It seemed only fitting at our mommy-daughter-dolly tea that we make breezy summer sundresses for the girls' dolls during our afternoon sewing time. For a while I had been wanting to make pillowcase dresses out of tea towels. Above, you can see how sweet Lizzy and Emma's dresses turned out.
After tea in the dining room, we moved into the kitchen to set up our sewing machines for the afternoon. My mother-in-law used to sell linens in the family floor covering business, so weeks before the party I asked if she had any tea towels she could spare for our project. She delivered with a great number of new and gently used tea towels she has collected through the years.
Before the party I strung grosgrain ribbon across the window frame so we could display some of Betty's prettiest tea towels. This would be a pretty window treatment to keep all year long, but we took the tea towels down when it was time to sew so the girls could choose their favorites.
A pink and green sewing basket held more tea towels, along with supplies we needed for our project.
I loved seeing our daughters' hands at work learning to sew! Above, Mary Ashley learns to thread ribbon through a casing. She was a great student and said several times she wants us to sew together every day. (If only I could sew every day myself.)
Here are a few of the girls' favorite dolls, all dressed up in tea towels turned pillowcase dresses.
From first sip to final stitch, this was a tea party we will never forget.
