Many of you will not know what it means that something is organdy. Cotton organdy is still made and used, but because it has to be starched and ironed  if it is washed, it pretty much faded out of popular fashion by the mid-1950s when the new “No Iron” fabrics came into more common use. No one wanted to iron clothes anymore!   Nylon organdy was made to try and keep that market– and I indeed used some to make a dress for my oldest daughter– but it still needed some pressing, and if your iron was a bit too warm– it melted. For that reason it was never popular. I can’t  tell you how many garments, curtains, etc. I touched with an iron a little too warm and ruined– the melted place could not be made to look right again.

But cotton organdy was very commonly used on doll clothes (as well as for people clothes, curtains, and many other things) for nearly a hundred years. It is delicate enough to make even tiny clothes, and does not fray when cut. It makes the most elegant ruffles!  Click here to see a sample of an organdy baby dress and bonnet with ruffles made with 1930s embroidered cotton organdy.  There were many grades and type of cotton organdy too, from very thin and poor domestic organdy, used for cheap dolls during the depression years, to the very finest Swiss organdy, which was used for the expensive dolls.  Organdy of any grade is not easy to sew– but the results are worth the effort! The better grades are easier to sew than the cheapest, which is quit thin with a loose weave while fine organdy has a tight weave and  is sheer but not flimsy. Here is a picture of a dress made in modern cotton organdy that was made in India — click here  

The finest of the best, Swiss organdy, is very expensive and is still imported by Spechler-Vogel of New York. They are wholesale only, but there are stores that carry it, such as Fabric Depot in Portland, Oregon.

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