Wright's Mail In Trim for Dolls

I love Love LOVE vintage tiny rick rack. It is so dainty and well made and lovely. I have stacks of it and it is never enough. I love the labels. I love the colors. I love making things with it. I love everything about it.

But here is a really fun thing they used to do. This is printed inside the label of a vintage package of Wright's rick rack:

Here is what it says:

"Does your child sew?
Send 3 labels and 10c to cover postage and handling for a generous package of clippings of WRIGHT'S products suitable for trimming dolls' clothes."

My mom told me about how she got this when she was little. She spoke very fondly of her mom sending for it and how excited she was when it arrived and she used it on her little doll projects as a child.

So wonderful.

I looked online and I was able to find a set, still in its package and envelope and got it for my mom for Mothers Day. Here it is:

Here is what it says on the envelope:
"This is the Doll Trimming Package you recently requested from Wright's. We sincerely hope that the little girl who is going to use it will find many uses for these pieces of trimmings when making her dollie's new dresses. No doubt you will get an equal amount of pleasure out of teaching her to sew, as well as a great deal of pride in her accomplishments."

Just lovely.

Here is the pile of trimmings:

There is eyelet, lace, picot edge bias tape, single and double fold bias, blanket binding, ribbon, many sizes of rick rack and more. It really is a generous pile.

Some of the pieces are just a few inches long but most are half a yard to a yard long.

I love this idea. What a great way to get the next generation interested in sewing and using Wright's products. Unfortunately Wright's has since discontinued it. 

I would really love to send away for a set for my kids. 

And for me. 

Retro All-In-One Apron from Singer's How to Make Aprons booklet

This is one of the booklets from the Singer Sewing Library, number 119, How to Make Aprons:

It's a really fun one to read. Some of the projects are outdated and impractical but are an interesting glimpse into the past.

There is one project that I thought was super cute, the All-In-One apron. I recreated it, following the instructions in the booklet, scaled down to a toddler sized apron. I had to make a few adjustments in lengths and sizes to make it work for a toddler but I think it turned out pretty cute:

Here are the instructions from the booklet if you're interested in making your own ladies' sized apron:

(Just a note, the instructions in the booklet were a little confusing in a couple of places so I just had to kind of go with my own methods here and there).

If you want to make a toddler sized apron, I made a tutorial for the Retro All-In-One Apron and I have it posted on my other blog, Heartbeet Boutique, if you would like to check it out.

This is a fun project to use some of your Slant-o-Matic attachments:

-General purpose foot - 

-Straight stitch foot and plate:

-Button sewing foot:

-Buttonholer (optional)

(If you aren't interested in using your buttonholer or if you don't have one, use the instructions in your manual for making buttonholes. It's one of the pages I use the most in my 503 manual. It's on page 44).

This project was great practice for a few essential skills including top stitching and making buttonholes and applying rick rack.

Anyway, if you get a chance, Singer's How to Make Aprons booklet is worth checking out.