From Ruth N

I just made up a dress and pinafore/apron off this pattern.  Oh I do hope I
got the pattern number right.  It's the first one of the new Vogue heritage
patterns.  I did View B with the dress and the pinafore with the pockets that
have pocket flaps.  It is absolutely gorgeous and Molly can't believe I made
it for her and not for a swap.  For those of you who haven't tried it yet,
here's what I found out:

1.  The pinafore/apron all by itself is worth the price of the pattern.  I've
never made a nicer one.  I must admit that instead of silk ribbon embroidery,
I used a decorative machine stitch and rayon thread.  It looks fabulous.  I
did sew the pockets on by hand, but they are tiny so it only took a minute for
each one.

2.  The dress bodice is too long (though, curiously enough, the pinafore is
not!).  Surprise! Surprise!  Has there ever been a Vogue pattern where the
bodice wasn't too long.  It's an easy alteration.  Just cut off 3/8" to 1/2"
off the pattern.  Bing! problem fixed.

3.  There are darts in the back shoulders.  Don't be intimidated ladies.  This
is a fabulous touch!!  For once we have a doll pattern that fits nicely over
the doll's rounded shoulders.  It also helps the collar to lay down flatter.  

4.  There is piping in the sleeve and collar.  They included a pattern piece
just big enough to make your own piping.  I was dubious at first.  It looked
kind of small.  But it is indeed the perfect size.  They suggest crochet
thread for the mini-piping.  I'm sure it would work well.  I used 1/16th
upholstery cord (bought at Joanne's).

5.  When they said "heirloom" they really meant extra time on the finishing
details.  The bodice and sleeve cuffs are sewn in so that you hand tack the
insides invisibly.  This takes more time and looks really nice - though you
don't really have to do it if you don't want to.

6.  The pattern calls for the sleeves to be "set in" rather than sewing in the
cap and then sewing the side and sleeve all at once.  Once again, you don't
have to do this for the pattern to work.  But if you are so inclined, I have
one tip.  Hand baste it in rather than relying on pins.  The pins are a
nuisance.  And, believe it or not, the hand basting doesn't take any longer. 

The next paragraph explains how I set the sleeves in.  I almost hesitate to
include it because, without pictures, it sounds more complicated than it
really is.  Speed sewers will NOT like it and, frankly, if I was sewing to
sell or had a lot of deadlines to meet, I wouldn't bother.  But if you like to
lavish detail on one or two extra special garments, the technique is well
worth practicing.  Some of Susan's more elaborate Fancy Frocks patterns really
look much nicer with set-ins like this.

Also - and this is hard to explain so forgive me if it sounds muddled - sew
with the wrong side of the bodice on the machine and the wrong side of the
sleeve on top.  This results in the sleeve curling up as it goes under the
needle instead of down over the machine (which, if you think about it is how
you sew "people" cuffs and sleeves).  It is easier to control the tiny opening
this way.  I also found that a quarter inch foot - like the Quilter's Little
Foot - is very handy as it is more slender.

The bottom line on the garment is that it is very special.  The next one I'm
going to make is the view with the long sleeves and the triangular bodice
inset.

Hope this enourages you all to go for it.  


Also, I forgot to add about the pinafore:  If you left off the embroidery and
put a Red Cross logo on the front, you would have a dandy reproduction Red
Cross Nurse pinafore out of the 1940s for Molly.  I know this because it is
virtually identical to the Red Cross pattern on a couple of vintage doll
patterns I have.

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