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Glenn button-on-bib
With only 9 days left until Christmas, I am down to the wire finishing my grandchildren’s holiday outfits. Baby Alastair has been wearing his since Thanksgiving (see Lemonade post), but 4 year-old Robert and 5 year-old Laurel are expecting delivery tomorrow. This button-on bib is the last piece of Robert’s suit which will be complete just in time for his preschool Christmas program.
The Children’s Corner Glenn suit is made of a beautiful piece of vintage brown plaid Viyella from my stash. Vintage! Did you know? I didn’t. I just thought it was old. (See below.) The button-on bib is made of a linen look-alike blend and embroidered with a design from Bernina’s Current Critters Continued.
I am so looking forward to seeing my three grandchildren dressed in matching outfits on Christmas day. Like the raccoons on the boys’ bibs, Laurel’s embroidery design is from the Current Critters Continued collection. Her dress just needs to be hemmed and have the buttons sewn on. More on that later.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I purchased the Viyella more than 20 years ago.   It machine washes and dries beautifully and shrinks very little, though I do launder it before cutting.  Â
I thought Viyella’s  fiber content  was 50% wool, 50% cotton. In my desire to be accurate, I thought I’d better check. I looked up Viyella and was surprised and disappointed to learn that it is no longer available. There are bits and pieces for sale on eBay, but no yardage large enough for even a small sized garment. I still have two more sizable pieces of this luscious fabric but I am going to be very selective about its use before I cut it. FYI, this is what I found out about Viyella……
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Viyella was a blend of wool and cotton first woven in 1893 in England, and soon to be the “first branded fabric in the world”. [1] It was made of 55 per cent merino wool and 45 per cent cotton in a twillweave, developed by James and Robert Sissons of William Hollins & Company, spinners and hosiers. The brand name, first registered as a trademark in 1894,[2] and registered in the United Statesin 1907, soon covered not only the original fabric, to be sold by the yard (piece goods), but also clothing. At first this was made by separate businesses, but it was not long before Hollins started producing their own clothes and offering franchises to manufacturers who would use the Viyella label. Following increasing emphasis on garment manufacture over the years, Viyella is now a fashion brand for clothes and home furnishings made of a variety of fabrics. The original wool/cotton blend is no longer on sale.
“Following an assessment of the current economic situation and the prospects for the future, the directors have reluctantly decided that they have no alternative but to place the business into administration,” the company said in a statement. 7th January 2009 statement from Viyella.
