Welcome to Blue Ribbon Heirlooms!

       Thank you for visiting me here at Blue Ribbon Heirlooms blogspot. This is a place where i can talk about and share my love of creating beautiful things with needle and thread. I especially love to dream about, design, and then sew vintage and heirloom children’s clothing. I also love to recreate and restore antique garments. Follow along as i feature a new garment, or two, each week and take you through the steps from inspiration to completion of the garment i have chosen. I find my inspiration in many different ways, sometimes i’ll find an actual antique garment, other times it comes from a picture, the color of the sky that day, a vintage pattern, or a special request. At times, a lovely piece of  fabric will inspire me. As i attempt to move through this process, my desire is to make available to those who might be interested, a new and revised pattern of the garment of choice.  Thanks for joining me on this beautiful journey through time! I have so much to share with you, let’s get started!!

 

Monday, June 6th, 2011

          This week i have a few projects to complete, the first being a sweet baby day gown for “The Lydia Project” silent auction. This dress is made from ecru victorian batiste with a heirloom blue batiste scalloped hem which has been hemstitched by hand. I plan to follow the scallop border with featherstitching and embroidered bullion flowers. Tiny gathered lace adornes the sleeves and neckline. Also around the sleeve band is a swiss beading with heirloom blue ribbon run through. Delicate, mother of pearl buttons will finish it off!

         My second project is a portrait outfit for a little boy named Austin. A heirloom blouse and shorts is the choice. The blouse will have lots of tiny pintucks and a small amout of lace insertion. I found the most beautiful hand tatted trim for the collar and lace insertion at an antique store in my neighborhood which i plan to use for this special garment!

          And last, i will be recreating a vintage sunsuit from an old pattern i found at the same antique store. It appears to be from about 1930’s and i will be designing 2 garments, 1 casual and 1 heirloom, as well as redrafting a new set of patterns. These garments will be featured on the “FarmHouse Fabrics” website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Ring Collar Portrait Dress

Happy Easter everyone!

I don’t think spring sewing would be complete without a delicate Heirloom Dress. I love a Wedding Ring Collar and this one is for little Miss Mae. The fabric is white swiss batiste and the laces are Maline in ecru. The collar is hand embroidered in ecru as well using hundreds of bullion roses and lazy daisy leaves. The sleeves are tied sweetly with ecru silk satin ribbon. To finish it off, there is a four inch wide ruffle along the bottom that gives this dress just the right flounce. Hemstitching frames all the laces. The pattern used for the dress is “Cheri Williams Wedding Ring Collar Dress”. I hope you enjoy this beautiful little dress!

My website is up and running!

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that my website is up and running and the paypal account has been activated. This has been a huge learning process for me my “always supportive and helpful husband”! I couldn’t have accomplished it without his help and support. Please visit my site often so that you can see all the new products and ideas available. I will be adding a page dedicated to “Smocking” and “The Smocking Arts”. The website will give you lot’s of tips and ideas, plus freebies!

I will still attempt to keep my blog updated and continue to share with you about the projects i’m working on.

To get to the website, simply put our name into your browser, (not google) and it will take you there;

http://www.BlueRibbonHeirlooms.com

Have a great weekend!!

“Emma”

View 2, Angel Sleeve

“Emma” is ready!!

Hi everyone!

I am so excited to announce that “Emma” is hot off the press and ready for purchase. I am so encouraged by the response to this pattern. I am still having some issues connecting my paypal account to my website, which will also be up and running soon, and I’m trying to avoid any further delay of shipping the pattern to everyone. So, if you are interested in purchasing this pattern now, you can simply email me at jeannahanna@gmail.com and let me know you want to purchase the “Emma” pattern then mail a check to ;

Blue Ribbon Heirlooms

829 Carolina Ave

N. Augusta, SC, 29841

Cost – $15.95 + #3.50 S&H = Total- $19.45

Pattern will be shipped upon receipt of payment

Thank you so much for your encouragement and thank you for purchasing this Pattern!

“Emma”

A beautiful, 24 page, full color instructional booklet and pattern.

Also look for future supplements to this pattern including an “Emma Bubble”, “Trendy Top and Capris Pants/Panties”, and a “Smocked Emma”.

Also coming soon is our precious “Vintage Jumper”!!

Thank you again and have a wonderful weekend!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I am very excited to be moving into January with my first official pattern release of “Emma’s Special Occasion Dress” which will be available for purchase in about ten days. After sewing my way through the holidays and making it through 2 weeks of the flu, I am ready to move forward in anticipation of spring and summer sewing! I want to say thank you to everyone who is following my blog and encouraging me with all the positive feedback. Launching a pattern line is a new adventure for me and a learning experience to say the least but I am excited about all the possibilities! I know you will enjoy making Emma’s Dress as much as I have and I am determined to help you reach success as you sew along with me. I will let everyone know as soon as the booklet is available for purchase. Thank you also for being patient with me as I complete this project and see it through to completion.

Also, I want to give you a sneak preview of some upcoming patterns and designs for spring and summer sewing. First, is a reproduction of a precious vintage jumper from the 1950’s. It buttons on the shoulder and can be worn with or without a blouse. The front yoke has plenty of room for a monogram or hand embroidery. The first pattern booklet will feature the jumper with a blouse followed by a supplement to show you how to turn the jumper into a sweet bubble. My sample garment is shown in a Fabric Finders print and trimmed in a light blue pleated edging, blue flower buttons finish it off. All fabric, trims, and buttons available through FarmHouse Fabrics. I love this pattern, it is fresh and new and best of all, easy to make!!

