By Her Own Design

The text jumps to September 6, 1953; Ann is still dealing with Jacqueline’s wedding dress disaster. She goes to church and explains the situation to the pastor. Multiple women come to her aid to sew for this important wedding. Men volunteer to clean her shop, too. Ann worries that maybe Lee, after all these years, burst the pipe. She’s thankful for her church family’s kindness.

The narrative returns to Ann’s youth. Miss Lizzie, the governor’s wife, falls in love with Ann’s flowers. She requests that Ann come with Mama and Grandma to design for her, which makes Lee angry. Nevertheless, he reluctantly lets her go.

Ann meets Miss Lizzie, whom she can tell has worry on her face and needs a “recapture” job to get her husband’s attention back. Lizzie tests Ann’s knowledge, and Ann knows of all the latest Paris designs. Lizzie is amazed that Ann makes her own patterns, too.

Mama hurries them to their next job, telling Ann that she has talent and needs to align herself with powerful white people like Miss Lizzie. Mama advises her to set aside more money from her sewing, and Ann agrees.