One More Gift From Grandma Ann

My niece Kira was home from college for Thanksgiving. Her parents had Covid so she came home to me! I thought it was the perfect opportunity to make her a dress! She picked out a pattern and I got to work. Kira chose view B.

We had the fabric picked out before the pattern. This particular fabric had belonged to Kira’s Grandma Ann. After she passed away and her family was going through her things, they found this beautiful, vintage fabric! Tags still on it! I was honored that they passed the fabric along to me. I knew a fabric this special had to be made into something for Kira.

Here’s the front of the tag.

The back of the tag. Yes, this fabric is from Woolworth!

For fun, here’s a vintage Woolworth’s advertisement. Oh how I wish I could step back in time and go buy some of their fabrics and sewing notions! Lucky for me, and Kira, her Grandma Ann had, and unknowingly saved a fabric for me to sew, and Kira to wear!

I knew that Grandma Ann would like the dress that Kira picked out. Here she is in her younger days wearing a dress that, like Kira’s, features shoulder straps that button in the front.

I got to work laying out and cutting the pattern pieces.

Sewing the darts.

Making side cut outs was a new technique for me.

I realized I needed another piece for the bodice lining. I barely had enough!

Sewing the straps together.

Putting the bodice together.

This little dress features pockets!

Edge finishing a piece of lining.

Then it was zipper time!

The dress calls for two buttons that the shoulder straps attach to. By the time I got to this point, Kira had left back to school. I sent her this picture with some options, so she could choose her own vintage buttons.

You will of course see her choice, which ones would you have chosen?

The dress was finished except for two parts. Sewing the buttons on, and hemming it. I wanted Kira to be here for that. I wanted to make sure the buttons were in the right place so the shoulder straps wouldn’t be too loose or tight. I also wanted the hem to fall exactly where she wanted it. So I set the dress aside and waited for her to come home for Christmas break.

Then, before Kira came home, I was exposed to covid and had to quarantine. Kira had a vacation planned in Florida for Christmas, so I had lost my opportunity to fit her for this dress. I then had an idea!

Mia was planning on meeting up with Kira and family in Florida. I dropped the dress on Kira’s front door step, and told her to take it with her on vacation. Mia could sew on the buttons and hem it, and do her photo shoot!

So off Kira and her unfinished dress went!

Mia sent me these photos of her sewing on the buttons and getting ready to hem the dress! Good thing Mia has picked up some sewing skills!

All ready for a photo shoot and a vacation!

Kira had her finished dress! Custom made in a pattern of her choosing, and more importantly, made with vintage fabric that her Grandma had saved.

I had also sent along some of the leftover fabric from the dress, and Mia had time to make Kira some matching mouse ears! I suppose you can guess what they were doing in Florida!

Kira loved her new dress!

Ann used to tell me all the time, “Oh, have you seen Kira lately?” to which I would reply, “Yes”. Then she would say, “She’s so beautiful…” then she would pause and add “she looks just like me!”

Here’s a picture of Ann when she was 17. I see the resemblance!

Ann was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Each time I saw her she would always ask how my kids were doing, and how my mom was doing. She did this, not to just be polite, but because she was genuinely interested and cared.

One year she invited Mia out to her house with Kira to learn how to make tamales. While the girls worked and learned, Ann told them jokes, talked and laughed with them. They had such a great time. Ann not only passed down a tradition to her own granddaughter, but was loving enough to include Mia, and passed it down to her too! That was Ann though, she was always considerate and kind, always thinking of others.

Kira’s dress was a success and it turned out to be one more gift that her Grandma had to give her.

Nothing but love for Grandma Ann.

Besides her fabric, Ann left Kira a legacy of being kind, caring, and compassionate.

Kira is just like her.

In case you’re reading along in heaven Ann, yes, I’ve seen Kira lately. Yes, she’s beautiful.

Yes. She looks just like you!

As for me, onto the next!