Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing (41 page)

“Daisy? Lily?” Rosa asked.

“Aye, don’t hog the mirror, hermana!” Daisy said. “Have you seen my earring? I just made them last night and I already lost one!”

Rosa watched two young women bustle in front of the mirror and she flinched when they stared at her in its reflection.

“Get off the bed. Andale, Rosa, we’re going to be late for the party!” her sister, Lily, scolded. As a time marshal, she considered an hour early to be an hour late.

The two girls ran up to Rosa, who sat speechless on the edge of her bed, and pulled her upright. “Come on, they’re waiting for us outside! Mom and Dad are going to be there, too. And you’ll never believe who is driving us!” Daisy said.

Rosa tilted her head down to find herself wearing a thin gold sparkly halter dress. She gasped when she examined her slender legs and creamy brown skin. Just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, she jumped up to take a gander in the mirror, but almost tripped in her stilettos. It took only a second to get used to them. She checked herself out in the mirror and ran her long, svelte hands down the front of her gown. She last wore this dress for her and Daisy’s twenty-first birthday party.

“We make a great team, don’t we?” Daisy said, joining her sister in front of the full-length mirror. The sisters held hands and admired their handmade outfits. Daisy wore a dress similar to Rosa’s, except red with mini-pieces of crystal-accented fruit sewn into the neckline.

“Yes, we do,” Rosa replied. “Lily, about little John…”

“He’s going to be just fine, Rosa,” she said. “He’s going to become a stronger person because of you.”

“I hope I served you both well,” Rosa said, her eyes filling with tears.

Daisy and Lily slipped their skinny arms around Rosa’s waist. “More than we could ever ask for. Thank you, Rosa.”

Outside, a car horn honked.

The girls squealed and ran as fast as they could without tripping out the front door of their former home.

Daisy and Rosa ran arm in arm across the front porch and down the walkway of their aunt and uncle’s lawn.

“All aboard for the Cha-Cha Express, my chickadees!” sang a strange lady at the driver’s side of the old-fashioned limo. Rosa squinted for a better look… Carmen Miranda!

“It’s time to come home, baby sister,” Daisy said to Rosa as she climbed into the car, where Lily waited for them.

Rosa looked back at the house, and then at her dress, at Carmen, and then her sisters.

“Am… I… dead?” Rosa asked nervously.

“No, baby, this party’s for the living!” Daisy proclaimed, shoving her fists in the air.

“Come on, get in,” Carmen said, honking the horn. “We’ll be late for the first dance! I’m due to sing onstage anytime now. You know those mambo heads, they don’t like to wait.”

Rosa climbed into the car and smiled down the row at her sisters. Each with a flower behind her ear—a rose, a daisy, and a lily.

All of them holding hands.

A teenage girl walked with her grandmother along the streets of downtown Glendale. Their only mission was to stop at the Mexican pastry shop for a treat. But first they had to pass Vega’s Vicious Vinyl.

“Grandma, stop, I want to see this window display. Whoa!” the teenage girl said. “It’s so sparkly, look at those dresses hanging up… and all the photos on the floor.”

“Beautiful,” the grandmother said. “It looks like a tribute to the woman in the picture. She must have liked fashion and travel and dancing. Look at those big black round eyeglasses; they’re so mod. What does that record album say? Mambo Estrella? I’ve never heard of them.”

The girl pointed up at the hanging strings of blinking bulbs. “I want to hang up lights like that in my bedroom; they look like twinkling stars. And check out the buttons in that jar. That’s the shade of green I want for my bedroom. Hey, I wonder what kind of store this is.”

The teenager ran around her grandmother, pulled open the glass door, looked inside, and then stepped out and waved for her grandmother to come in.

“Hurry, Grandma!” she said. “This store is so cool; the inside looks even better! It’s like a party in here!”

The woman paused so she could read the framed letter at the bottom of the display that was covered in handwritten salutations.

This window is dedicated to our dear friend, Rosa de la Flora Garcia. November 1, 1937–January 29, 2011.

Rosa—Thanks for the secret mambo dance lessons & for teaching me the art of proper thrift shopping.—Marco

Rosa, You will always be dear to my heart for helping me through my “patternless” transition. You may not have had any children, but you were a mother to us all.—MTC

To my Rosa: May your sparkle shine forever.—Olivia

Hi, Rosa! We love you and we hope you are dancing the night away with your sisters and making lots of sparkly clothes!—Jennifer and Stephanie

Rosa, my dear. All I can say is mil gracias for believing in me and helping me become the woman I am today. May you find the perfect sewing machine in heaven. Please give Daisy and Lily a smooch for me. Love, SS

Overhearing the conversation, Scarlet and Nana Eleanor grinned at each other as they passed by, having just left the Mexican bakery next door. They strode peacefully down the sidewalk like they did every Sunday afternoon, munching on warm apple empanadas.

