Friday, January 18, 2013

Double Dutch Bobwhites


A wonderful fringe benefit of growing up in a foreign country is that it's people's native costumes can be worn as everyday clothes without anyone looking askance at you. This would test friendship to the limit one overly wet summer vacation trapped side by side in a much too small cabin.


The year of my tenth birthday, my mother had the honor of traveling with her Girl Scout Cadets to several countries, including Germany. The highlight of the trip was a tour of the hideaway home of Anne Frank and to meet her surviving father and publisher of her diary.  She promised gifts would be brought home for my brother and myself. (Wonderful art of Nancy, My Crafty Little Page


We couldn't have been happier to receive upon her return the most colorful and interesting clothes we had ever seen. Lederhosen with leather suspenders for my brother, a red jumper sprinkled with tiny bright blue flowers with matching apron for me. Hunter green felted hats for us both, plumes of white feathers always in motion with the currents of the air.


I would beg to wear my special dress every Sunday to church. My brother wore his iron clad britches and cowboy boots every single day. Clothes the first year that were much too big, fit us for years to come as we grew taller and thinner. I was still wearing my Drindle in the seventh grade when it's threads finally gave way.


My mother knowing how much the dress had meant to me, found an all brown polyester dress in the same style. Ric-rack edging, white laces across the bodice, Perfectly Perfect in every way. I wore this dress well into HIGH SCHOOL! (Here I will embarrass myself even more so by telling you I braided my long blonde hair and looped it at my ears, fat white yarn ties completing the "look" each time I wore this dress.)



Well, of course, when Only Child Girl asked me to summer with her in Maine, I brought along my beloved dress as her parents said, "Bring a dress for eating dinner out."  HOW WAS I TO KNOW WE WOULD BE EATING OUT EVERY NIGHT FOR TWO MONTHS?  By the second week Danielle grabbed me by my laces and shouted that if she had to see me in that dress one more time, she was going to throw me into the Atlantic Ocean! I believed her, I never wore it again!


INSTRUCTIONS:
Head: Tack facial features in place, baste ears in place. Button Stitch face front and back, stuffing with fiberfill before closing. Cut 6 1/8"x6" strips, tack 3 tog and braid, tie w/ribbon. BS side of hair back to face back catch hair bangs as you go along. TS along bottom back of hair catching braids.
Hat: Cut 2 hat brims using face pattern, cut slit lengthwise down middle to accommodate head, BS around brim. BS hat crown catching hanging thread as you go, leave bottom open, slightly stuff. TS on top of hat brim on either side of opening, stitches will be covered by hat band glued in place. TS feather onto pinked felt circle.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, I'm laughing - because seriously, some of the things you did in HS sound just like me. I sewed a 4H outfit for the Dress Review - that looked like it came from Switzerland! Some kids laughed at me - but, I loved the outfit. It was fun to wear! I braided my long blonde hair, too, and pinned it up on each side of my head - I was so cute! I still love ric-rack, and those adorable trims that could go on suspenders or straps. I actually saved some of the trim from that outfit! It's from 1972! I made my daughter a little dutch outfit just to play in when she was little, since her Daddy is Dutch. And, I love Dutch and European decorating and crafts, too (Dutch Sisters is a favorite, of course) - The bright colors are just what I like. Last night I spent time working on a new post highlighting my Delft collection! Oh E - we would have had fun together when we were kids!

Unknown said...

I had a hula skirt I loved to wear! Thank goodness for my classmates I never wore it to school!

Chris

Celestial Charms said...

These two new Bavarian creations are stunning. Your story reminds me of taking my daughter to German Folk dancing lessons, here in our town...which was first settled by German Immigrants. Anyway, she wore this adorable red/white and blue drindle dress for a few years to many community functions, where she would preform. She never really liked wearing it, but I would swoon every time I caught a glanced of it's pretty little flowered print. :) I had ordered it directly from Germany, and wished I had one like that when I was a child.
Maureen

laurie -magpie ethel said...

Great story and can see you in high school rocking this look (the white yarn tie...my imagination just chuckles with this tidbit). I don't think I have a clothing item to compare to this one....

Laura said...

Too funny......I love your stories...I just finished your ornament and I will be mailing it tomorrow morning ...I hope you like it :)

Laura

RetroSandie said...

This is a cute story! I can just imagine you in braids and your dirndle. Sweet and innocent. I had a cute dress I loved to wear in high school. It was blue dots and had tiers of different colored ruffles at the bottom It was more of a straight style dress. One of my male classmates said I looked like a PUPPET!! I didn't care, I still wore it anyway!!
Hugs,
Sandie

Anonymous said...

the house of anne frank is in amsterdam, the netherlands.
nice puppets the look great!
iam dutch and live in haarlem a place near amsterdam.
i visit your blog almost everyday.
greetings from the netherlands from jacqueline

Vintage Sheet Addict said...

Gosh, what a feast for the eyes, so colourful! :) x

Anonymous said...

Aw! Sweet story and images, dear Elizabeth! I'm not even going to tell you how I dressed in high school! Ha!

Thanks for coming by to see my cutie pie kitchen! ♥

~Damita's Pretty Wrap~ said...

Oh my goodness! I had a couple dresses I loved wearing and loved wearing them on Sunday to church with Grandma :) A little blue one with white trim/lace on the bottom...I used to say we could have a picnic on it when I sat down it expanded so big. Lol. Your little people are so cute, I love her braided pigtails :) Happy Saturday! xo Holly

Ina said...

lol, she should have offered to loan you some dresses from her closet! ;p

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