Friday, January 15, 2010

A New Gown and a Quilted Bib


I had to revise Asa's gown pattern again to allow more room, especially through the tummy. His blue homespun that I recently made is too snug, plus the sleeves are getting tight and short and the shoulders were too narrow. So a new pattern was necessary! This gown is a red/brown Delft print, not period correct but I like it. :-) It is cut *really* roomy, so maybe this will be the last pattern alteration needed before Spring. I had him weighed at 12 weeks and he was almost 17 pounds then, so he is pushing 18-20 lbs by now. He is also getting very drooly and needs something absorbent to catch the run-off. I have admired this bib from the Wisconsin Historical Society and used it as inspiration for my own quilted bib, they date this one to 1830-1869, it's quilted white cotton with tassels.

I hand quilted the one I made for Asa and though I really like how it turned out, it was rather labor intensive.

It was also my first attempt at making tassels. They came out OK, not award winning or anything but acceptable for a first try, I think. I wish he had a whole slew of these but I'm going to need a quicker option, the quilting alone took 4 hours so the whole thing was a 6-7 hour project. Now, if I could machine quilt, that would be a different story........ :-)

6 comments :

  1. So sweet! I simply adore that fabric you used for his gown!!!!
    And the bib... wow you have alot of patience!!!

    God Bless,
    ♦B♦

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  2. I love your quilted bib! With the way my daughter stains them I'd never put that much time into one for her. You did very close reproduction to the original.

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  3. I love you bib. Little Asa is so cute :-)

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  4. That's an incredible amount of time to put into a bib - wow - I so admire your dedication! It does look very much like the original and the tassels are lovely. What did you use for the tassels? The gown is darling, as is Asa himself - what a big little guy! :) I was lucky Malachi was not a drooler. Even now, at supper times, he refuses to wear a bib. Sigh. That's why I'm glad there is a pinafore as an option!

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  5. Thanks all! In looking at the original I believe that it must have had "dropped shoulders" if you know what I mean. Asa's bib extends beyond his shoulders and he has pretty wide shoulders, so the original must have had *markedly* dropped shoulders, I think.

    Sarah, I used #5 perle cotton for the tassels as it looked like it would stay nicer longer than embroidery floss. I only handwash it though, so I don't know how it would hold up in a machine.

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  6. Oooh! I love the quilted bib! So very pretty!

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