When they reached Nana’s black Mercedes, Scarlet opened the passenger door and helped Nana in. She then went around the other side, climbed in, opened the glove box, and pulled out two Scarlet Santana prototype scarves dotted with micro crystals. Nana Eleanor took one, and both women tied them around their heads and slipped on big tortoiseshell sunglasses.

“Well, Nana, where to?” Scarlet asked, revving up the engine.

Nana Eleanor raised her finger as she stopped to think, and then dug through her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. “The fabric store,” she said. “There is a pattern I want to buy.”

Scarlet couldn’t help but laugh. “Anything you want, Nana. A pattern it is!”

Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing
has Spanish (and Spanglish) terms sprinkled throughout. Many of these words have multiple meanings according to region. However, this glossary features the translations as presented by the characters in this book.

andale:
  hurry up!

angelitos:
  little angels

cabrona:
  stubborn female

cafe con leche:
  coffee with milk

caldo:
  soup

casa:
  house

cascaron:
  an empty eggshell filled with confetti

casita:
  little house

chisme:
  gossip

comadre:
  a dear friend, female

De nada:
  “It’s nothing.” Used as a reply when someone says “Thank you.”

empanadas:
  Mexican pastries that are similar to turnovers

escúchame:
  “listen to me”

estrella:
  star

folklórico:
  Mexican folk dance

grande:
  large

hermana:
  sister

hombre:
  man

la verdad:
  the truth

loca:
  crazy female

los niños:
  the kids

menudo:
  soup made of beef tripe

mi causa:
  my cause

Mi hermana viena pronto:
  My sister is coming soon

mija:
  “my daughter” or an affectionate term an elder says to a younger woman

mijo:
  “my son” or an affectionate term an elder says to a younger man

mil gracias:
  a million thanks

mis melones:
  my melons

pan dulce:
  sweet bread

Permitame terminar:
  “Allow me to finish.”

Que rico, hombre!:
  “How rich, man!” or “Looking good, man!”

quinceañera:
  celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday

red chili flautas:
  small corn tortillas filled with red chili meat, rolled into “flutes” and deep fried

tu boca:
  your mouth

vetrana:
  seasoned, experienced (female)

vieja:
  old lady

The key to making custom clothing is to have a personalized dress form like Scarlet and her class made. You can make your own too! Not only is it completely functional, low-cost, and tailored to your every curve, it also makes a great conversation or art piece. Gather your friends together and have a duct-tape-dress-form-making fiesta!

Long T-shirt

2–3 rolls of duct tape

10 lb bag of polyester stuffing

nonstick scissors

Adjustable music stand (remove the sheet tray)

A friend to help you!

1. Put on the T-shirt and stretch it down over your bottom so it hits at the top of your thighs.

2. Tear off two long pieces of tape and place them in an “X” across your chest, followed by a piece underneath that so
it begins to look like a swimsuit top. Continue to add tape tightly in long crisscrosses across all four sides of your torso, and then your bottom and pelvis area.

3. Add a tight layer of tape to your upper chest, shoulder area, and underarms. The back as well.

4. Add a third tight layer of tape, all vertical, over the entire torso.

5. Add a last layer of tape, horizontal, over the entire torso.

6. Look and feel around your torso to make sure it is evenly layered and covered.

7. Remove the form from your body by having a friend snip up the back from behind all the way up.

8. Slide out of the form. Cut away excess T-shirt material from the bottom and from the sleeves.

9. Tear off several 6- to 8-inch strips of duct tape and have them ready. With the backside facing up, slide your arm inside the form and carefully place the tape to seal the back seam. Keep adding tape until the structure is uniform thickness and strong.

10. Add tape to cover the neck and arm holes.

11. Turn the form upside-down and fill with stuffing until sturdy.

12. Tape off the bottom, leaving a small area to insert the stand.

13. Insert the stand so the bar goes up the center and to the top of the form. Tape in place.

TIP: For a sturdier base, you can cut a thin piece of wood or thick cardboard and tape it onto the stand, then insert the form and tape it together.