Without further ado...a slightly more modern version version of little red riding hood...
I actually did have a (typically for me!) obscure reference in my head when I was thinking this up...it was a wide eyed little girl named Madeline, in a book written by Ludwig Bemelmans. Many of the original stories are set in Paris, which most of you know is a favorite place of mine. The Eiffel Tower is on the original cover of the book published in 1939.
My color choices were dictated a lot by what the others did for their block. Since there weren't that many people working in yellow, (but a lot worked in blue and pink) I felt like I wanted to balance out the overall composition that the 12 blocks would make as a group quilt, color-wise.
In terms of the silhouette of the outfit (I can use this term easily now, since I am a total PROJECT RUNWAY junkie!) That too was dictated a bit by what others were (not) doing...I tried not to replicate.
I made lots of little sketches after looking online for children's clothing from the 40's and 50's. Originally, I had planned on making the lower part of the red flower over dress a 3/4 length, but after I laid it out, it was a bit too heavy and bulky looking, so I shortened it and made it a peplum jacket look instead.
Here are some hints for when you set out to make your own doll dress block:
1 Never under estimate the power of a good embellishment! My outfit has these little details:
•a miniature string of tiny fresh water pearls
•dotted pink & red ribbon
•a Prym Dritz 1/2" diameter half dome fabric covered button
•tiny salmon colored ric rac sewed on to the edge of the fabric covered button to make a flower-like effect at the center of the ribbon belt.
2 You might also want to consider:
•beads (just think of the possibilities!)
•scrapbooking miniatures
•jewelry findings (like Anne Sutton's little scissors)
•the multitudes of buttons that have become available since buttons became highly sought after collectibles back in the 1980's...For a fun look at Tender Buttons one of my favorite stores in Manhattan, press here, and make sure to view the slide show of this quaint shop.
3 My motto is always "a woman has a right to change her mind!" Don't edit yourself in the preliminary stages of a new project! By this I mean, don't try to design your block's details "on the hoof"...(this is a tip from my days as an interior designer)...If you don't collect sewing notions and tidbits, then it's best to shop at stores that have a liberal return &/or exchange policy. I get way too over-stimulated in a store setting, and I don't want to be going back & forth a million times to complete a project. I don't edit myself much when I shop. I get in, buy up anything that is in a reasonably good range, and get right out of the store, and right back into my studio. Then I "make it work"! I bought over 8 different types of red and pink ribbon (and anything I else I thought that might work) on my first shopping trip for this project. All of this might seem extravagant, but there is a method to my madness...I only return things when I am going into town to do something else, and I have a rule that I don't get in the car to go anywhere for less than three tasks when I am in the country. In Manhattan, it's a whole different story!
I hope that you are having as much fun with all of this as I am, and that you are inspired "to nourish your child within"...? What better way than with a Dolly Dress block?
Coming up, the completed group quilt and some other goodies too. So stay tuned darlin's...
Back in two shakes... x';º) H2
Swatch Sheet Download
