Little Miss Muffet
EGL Dress

I have been falling in love with old fairy tales again. Thinking about the artwork in the books I had as a child, where the girls had beautiful ruffly dresses and such. I also have a passion for clothing in general, and EGL dresses are among my favorites. I started working on a Blue and Black EGL Dess, but have not finished. The pieces are packed from my move and I am still unsure I like the design as it stands.

So I started looking at dresses from the 1800's and started to become inspired to make a new EGL dress. Been thinking about making one soon anyways in pinks, but never got the design right. Then, this past weekend, it game to me. The above image shows the basic idea, but doesn't show the back. I am hoping to draw a back view up on MS Paint soon, but the above image will work if I don't.

Once I get my sewing station set up, I will set a deadline and begin work. For now, I will look at cloth and notions and patterns and see how to go about getting this lovely dress started. I will also be making the hair pieces and crinoline, and modifying the gloves (if I don't make them from scratch) and the socks. The shoes will be bought most likely unless I find some that will work in my old shoes stock. The blocks of colors beside the dress are the gingham material and hopefully bias/ribbon colors.

I also need to figure out where I want to get the cloth and notions. Either from Joann's, Rag Shop, or check out Fabrics.com (which I heard decent things about but never attempted buying from) for the cloth, and look at Cheeptrims for the notions (as well as Joann's and Ragshop, though I rarely buy that stuff from them anymore).

Here's a list of the different items (from the inside out) I plan to make for this outfit so far:

1. Ruffled Panties, Pantalets, or both. (I think Pantalets would go better than bloomers. The Pantalets would likely have interchangeable ribbons to allow more useage with various dresses I might make.)
2. Camisole or chemise. Just a small undershirt that will be worn under the dress and corset.
3. A simple corset. This will aid in getting just the right shape and allow the dress to lay just right in the torso.
4. Petticoat or Crinoline, to add fluff to the skirt and for an extra feminine touch.
5. Under dress in white with lace and possibly interchangeable ribbons (so it can be used with more dresses I might make).
6. Over dress, the essence of Miss Muffet.
7. Choker, made of some of the same lace and/or ribbon as the overdress and hopefully with a small silver spider on it.
8. Hair tu-tu elastics.
9. A big spider prop, likely to be made of paper-mache.

The items to be modified for this outfit:

1. Wrist length, white gloves.
2. Ankle socks.
3. Granny boots or Mary Janes styled shoes (that look reminiscent of children's shoes.

I also plan on having a big bowl and something that could pass for "curds and whey" (either tapioca pudding with extra tapioca or cottage cheese) for this outfit when I take photos of it. Maybe instead of a big spider, just have a small to medium sized spider in the "curds and whey", but that will be determined later on.

I like the fact that the ruffles on the panties are made of the same cotton as the panties themselves. I think that adds a very nice, innocent, and comfortable touch. I'm hoping to find some drawings from fairy tales and such for more Pantalet examples.

I'm also debating whether or not to make the Muffet dress in pink gingham or some other pattern cloth. I will decide that this weekend, I think. I don't want to limit myself this early on. (Especially since I can use gingham for some of the other ELG Nursery Rhyme ideas I have.)

I found most of the cloth I needed to make the main items. I got a ton of tulle, muslin (bleached), and some heavy cotton (for the corset). I also found the perfect cloth for the overdress. A light pink cotton with tiny white daisies (yellow dots in the centers). I originally was going to use gingham but something just didn't feel right about it and it just seemed to thin. This pink daisy material, however, is just right. I need to get pink cotton or broadcloth to line it. I got most of the cloth on sale, which is nice.

I'm excited about this project. Also found some fabrics that got me thinking about other dress ideas for a future date. In my own stash, I have a blue and green small blackwatch print on cotton with heather flowers (or lavender flowers) on it in white. Very cute. Held onto it for years but didn't know what to do with it. Now I'm thinking it would be perfect for a Bo Peep outfit. I also have some great ideas of what to do with the pictures I take with these outfits... but I'll go into that another time.

I will try and get some pictures of the cloth up soon. And will hopefully figure out what notions and trims I want too.