Clothes from Yesteryear 9

April 1985

Dorcas and Hannah

Keith, Hannah, Dorcas, and Teddy

I made Keith's sweater from one Larry had grown out of.  His pants are moss-green linen -- made from a set of draperies I'd taken down.  Teddy's pants and vest are of burgundy gabardine.  My mother gave Hannah her dress, and Larry's mother sewed Dorcas' dress.

I made only Teddy's shirt; the pants were store-bought.

Clothes from Yesteryear 8

 The majority of these photos are from 1984.

This little outfit was revamped from one of my own sweater-skirt sets that I wore in high school.  The sweater was originally store-bought; I cut it down and made the front pocket with the excess fabric.  When I made the skirt for myself, it was an A-line.  Cutting it down to a size four created enough fabric for a ruffle.  It sure would have been nice to have a serger for the sweater!  Lacking that, I used the overlock stitch on my Bernina Record 830.

Christmas dress, made from leftover fabric from a Christmas dress of my own from years before.  I was sewing Hannah's and Dorcas' dresses late the night before the Christmas program.  Got them done... went to the ironing board to press the black chiffon sleeves -- and the instant I set the iron down, the hungry thing devoured that sleeve!  Made a big hole, the exact size and shape of the iron's soleplate.  

I had barely enough black chiffon to make one more sleeve.  I got it sewed on and pressed -- this time, I hit the steam button before I set the iron down, and had the temperature turned waaaay down -- a little after 4:00 a.m.

I sewed the boys' matching black suits, too.  Keith wore size 5, Teddy size 18 months.

I sewed black lace on  the socks.  Dorcas had some, too; I can't remember why she didn't have them on in this picture.

Here's a better picture than the one in a previous post of the vest and skirt I made for Hannah from a sweater Larry had grown out of.  She could hardly wait for her father to come home from work that evening, so she could go running to greet him, with, "Daddy!!!  I'm wearing your sweater!" and lots of giggles.

All these knits... I look at them and think, What I wouldn't have given, back then, to have the serger I have now!

Her necklace is a little pig, with a real, honest-to-goodness penny stuck into his back.

This is another of the little peasant dresses that I made for the girls for everyday wear.  Each dress took about 30 minutes to make.

The only thing I sewed in this picture was Hannah's dress.  It was made from some single knit someone gave me, because their machine wouldn't sew it without skipping stitches.  Thank goodness for Bernina and ballpoint needles!  Oh, I think those red pants Teddy is wearing are the ones I made from an old skirt of mine, come to think of it.

Hannah always loved to pose.  😊

Dorcas, age 5, Kindergarten.  1987

I made the nightgown... the quilt (maybe better called a 'comforter', since I merely sewed wide ruffled lace onto giant petals, sewed them onto the quilt top, sandwiched it with ruffles around the edges, turned it, and tied it with yarn)... and the curtains.  Yep, I loved ruffles and shirring and lace and bows.  Still do, for that matter.

The suit I made for Dorcas to wear to Kenny and Annette's wedding, constructed from leftovers from my own suit.

Clothes from Yesteryear 7

 

See the pin on Hannah's jumper?  It was a tiny silver teapot on a stick pin, with a little chain hanging down and connecting to a tiny teacup at the other end.  If the pin was angled just so, the chain would then look like a pouring stream of coffee.  I'd totally forgotten until I started scanning all these old pictures how I used to put some of my jewelry -- necklaces or pins -- on the girls when I was getting them all dressed up to go somewhere.  A couple of the girls, upon seeing some of these photos in the last few days, have commented on how much they enjoyed wearing my jewelry.

Dorcas' little suit was made for Kenny and Annette's wedding with remnants from my own suit.

My late sister-in-law Janice made the china doll for Hannah.  Can you tell she's concentrating on being very, very careful with it?

Hannah's vest and skirt were made from a sweater of Larry's that he had grown out of.  The first day I put it on her, she could hardly wait for Larry to get home, so she could go running (giggling all the way) and inform him, "Daddy!  I'm wearing your sweater!"

Teddy's pants were made from an old skirt of mine.

June 10, 1979

My dress (I'm on the right, next to the bride, Martha) and the other bridesmaid's dress were made from a Gunne Sax pattern.  They were of the stretchiest single knits we had ever worked with, and it took an act of congress to get the hems straight.  As you can see, the other bridesmaid's skirt stretched after she was done with it, and wound up dragging the floor.  And it had been so perfect!

But let me tell you what happened on the wedding night, after the sermon:

My father finished preaching, prayed, and then said, "Will the wedding party take their places."

The bride and her attendants arose, as did the groom and his groomsmen.  We stepped forward to the alter, and the wedding ceremony commenced.

And then Martha and Carey Gene were husband and wife, and it was time to step back to the pew and then file out while the congregation sang the closing hymn.  The newly married couple would go first, followed by Larry and me, then the other bridesmaid and groomsman, the candlelighters next, and finally the ringbearer and flowergirl.  Since the pew was only a few steps back, we did not turn around; we just backed up.

Problem:

Sitting in that strrrretchy single knit dress through the service had stretched the back of the skirt, and it was no longer half an inch above the floor.

I stepped on the hem.

This pulled me backwards a little, so I automatically stepped back quickly with the other foot to catch myself.

That foot wound up even farther up the hem, jerking me back all the more.

By now, I was leaning backwards at a precarious angle, as I effectively walked up the inside of the back of the skirt.

The outcome would have been nothing less than ignominious, if the backs of my legs had not suddenly ka-bonked into the pew, which brought me up short and prevented me from landing flat on my back in front of the entire congregation.

I did not willingly wear a floor-length thneed (à la Dr. Seuss' The Lorax) ever again.

Sarah Lynn, 16, senior picture, 1977

Sarah Lynn, 12, 8th grade

The yoke on that jumper was not easy.  But I got it done!

Clothes from Yesteryear 6

 

Sarah Lynn, 16, Senior picture - 1977

At Kenny and Annette's wedding.  I made Dorcas' little suit out of the leftovers from mine.  Mine is a Vogue pattern.  I also sewed Keith's suit and ringbearer pillow, and Hannah's flowergirl dress.

Sailor dress

Keith, Teddy, Hannah, and Dorcas

Only Hannah's dress was handmade.

Teddy, just learning to crawl

This simple little peasant dress only took an hour to sew.  I made each of the girls three of them in one day.

Only Hannah's dress is handmade