Yesterday I received this lovely message from Rebecca.
The first one of these dresses that I made for myself was because I was having surgery and needed something comfy to wear afterwards, so it’s good to know that they work for other people too!
eternal magpie Celestial dress and bloomers outfit
My own stars and moon dress is also getting a lot of wear this summer – it’s a lovely lightweight cotton which is really comfortable to wear, and it washes and dries nice and quickly.
So, here’s to wishing Rebecca the best of luck in recovering from her surgery… and meanwhile we’re happily discussing some gorgeous vintage curtains that are going to be turned into a dress one day – when they’re not adorning Rebecca’s windows!
For our dress giveaway, Sarah of Rainbright Photography and I asked folks to leave a comment describing what their child would be most likely to keep in the pockets of this dress. The results were many and varied, ranging from kisses (so sweet!) to little toys. Certain themes did crop up quite frequently though, so I’ve compiled a Top Five list of Things To Keep In Your Pockets:
what would you keep in your pockets?
Stones, pebbles and rocks were the most popular answer, by a very long way! Maybe the current painted rock craze has something to do with that… or perhaps everybody loves a nice smooth pebble?
Daisies and other flowers were second on the list – perhaps inspired by Sarah’s beautiful photos of Sienna, who definitely enjoyed picking lots of different flowers and popping them in her pockets!
After that, there were clear groupings of other items. Natural treasures such as leaves, feathers, sticks, acorns and fir cones were very popular. Then came a selection of actual creatures, from slugs, snails, worms and baby birds to a pet mouse! There was some concern as to whether a pet mouse might nibble a hole… but can’t you just imagine a sweet little mouse curled up in a cosy pocket nest?
In fifth place, with an equal number of comments, came fairies and snacks – clearly both very important items to keep about your person!
Given that the majority of the pocket treasures on the list are things found in nature… I had an idea to maybe write a monthly(ish) blog post (or start a mailing list) about what you might find out and about each month that you could bring home in your pockets. What do you think? Is that the sort of thing you might be interested in reading, either on the blog or in an email? Let me know!
A little while ago my friend Sarah and I ran a model call, so that we could take some photos of my dresses on an Actual Person rather than on a coathanger up a tree. After several weeks of waiting for the perfect evening weather, and some tense moments when the local council very inconsiderately mowed down our favourite meadow (how rude!), the day came around and we all met up at a local park.
I absolutely love Sarah’s work – as Rainbright Photography, she specialises in outdoor seasonal portraits of children and families. The way she captures the light, no matter the time of year, is absolutely magical.
These are just a few of Sarah’s images – I’ll share the rest over the next few weeks, as I pop them on social media and start changing over some of the pictures on the website. I’ve specifically picked out some of the photos featuring the lovely Sienna making good use of the pockets, and that’s because…
We’re having a GIVEAWAY, and you can win this dress!
I actually have two, in ages four and five. The way to enter is to pop over to my eternal magpie Facebook page and leave a comment letting me know what your little one would most like to keep in their pockets! For an extra bonus entry, you can do the same thing on Sarah’s Rainbright Photography Facebook page too.
We’ll be choosing the winner on Saturday, so you’ve got until Friday night to get your comments in!
How gorgeous is this happy photo of a little girl jumping in her favourite dress?
I can’t tell you how much I love receiving messages like this one.
On the days when I’m sure I’ve made quite enough dresses now, and sales are slow, and I wonder about making something else… sometimes a lovely photo pops into my inbox and keeps me going.
More lovely photos of happy people in comfy dresses coming soon!
I have to confess that I was ~this close~ to keeping it for myself… it’s my size, and the print makes me laugh every time I look at the details of all the characters. I don’t usually sell character prints, but this fabric was lingering in the depths of the stash, and wasn’t quite enough to make the original shirt dress that I’d had in mind.
I can’t be too sad about not getting to keep it though, when it’s so obviously gone to a good home!
