Two Liesl Dresses and Another Pattern In the Works

Hello, Ladies!

I wanted to share some pictures I’ve received from two girls who sewed their own Liesl dresses from my Liesl’s Dancing Dress” pattern.  This first version shown was made by thirteen year old Katrina (not to be confused with myself who has the same name!).  She did a lovely job constructing it from pink chiffon, and she writes, “The Liesl dress is a lot of fun to make, and even more fun to wear, and you did an amazing job designing it.  I think every girl would love to have a Liesl dress – it’s beautiful, dainty, lovely, sweet, and modest all at once!”

Katrina’s dress is a simply beautiful creation, and I love that darling pink hat in the first photograph!  If she can sew this well in her early teens, I would think she will be quite the professional dressmaker in a few years!

So dreamy!  Doesn’t it just remind you of Liesl running down the stairs to the gazbeo?  Of all the things I love about this design, I think the flutter hem is one of my favorites, and she did a gorgeous job with this hemming technique.

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The second customer who sent in photos made a lovely spring dress using the Liesl pattern with a shorter version of the sleeve.  You can easily achieve the same look by simply substituting the flutter sleeve pattern from my “Maria’s Gazebo Dress” pattern.  I purposely designed the Liesl and Maria patterns to have completely interchangeable sleeves, so you can mix and match them however you choose.

For her dress Heather used lavender chiffon and crepe, and enjoyed using the pattern so much that she outfitted an entire ice dance team using the Liesl Dress design!  She writes, “I purchased your pattern for Liesl’s dress a few months ago. I noted on your web site that you loved receiving pictures of people’s finished products.  I [and a few other ladies] made 11 of the dresses…  Thank you for manufacturing this pattern!”

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And Another Pattern Underway!

But for the rest of the news, I am so excited to be working on the next Edelweiss Patterns design!  While I love many eras of fashion and sew a variety of projects here on the blog, my real love of costuming is recreating the Sound of Music dresses.  It’s been five years since I first started sketching and studying the lovely gowns worn by the on-screen von Trapps, and while I’ve put out four patterns, there are a still number of gorgeous designs that I hope to release in the upcoming future.  The original costume designer did a fabulous job of combining popular fashions from the “last golden days of the thirties” with a more heirloom, European style which was quite suitable to the Austrian aristocratic von Trapp clan.

So it is with great excitement that I am designing the pattern for “Liesl’s Party Dress”!  This charming frock has the most lovely heirloom details (such as puffing and pearl embroidery), but still retains that retro look with the full skirt, cinched waist, and ribbon sash.  As you can see, this style could easily be adapted to the 1950s, and you could even lengthen the skirt to floor-length for a truly elegant evening gown.

I’ll be posting more updates on the progress of this pattern, but until then, happy sewing!

Katrina

Please note: All film stills are copyright by Twentieth Century Fox and have been digitally remastered by Edelweiss Patterns.  The patterns we produce are inspired by the Sound of Music, but are not exact replicas and are not sold under the “Sound of Music” label.  We do not make a profit from these pictures’ use on the blog. 

4 Comments

  1. I love the dresses! Both Liesl dresses are on my “have to make someday” list!

  2. I’ve always loved Liesl’s party dress for that wonderful full skirt, and the sash and flowers (though I’m not as crazy about the neckline). Did you know that in the original Broadway production, the girls all wore matching “white dresses with blue satin sashes” for the party scene? Having them match was kind of a theatrical touch, but I love the reference to the song!

    By the way—in all your Sound of Music costume research, have you ever found good pictures of the dresses the girls wore in the carriage ride scene from ‘Do-Re-Mi’? They were so pretty, yet appeared so briefly in the film!

    1. Hi Elisabeth!

      Yes, I did know that all the girls wore white dresses with blue sashes in the Broadway production! (I think I mentioned that in an earlier blog post, and I am surprised that since all the girls were wearing white or off-white for the wedding, they didn’t give them blue sashes then!) Most likely the costume designer didn’t want to copy the Broadway musical, and thus tried to stick with more original designs.

      The only pictures I’ve seen of the carriage costumes were just posed shots with all the actors in the same positions they were in for the “Do Re Mi” song. So you can’t tell much more detail about them since they’re not standing up, but a few of the children (Marta, Kurt, Friedrich, Brigitta, and Gretl), wear those same outfits later on during various Salzburg scenes. I guess it’s just Liesl’s orange dirndl and Louisa’s lavender jumper that are somewhat of a mystery. : ) Maybe for the 50th anniversary they’ll release some better pictures of them!

      Thanks for the comment!

      Katrina

  3. Yeah! I’m sssooo excited a new pattern! I can hardly wait! I love the thought of being able to have the dress longer as all my dresses and skirts come down to the ankle. I love the two customer pictures they did an excellent job!

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