The first dresses we worked on

Each dress was created on its own mannequin and we worked on several at one time and they soon began to take over the ground floor family room which had become our workspace for the project.  This large room was where we had hosted my parents 55th wedding anniversary with a sit-down dinner for 32 family members.  So when we set up the cutting table, sewing table and started draping bolts of fabric over the all the chairs and sofas it was soon near impossible to find a space to sit down..

In the photo below, the door and sidelites on the left were salvaged from an old Island farm home and given new life, adding character to our heritage home. 

The table we sewed on was saved on the night our original home was destroyed by fire on January 10, 1977.  In a rush to get it out we lost one of the legs going through the door and the cost to replace it was more than the table had cost when we had it built new.  The night of the fire we lost most of what we had owned and the community came together and by the next evening we were living in another house my brother and I owned and surrounded by gifts and donations of everything we could possibly need to help get us through that devastating experience - now 34 years later we have surrounded ourselves again with antiques and memorabilia that has been in the family for generations.

Below: This is the first dress we worked on - this is the mock-up of the black net stripe silk dress which was the favourite of L.M.M.  We've been unable to find a black silk strip net to do the finished dress the fabric that we had used for the mock-up gives a good impression of what the finished garment will look like and we are still searching for the appropriate fabric.  In the meantime this one will be displayed as a representation.  The dress has a full and flowing skirt that trains behind and is made with a solid underlining with the stripe net over top.  There is also a front two-layer panel that goes almost to the floor.  The bodice is pleated and layered to give a textured effect with insets of lace and the same lace is used on the sleeves.  It has a pleated belt at the waist.

Below is the white embroidered cotton dress.  It has a two-layered skirt, the over skirt tapering to a point at the center front and each layer is trimmed with eyelet lace.  The bodice is full and pleated into a rounded yoke neck and the sleeves are full and fitted to give some fullness at the shoulder.  The sleeve length is mid-way between the elbow and wrist and fitted with a cuff.

Below.  While photographing the progress of the dresses, our family cat, became fascinated with the white embroidered cotton dress and had a great time playing under it and amusing herself by jumping out at us as we walked by.  This seemed fitting as LMM was very fond of cats and wrote extensively in her journals about them and the joy they brought her.

Below.  To photgraph the dresses we staged them in a period setting - we used an antique side board, silver tray and china tea service.  As well we accessorized the dressed with an antique lace collar, embroidered hankies and jewelery to give them a finished look.