Princess has a birthday coming up next week. And Mimi had a birthday dress to make. I have written about the "Cherry Dress" before
here,
here and
here. It is much beloved where I live and an iconic symbol of the
St. Louis Women's Exchange. This year's birthday dress came about in a convoluted way.
For Easter I had given all the grands a sweet little board book. In there is a picture of some friendly animals having a picnic. Featured front and center of the picnic was a chocolate cake with cherries on top. Every time Momma mentioned her upcoming birthday, she immediately announced she was having a chocolate cake with cherries on top. It took some serious detective work on her mother's part to figure out where this idea came from. She would not be swayed that she was having said cake for her birthday. So when faced with an unrelenting soon to be four year old, Momma did what any mother would do, she decided a cherry birthday party was needed. So that is what was requested.
I used a well loved classic pattern, Children's Corner
Kathy Kelly. This was one of the first Children's Corner patterns I ever bought. I made kelly green dresses for my two oldest girls the Christmas they were 2 and 5. That two year old is Princess's mother.
I substituted a peter pan collar for the lace or round collar to replicate the St. Louis dress. Ignore my "model's" uneven shoulders. I keep telling her to stand up straight. The dress is blue/white seersucker with poly/cotton pique for the collar and cuffs all piped with pink gingham piping. The cherries are three dimensional made from the gingham and stuffed with polyfill. The leaves are embroidered with two strands of floss.
I love pink and blue together. I did interface the button bands and placket lap with a bit of german interfacing. Like me, if it has been 30 years since you put a placket into a box pleat, Lezette Thomason's
video on Youtube is invaluable.
Because I am a grandmother who has lost her mind---
A matching dress for Bitty Baby was also made. It did turn out awfully cute. I followed a friend's suggestion to make the chest a tad larger for Bitty Baby. I will let you know how it fits. I did use buttons for the dolly cherries instead of the three dimensional ones. Since I was on a roll---
Two more doll dresses were made. One is for our local chapter's doll auction in November and the other is for an auction at the
Miracle Bash to benefit Huntsville Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The two additional doll dresses were done in the traditional white with red trim. Since I was making cherry dresses I figured I would knock these out while I was on a roll.
I sure hope Princess likes her birthday dress with dolly dress to match. I plan on enjoying a piece of that chocolate cake with cherries on top. I will let you know how it goes.
What are you stitching on faithful reader?
