it's way into Sally May's dining room... but there is just SO MUCH to do! I must find or MAKE a Priest for the Wedding ceremony..... and all the decorations... flowers, tables, CAKE...... Not to mention the GOWNS! Everybody, it seems, will need a New Fancy outfit! And the men ALL need Suits!!!! I REALLY didn't think this through when Arthur proposed to Pollyanna a year ago.... yes, already a Year ago on Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

I should have told them to Elope!!!!

But then we would have missed ALL the fun......
(I do LOVE to sew!!!)

I have started to sew the Wedding Gown
(almost completed as of this Post!).......

Would you like a Sneak preview....?

Isn't it Beautiful?

Did You Remember There's Going To Be A Wedding?