(A subject near and dear to my heart!)
Originally Published June 18, 2024 for Natural Posh Vintage.
The month of June always finds me reminiscing about my Grandma. If she were here with us, this June would mark one hundred twelve years. For some time, I have been wanting to do another feature on some of the clothes she made and show how they have been worn for generations.
My Grandmother was a whiz at re-purposing. Her mind was always on what she could do with a piece of trim, or fabric, and what she could make for herself or someone else. One of my favorite bright and colorful pieces that she made was an apron out of some dead stock remnant textile. One year she made gorgeous aprons for Christmas for each of her five daughters. Pictured below is the apron she made for my mom, it sat in a drawer for years, as if “too pretty to use” until my mom gave it to me.
From Instagram 5/10/2018: “My sweet son lovingly made me a 🍓 strawberry-limeade! He has started this new tradition with me of making #strawberrylimeade and watching #thegreatinteriordesignchallenge with me at night! But today… it’s unexpected, “just because”! The upbeat apron (in background) was lovingly made by my Grandmother. I’m missing her so much. This month will mark 15 years since she went home. One year she made all of her girls aprons from her huge collection of fabrics. This one is from a #vintage #covingtonfabricanddesign I ♥️a #splashofcolour!”
In the previous post, I shared some pictures in which Leah, my daughter wore a beautiful vest in bold colors. It was a vest that my Grandma made if for me when I was about nineteen. The flowers on the vest were outlined in gold that shimmers in the light of day like a cloisonne vase. The floral botanical fabric resembles and early 20th century Bloomsbury Fabric, pictured below.
All those many years ago, my Grandma decided to make each of her girls a vest for Christmas. Now the vest is a current favorite in my daughter’s wardrobe.
Among my earliest memories was the sound of Grandma’s sewing machine whirring when I’d stay the night with her. One of the dresses that I remember was this patchwork style play dress. (below)
“I kind of remember this day! I remember the little dress, Grandma made for me. The present I was about to open, contained two little cotton night gowns she made for me, one was pale pink and the other white, with special hand made details on the hem. I had walked in and saw while she was sewing them, and had asked who they were for. She tricked me and said they were for another little girl. But they were in that box after all!!” (Photo Credit, Uncle Milt)
One of my favorite stories to tell about Grandma shows just how clever of a lady she was.
I was about fourteen, and we stopped at K-Mart to pick up some essentials. I wandered over to a clothing rack and pulled out a pink and black polka dot dress that had caught my eye. It was only about twenty dollars. Grandma came up beside me to see what I was eyeing and at once began to inspect the seams. “I can do so much better than that, and they are charging way too much!, Just let me look and see how this is made. She took mental notes and said. “Let’s go over to the fabric store and find the colors you like.” We picked it out together, and using her mental notes, and using my body measurements, she made an heirloom quality version of the dress without a pattern! And today, the dress has been added as a wonderful colorful staple of Leah’s wardrobe. Her friends have affectionately said that when she wears it, she reminds them of Wendy from Peter Pan, or some say Cinderella or Alice and Wonderland.
There are more pictures of dresses Grandma made (including ones from Laura Ashley patterns) in the following blog post stories. I you would like to see more of her clothes and hear stories that are a little nostalgic, please check out these other posts:
And have a wonderful day!
Love Always,
Laura
Leah is wearing a vintage polka dot and striped 1984 dress, that Grandma made without using a pattern!
Copse and Spinney 
Leave a comment