This is the second of Diane’s dresses – the one that we were originally intending to make before we got sidetracked by vintage sheets!
eternal magpie custom order for diane
Diane sent over a nice big piece of this distinctive quilting cotton that had been in her stash just waiting for the right opportunity. After a very important discussion about which way up the print should go, it was transformed into a knee-length dress with a belt, perfect for the summer weather that’s just arrived.
About ten years ago (I have no idea how it could have been that long!) I made a tunic for my friend Diane.
It was a very different style from this – a mid-thigh length a-line style, with short raglan sleeves. But, it was made from the most excellent vintage bedsheet that I’d found on Ebay – about thirty years old (then), but brand new and still in its original packaging.
eternal magpie custom order for diane
Diane has been wearing a couple of my new tunics for a while now, and we’d already been talking about making a dress from her own fabric, when I spotted it. Forty years old now, and very much worn and faded, but very definitely the same design of sheet!
And so, a brand new dress was born from a gloriously patterned bedsheet that’s nearly as old as me.
I used the full width of the double sheet, so that I could get as much of the lovely deep border as possible running around the hem of the dress. The pockets are made from one of the matching pillowcases, so that I could get an extra little bit of that border design in.
I also made a slight alteration to the sizing. Diane very kindly sent me some photos of her wearing one of the tunics so I could see the fit, and we decided to add just a little bit of width through the body of the dress to give it an extra edge of floatiness throughout the summer. I’d made a simple sash belt to go with Diane’s tunic all those years ago, so it only seemed right to make another one to go with her brand new dress.
Vintage bedding is very much in demand at the moment, so it’s getting more and more difficult to snap up great designs like this at an affordable price. It really was a most excellent find, and I hope Diane thinks that it makes a most excellent dress!
Verity’s new dress arrived today, and I’m pleased to see that she’s very happy with it!
“My new dress made by Eternal Magpie has arrived! She’s cleverly made it from my childhood duvet cover and it’s very comforting as well as comfortable to wear and…. IT HAS POCKETS!!! Every dress should have pockets Though I’ve decided the belt doesn’t suit me as a belt so now it’s a scarf-tie-neck thing ”
Verity
I do like Verity’s ingenuity with the sash belt – I have to confess that they don’t suit my shape either, which is why it’s taken me so long to think of adding them as an option!
I’ve got two custom orders in the works at the moment (one from a vintage bedsheet and one from the customer’s own fabric), but once they’re done I’ll go through my smaller pieces of fabric and make some sash belts to add to the website for you.
This lovely nostalgic dress is made from Verity’s childhood duvet cover which, in its turn, was made by Verity’s mother using a pair of utterly fabulous sheets.
Unearthed from its home of many years in the attic, Verity sent it to me and asked for it to be transformed into a dress with a matching sash belt.
eternal magpie custom order in progress
After a brief moment of nervousness when I showed this photo on Instagram, Verity soon recovered:
“…it’s just occurred to me I’m going to be literally wrapped in my childhood duvet… how comforting will that be?!”
Verity
Isn’t that lovely?
I always want my dresses to be comfortable, but I hadn’t really thought about them being comforting as well. I’m looking forward to hearing from Verity once she’s had a chance to try on her new dress – I hope that being wrapped in her childhood duvet lives up to her expectations!
Say hello to Tracy, who is enjoying her cream cotton dress with embroidered bees!
After a false start in which I checked her order at least three times and then proceeded to sew up the dress in completely the wrong size (oops!) I eventually managed to get the correct dress all the way to Tracy’s gorgeous craft shop on the Isle of Wight.
Having declared her new dress to be “the most comfortable thing I have ever worn”, I’m thrilled to say that Tracy came straight back and ordered another one, so I’m looking forward to sharing more photos with you very soon.
Tracy’s new dress is going to be an “in-between” size that’s not currently listed. Don’t forget that I draft all the patterns and make all of the dresses individually by hand, so if you need a size that’s different from the ones listed on the size chart, please don’t be afraid to ask!