Back View

Also look for these new patterns coming this spring and summer

Kate’s Birthday Bubble

Baby Daygowns with three views including a boy’s gown

A casual, sleeveless shift dress

And lots of new ideas!! =o)

I will be teaching classes this spring and summer at Branum’s for those of you who live nearby.

Have a great weekend!!

Holiday Pinafore and Basic Yoke Dress

Merry Christmas!

The season of amazing love, peace, and joy has come and I am here to wish you all the very best of the season!

I am also very happy to be finished with all my holiday sewing. What a joy it has been to deliver some beautiful clothing to my favorite families and their precious children. I have created a wide variety of clothing this season from fun and easy doll clothing to smocked day gowns and elegant heirloom pieces. I enjoyed making each and every garment and am excited to introduce a couple of new patterns to look for in 2012. The first pattern i’d like to share with you is shown as a “Basic Yoke Dress”. My inspiration came from a 1930’s vintage dress pattern that I found in a local antique store. This dress has a lengthened front and back yoke and darts that give it a very elegant, slimming shape. Don’t be afraid of sewing darts into a garment! With a few tips, you will be able to sew them perfectly. This dress also has 2 sleeve variations,a short, puffed sleeve, and a 3/4 length sleeve. The collar is a bit smaller than the ever popular rounded, peter pan collar of the 1960’s and 70’s. The front yoke can be constructed with “tucks” or left plain. I made a belt for this particular view but it can be made without the belt and still look very elegant. This dress is a wardrobe basic for little girls and the design possibilities are endless!

I am also excited to share with you my “Holiday Pinafore” pattern that will be available for Easter sewing!

This pinafore was made from swiss pima cotton batiste. The bib portion has a swiss edging on the “angel” sleeve and is fully detachable. The bib buttons to the skirt band in the front and back. The skirt is full and can be worn with or without the bib attached. I love this skirt because it is full and soft and has all the “twirl value” a little girl could want! The skirt bottom has a beautiful, wide, swiss embroidered edging and three one inch wide growth tucks. The embroidery design is one I have had in my collection for a long time and I can’t recall where I purchased it originally, but any design would be just as cute!

And last, but certainly not least, are two dresses I smocked for Darby and her friend. These dresses were purchased by Darby’s mother as “ready to smock”. The smocking designs are originals that I created for this long front yoke. Both dresses are smocked with ecru DMC floss and the white dress has tiny pink bullion roses. I think they turned out beautiful and Darby looks like a little doll wearing the blue one.

To finish up this post, I would like to share a photo with you of Christmas sewing from last year that I felt was worthy of a second look. This photo is of three sisters in matching smocked bishop dresses that I made especially for this Christmas photo. So sweet!

I hope you enjoyed this Christmas Eve post. Again I would like to wish each and everyone a Blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Jeanna

Kate’s Velveteen Christmas Dress

In today’s post, I would like to introduce you to Kate. I have been creating beautiful clothing for Kate since she was an infant. She is a precious toddler now with long, blonde curls and a smile that melts your heart. Her two older brothers adore her and treat her like the true little princess she is! I have a pattern that will be available this spring that is named for Kate and was created especially for her birthday celebrations each year. “Kate’s Birthday Bubble” is a cool and comfortable classic bubble that ties on the shoulders. The front yoke, with it’s sweet ruffle, is the perfect place for a monogram or embroidery design. Look for it soon!

 

 Today though, we’re not thinking about the long, hot, days of summer but instead we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Christmas! During this most special season, there are endless opportunities to showcase your holiday sewing with special events, parties, and celebrations. This season of sewing also gives us the opportunity to use some lovely, traditional fabrics such as silks, sateens, and velveteens.

This year Kate’s mom decided her christmas dress should be a chocolate brown velveteen with a soft lace edging on the sleeve and an heirloom slip that peeks out from under the dress hem. She also wanted to use a collar that is a family heirloom. I loved that idea!

Re-purposing a family heirloom into a new garment can sometimes be a tricky task. You have to work with the piece and not allow the “rules of proper sewing technique” to be a stumbling block for you. The piece you are working with probably will not fit “perfectly” on the garment and you may have to make some adjustments or break the rules a bit, but in the end it will be a beautiful piece and very special for generations to come, a true “Heirloom”!

In a future post, I will share with you some tips for sewing with velveteen and re-purposing family heirlooms into new garments.

I hope you will love this dress as much as I do.

Enjoy!

I added more embroidery to the collar.

I love the wide, silk satin ribbon running through the ribbon carriers!

Mae’s Portrait Dress

In this post I am excited to introduce you to Mae. When her mother found out she was expecting her first child, she contacted me to help her prepare for the new little one’s arrival. We began with the restoration of her father’s christening gown who would be Mae’s grandfather. We also planned a coming home from the hospital outfit and lot’s of smocking. So I was thrilled to receive the phone call to ask if I would make Mae’s heirloom portrait dress.

The dress is made from a beautiful, traditional blue batiste fabric with puffed sleeves trimmed with entredeux and Maline lace. Ecru, silk satin ribbon runs through the beading in the sleeve ruffle and is tied in a bow.

The collar is made from fine, white, swiss batiste and the design is known as a “spoke” collar. Each panel is hand embroidered with ecru floss. Ecru Maline lace insertion, beading, and edging frame the collar. The collar is detachable so that the dress can be easily laundered.

This design will be available as an idea booklet and pattern in the future with step by step instructions on how to construct a detachable collar.

I know Mae will make this dress look beautiful in her portrait!

Here is the collar during the lace shaping stage.