Another Jumper for Rugrat

Remember when I made a Christmas dress for Rugrat using some fabric I found in my stash and one of my favorite little girl patterns last month.

Well, it seems to have worked pretty well for her height and skinny frame. So I decided to make a less seasonal one.I raided my stash again and found this sort of school days themed fabric. I did add ties this time so that it wouldn't seem quite so large around her itty bitty waist. I think it turned out pretty well and she seemed excited about it.

As an aside: I watched the movie "The Help" not too long ago. It was a great movie but as I was completing this dress, I was reminded of one of the scenes. It was set in, I would guess, the 50's maybe. One of the ladies who was playing 'keeping up with the jones's' was getting ready for her visitors and asked if the maid could tell that her dress was homemade.

I was struck that, in that time, when most women still had sewing skills, it was considered humiliating to not have store-bought clothes. Now, when most women do not have sewing skills or consider it too much work or time to sew, receiving a well-sewn item takes on a special meaning. When I sew a gift for someone else (usually baby shower things), they tend to cherish it.

I think its a shame that this is a skill that has faded like it has. But I am glad that people understand it's specialness. When someone expends the time and energy to make something for another person, it is that person they are thinking of with each moment they spend in the making. I am grateful that we are beginning to comprehend the true gift of love that such things are.