Jessica Sews | Kismet Blouse

Long time no blog! Let’s jump into one of my recent projects, shall we? I just finished up another version of McCalls 7977 using a gorgeous Sharon Holland print (Fleuron Sanctuary) from Art Gallery Fabrics.  When I saw the print showing up on some of the quilting instagrams I followed I searched and searched until I found two yards via Milkshakes and Sunshine on Etsy.  It shipped so fast so once it arrived it was straight into the wash to cut and sewn the next day. 

This fabric gave me seventies bedsheet vibes, which is a look I’m all about these days. I knew I wanted to pair it with some kind of crocheted cotton trim on a full sleeves for an early Laura Ashley feel. (You can see my inspiration board for this year here)

From there I scanned my pattern collection and pretty quickly decided M7977 would be the perfect way to incorporate the two. If you’d like to see some of my process, I’ve saved it in an Instagram highlight.

Working with this fabric was really dreamy. It’s light, almost like a poplin and very easy to cut and sew. I love the way it drapes and forms the ruffles - it’s really really lovely. Last night I bought two more prints from this collection!

I also wanted to give you a quick look at the interior of this piece. I really like making neat and tidy garments and I did that a couple different ways. On the neckline and keyhole I used double turned bias - one of my favorite finishing techniques. On the armholes, the yoke and side seams I just did an overlock style zig zag with a new foot i just found for my machine.

Lastly, I sewed in a personalized label I designed and had woven by Dutch Label Shop. I’m so proud to put my name on this one. The whole project was a joy to sew and the encouragement I got from you guys during the process was really awesome. 

I’ve got plans to do more documentation during my projects and I’d love to hear from you what you enjoy most. No wrong answers! 

Jessica Sews | Folkwear 229 Sailor Pants + Self Drafted Upcycled Tee

I’m so excited to share two new makes I’ve stitched up this week. Firstly, a super simple tee shirt - made from a thrifted dress I picked up for $7. I made this top from a self drafted tee shirt pattern I worked on earlier this year and gave it a scooped neck. It took me under two hours from cut to try on and now I want to make allll. the. knit. shiiiiirrrtts.

More excitingly (and far more time intensive) - my newest pair of pants. These are the 229 Sailor Pants from Folkwear patterns, which I cut in a size 30 (the smallest available) and slightly modified to fit. Firstly, I added a few inches to the leg length when I cut, resulting in a 35.25” inseam. Yes, I’m tall. Secondly, I took out a little fullness in the crotch simply by grading in from the inseam about 1.5”. The only other change I made from the pattern instructions was to do metal grommets at the back gusset versus hand sewn, although I tried (and after all those buttons and pulling all of the threads to the back), but decided I was sick of it and went with copper grommets I had.

These are sewn in a medium weight denim with a slight stretch. I wish I had used rigid but I still like these pants a lot! They’re very comfortable and I foresee myself getting a lot of use out of them in the future! I used thrifted buttons from my stash but miscounted and was one short - so I used a matching colored button at the waist and think it looks just fine!

Quilted Tamarack Jacket

For a while now I’ve been thinking of starting the epic journey of making a king sized quilt for my bed. Before I jump into a project of such a huge scale, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to see if I still liked quilting and to play around with ideas on what kind of large quilt I wanted to make. I knew I wanted to use the Tamarack Jacket pattern from Grainline Studios and I had an idea of a palette. I used pretty humble fabrics - basic muslin, chambray (some new yardage, some upcycled from a second hand dress) and some gold quilting cotton. From there, I just let my imagination fly and designed the piecing as I went!

I created each section (two fronts, two sleeves, one back) one at a time and then attempted to mirror or compliment the design with each subsequent piece. Next I hand quilted using a cotton/wool blend batting and cotton backing, before tracing the pattern lines onto the finished block, basting those edge lines and then cutting it out.

I ended up sizing down from a 12 by taking rather large seam allowances on the shoulders and under the arms - my guess is that it’s a probably an 8, but I’m not positive. I always wanted this jacket to have a little extra room for comfort and I like the finished feel!

