This “sleeveless dress”  is “composed of two parts, the straight dress and the blouse that goes with it.” The pattern suggests making several blouses of different fabrics and colors in order to vary the look of the outfit, giving the effect that Bleuette has many different outfits.

I made the sleeveless dress for my Bleuette, Violetta, from vintage linen. The running stitch that trims the dress was done with embroidery floss.

The pattern says that “very fashionable today are blouses of light fabrics decorated with flowers or embroidered dots.” While the dots on the vintage voile fabric used for the blouse are not embroidered, it is similar to fabric the pattern describes (mine are actually squares).  I added vintage lace at the neck and sleeves.

The necklace that Violetta is wearing around her neck is made from one of my childhood necklaces. And since she wanted to look just like the girl in the illustration, I made her a jump rope!

(More images will be added to this post as time permits.)

Bleuette ~ 1920 Robe Sans Manches

La Semaine de Suzette ~ 1920 Robe Sans Manches

Flowered Outfit. In the Ensemble Fleuri pattern Suzanne Rivière tells us that Bleuette wants this outfit for her wardrobe simply because of the “delicious name”. I supplied the outfit for my Bleuette, Violetta, by incorporating a flowered print from the 20s/30s fabric I found at an estate sale of a former neighbor.

I’m not a big fan of the brown/tan/orange color combination of the vintage fabric. But I DO love certain shades of orange and burgundy together. The brown in the print fabric had enough red in it that I was able to combine it with the solid burgundy cotton. So in the end, I love the color scheme of the outfit.

The hem of the dress is trimmed with the burgundy bolero fabric. The belt is made from the bolero fabric as well, and the buckle was saved from a pair of sandals I wore years ago! Being a pack rat pays off sometimes!

Suzanne Rivière also comments at the end of the pattern that Bleuette is so spoiled and knows what she wants.
Violetta was clear that she also wanted a chapeau and shoes along with her new ensemble! In the 1927 Chapeau de Chenille pattern it states that hats of chenille are all the fashion and Bleuette has seen them and thinks they are very beautiful! So I again complied with her wishes by crocheting her the chenille hat. Her new shoes were then cobbled from the 1921 Petits Souliers en Peau de Gants (little shoes from glove leather) pattern from matching leather – but not from a glove.

The Chapeau de Chenille is a very fun hat to make. I’m sure I’ll be making more of these for my spoiled Bleuette!

Bleuette ~ 1929 Ensemble Fleuri

1929 Ensemble Fleuri ~ La Semaine de Suzette

1927 Chapeau de Chenille

1929 Ensemble Fleuri ~ Detail

1921 Petits Souliers en Peau de Gants

My Bleuette, Violetta, is wearing another outfit made from the 20s/30s fabric I found at an estate sale of a former neighbor.

The pattern instructions call for a silk voile fabric to make a “dressy dress” or “robe habillée” for a formal occasion. The instructions go on to recommend using a printed muslin voile or cotton fabric for a simpler costume, since the outfit really “gets its elegance from the colors you select and from its becoming shape”. And finally it is suggested the fabric should be covered in flowers on a brightly colored background, such as pistachio green, one of the colors in vogue at the time. Now you know why my estate sale “find” was perfect for this pattern!

I gave the ribbon treatment a little twist. Instead of using one color, I combined two colors to compliment the shades in the fabric print.
The outfit is 100% hand sewn. Along with her new dress, she is wearing hand made silk knit stockings and brown suede shoes.

Bleuette ~ 1926 Robe Habillée

La Semaine de Suzette ~ 1926 Robe Habillée

1926 Robe Habillée ~ Upper Detail

1926 Robe Habillée ~ Lower Detail

Violetta, my Bleuette, dressed in her costume de bain, is ready for summer “fun in the sun” at the beach.

Her bathing suit is made from a 1930s apron. The vintage print fabric and orange binding has been joined by some new 1930s reproduction fabric for the head scarf, since my vintage stash refused to give up any suitable matching fabric. The outfit is 100% hand sewn, except for the topstitching on the bias binding.

According to the pattern, if Bleuette balked at her head scarf thinking they looked like donkey ears, the young Suzette was instructed to tell her they were rabbit ears instead, so that Bleuette would be happy again!

Her sandals “for walking on the sand” are made from the 1932 Pour Marcher sur le Sable pattern. An old kid glove supplied the navy blue leather.

Bleuette ~ 1927 Costume de Bain

1927 Costume de Bain 1932 Pour Marcher sur le Sable

1927 Costume de Bain ~ Shoulder Detail

1927 Costume de Bain ~ Scallop Detail

1932 Pour Marcher sur le Sable

Last fall I attended the estate sale for an elderly neighbor of mine who had passed away several months before. At the bottom of a cedar chest in the basement I was very fortunate to discover a dozen or so cuts of 1920s/30s fabrics, along with a 1940s apron in mint condition. I plan to use as many of the fabrics as possible for the trousseau of my Bleuette, Violetta. This Japanese Peignoir is the first outfit I have made from the fabrics. This particular print was perfect for the peignoir, not only for the colors and design, but also because the pattern instructions state to use fabrics with “designs that are a little large”.

The outfit is 100% hand sewn. The belt fabric is from old linen, but the solid fabric is contemporary. Her slippers were made to resemble those the girl (on the left) is wearing in the pattern illustration seen below. They are constructed from leather and have a little pom-pom on the toe made from thread. I made the fan similar to the one the girl (on the right) is holding in the pattern illustration.

The thing I like most about sewing for Bleuette is scouring through my “stash” of fabrics and trims in order to use whatever I have on hand to make my Bleuette outfits. Sometimes I find things I didn’t even remember I had!

Bleuette ~ 1925 Peignoir Japonais

1925 Peignoir Japonais ~ La Semaine de Suzette

1925 Peignoir Japonais ~ Upper Detail

1925 Peignoir Japonais ~ Back Detail

1925 Peignoir Japonais ~ Fan

1925 Peignoir Japonais ~ Slippers