Patience Pays Off

“He that can have patience can have what he will.” – Benjamin Franklin

If you didn’t know I have a very specific car. I’ve had this car since 1992, before that my dad had it and I remember riding around in it when I was a kid. Before that, my Grandpa Bert had bought the car for my Uncle Jimmy to take to college. So it’s been in the family for a long time, and passed around until it stuck with me. My car is a 1958 Ford Ranch Wagon.

For fun here are some advertisements for it from 1958.

The last day I drove my car was on my wedding day in 1997. We parked it in the driveway, and then had a new car that we used. It wasn’t in great shape at that time but it ran. After sitting a while it no longer ran. Then at one point Michael thought he would work on it. He took the front fenders off and pulled the engine. It needed to be rebuilt, and there was no time for all of that while working and raising two little kids.

We opted to just store the car. I hoped someday we would get to it. I would tell Michael often how much I loved the car. I would tell him that if I could have any car in the world, it would be the one I already had.

If you know us and follow along with Michael on Facebook, then you know he was listening and he completely restored my car! We’ll get back to that part in a bit, but this is a blog about sewing.

As you probably guessed it, I thought I would need a dress to go along with my car! I actually think I need several outfits but I chose this one to be the first dress inspired by my car! I love the pockets.

I’ve been trying really hard not to buy fabric. I instead have been using what I have stashed, or scraps from other projects. I will buy fabric if I’m making something specific, like Connor’s quilt. Link is below in case you missed it.

Baby Connor Had A Farm…

I didn’t have enough of any one fabric that had the look I wanted, so I opted to use two fabrics. I chose solid red for the top, and a floral print for the skirt.

I laid out the bodice back piece and got it cut out.

Then I laid out the bodice front piece. This particular piece of red fabric I bought at a second hand store.

I then laid out the skirt pieces onto the floral fabric.

I decided to use the floral fabric as the collar facing for a fun accent.

Pinning and cutting the neck facing.

Laying out the fabric for the fun pockets.

Marking the darts on the bodice front. I was a little nervous about the collar.

Marking then sewing the darts on the bodice back.

The pattern called for interfacing on the bodice collar, then I would attach the floral collar facings.

Pockets pinned and ready to be sewn.

The pockets were sewn with the right sides together, then flipped so the inside is also finished. I got them pinned into place and ready to be sewn.

Then of course the finishing touches like attaching the skirt to the bodice, and hemming the sleeves and the bottom.

Now, back to the car.

Michael pulled it out of storage and this is what it looked like. It was covered in 25 years worth of dirt and grime. The side window had fallen inside of it. It was pretty sad.

It had a dent and deep scratch down the side that would need to be fixed.

This is how Michael did it. I have to admit, I have no idea what’s going on in this picture. But, this is how he pulled the dent out and fixed it.

The view of the inside. Michael had taken the seats out of it, the carpet, and was working on tearing it apart at this point. Good to see my fuzzy dice were still intact! HA!

Stripping all of the old paint off of one of the fenders. Then he had to make sure any imperfections were filled and sanded smooth.

Then it was time to paint!

Looking good!

He put the car on a rotisserie so he could tip the main body onto its side. He pressure washed all of the old gunk off of the underneath. He checked it all for pin holes and painted it all with rust protectant.

I helped to fashion his garbage bag protection clothes.

The hood was a mess. It was two layers of metal and most of it was rusted.

When he took the layers apart he knew the hood alone would be a huge job.

He stripped the frame of the hood down to the metal.

Making sure to put rust protectant on the inside of the hood.

The seats were falling apart and full of rodent droppings from the years of being stored.

The front seat had a tear in it that only got worse from the years of being stored.

Michael decided to do the upholstery himself! So he bought an upholstery machine, and learned how to sew! Here he is practicing!

He did all of the side panel reconstruction, sewing together the three pieces of vinyl that made up the panels. He also put all the vinyl down in the “trunk” area.

Here’s a better look at the side panels.

He did it! He was able to stitch together the pieces of vinyl, and make his own piping for the edges.

I think the seats look beautiful, and Michael did a great on his first upholstery job!

It all came together in the end! Both dress and car!

The day we took pictures was really windy! I had to hold onto my at for sure!

I liked the collar detail which brought the whole dress together.

I chose to accessorize the dress with a broach that belonged to Grandma Doris, and of course, one of her vintage hats!

For this outfit, I made a “D” ring belt, and matching clutch purse from the scrap fabric.

I love everything about this dress and of course, about my car!

Where will I ever wear it, you might be wondering? Anywhere my car will take me! On the day of the photo shoot, it took me to the grocery store, and back home again.

One thing I said a lot to Michael when he was learning to sew was that it takes time, practice, and patience. You will mess up, you will make simple mistakes, and you will wonder why you ever started in the first place! However, the end result is very rewarding.

Michael had lots of time to practice patience while restoring this entire car. I had 25 years of practicing patience to have it restored for me.

It really is the best gift anyone could ever give me. The amount of time and effort that went into restoring my car is immeasurable. I’m forever thankful!

Michael has moved onto his next project car, and of course, I’ve moved onto another sewing project.

So as for both of us, onto the next!