On the inside I hand finished every seam by either appliquéing a strip of fabric over the pressed open seam, or making something sort of like a flat felled seam so that there are no raw edges.

I cannot wait to wear this quilted jacket all fall and winter long. I’m usually quite cold at home so I set out to make a wearable quilt and I think this does the trick! And the 120+ hours it took to make it hasn’t swayed me from making my own large bed quilt either! I’ll keep you posted on the progress!

The Kirsten Project | Dress Inspiration

dress, late 1830s, metropolitan museum of art, daguerrotypes of women and girls in mid 19th century dresses

The real root of The Kirsten Project has been for me to try to untangle the mystery of how each aspect of Kirsten’s costume came together and to make my best guess on what Pleasant Company used as an inspiration, all while staying true to early photos and extant pieces of 1850s fashion.

pleasant company catalog

Luckily, when it comes to Kirsten’s dress, we know exactly where to look… remember the early catalogs and the girl sized dresses you could buy to match your doll? On Kirsten’s page an ecru printed dress was shown with the following copy:

“This antique dress was Pleasant Company’s inspiration for Kirsten’s wardrobe. Made with loving care more than 125 years ago by a mother that took pride in tiny stitches, it’s hem faced in coordinating fabric, a practical, thrifty way to use precious scraps of material, but such a pretty touch that we did it on purpose when we recreated Kirsten’s dresses for you.”

This extant dress is also shown in the “Peek Into the Past” section at the end of Kirsten Saves the Day and in Welcome to Kirsten’s World 1854. If you look closely you can find picture credits (right behind the title page back at the front). This dress is from the Wisconsin Historical Society and thanks to a gift from Pleasant T. Rowland herself (the creator of Pleasant Company and the American Girls), the entire children’s clothing collection is available to view to the public. God bless the museums that post their collections online - it’s a priceless resource for costumers like me! It took me just minutes to scan through the collection before I found the dress that inspired Kirsten’s! The description of the dress reads:

“Ecru-colored cotton, printed with a half-drop pattern of small red and brown radishes on a ground of small scattered brown spots; hand-sewn; slightly above natural waistline, with inset self-fabric band, 1.5" wide, with pattern going the opposite direction from the rest of the dress, and piped on both seams; bodice is gathered into the waistband in a section in the center; calf-length skirt is cartridge pleated into the waistband all the way around; long and full bishop-style sleeves; 1.5" pleat taken in above hem of skirt; narrow band collar; various calicos used to line hem of skirt, waistband, and bodice; center back opening closes with 5 white cone-shaped glass shank buttons from neck to waist, and two metal hooks and eyes at the waistband.”

women and girls in printed dresses, radish print child’s dress, 1853-1857, wisconsin historical society

The signature elements I will recreate in my adult sized dress (which are also very similar to the dress shown above from The Met) are: dropped shoulders with piping on the armscye, full sleeves pleated into a cuff, fan pleating at the center front (gathered in the girl’s version), piping at the waistline, gauged/cartridge pleats to attach the skirt to waist and finally, a printed hem facing that differs from the body of the dress. I’m using a sewing pattern that has been made from an existing dress dated between 1856-1862.

Prints from an 1850’s Swatch Book

While the original dress is ecru with a small radish print, Kirsten’s dress is described in Meet Kirsten as “patterned with little red flowers” and has a blue background. My guess is that the blue, paired with the red stripes of her traditional Swedish apron, created a very American look for Kirsten. This shade of blue was also pretty popular in the 1980s when the character was created. While there are a lot more examples of brownish tones during this era, as seen at left, some blues do survive. I’ve created my own adult sized print based on the description of Kirsten’s dress, illustrations from her series and from the doll’s original printed dress. I can’t wait to reveal it to you in the final photos of this project!

Extant examples of blue print fabric from the mid-19th century (Top LEFT 1845-1850 MODE MUSEUM HASSELT, TOP RIGHT 1867-1869, KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, CHILD’s Dress 1850-1855, Metropolitan museum of art)