Skip to main content

2nd pick Easter dress


Pattern: Ottobre 3/2012 #28 Hawaiian Flowers Dress
Fabric: 1 yard Heather Bailey, Nicey Jane, Lindey Leaf - Pink
Notions: elastic thread
Total Cost: ~$4.50
Size: 128cm
Child's Age: 8

[Cardigan: Target; Salt Water yellow sandals]
---------------------------------------------------------

I wanted to make the Trumpet Flowers Dress from the 3/2012 issue since I got it. I even got a hold of the fabric from the magazine but my daughter was too scrawny last year to fit into the smallest size. I meant to make it for Easter but I ran out of time, and I didn't want to be making it in a rush since I've been considering it a special project. So, instead, I picked the Hawaiian Flowers Dress #28 from the same issue and used a fabric from my stash. I was very pleased with it. I think she's finally at the point where size 128cm fits her! It worked out great for a casual Easter spent mostly playing out in the back yard.
   
from Ottobre
This shows a better view of the top as it is hard to see in my pictures with the cardigan.

I was going for something quick and easy, and it was.  The only time consuming thing was learning to do the rolled hem technique on my serger.  The tension on the bottom looper of my serger is pretty whacked out so I feared if I made drastic changes to the set up, it would never work again. Luckily it worked! Frankly, I was rather surprised that I pulled it off having never done it before and dealing with the tension issues.  I also quite like the way my Kenmore does the rolled hem, by actually folding the edge under instead of chopping it off.


Another fun technique was the shirring.  This was only my second time doing it and it turned out great except for the first three rows. I think I was going way too slowly and the elastic in the bobbin was slowly unwinding when I would stop. It ran out after three rows, and the succeeding rows from the new winding of the bobbin came out great.  I also decided to change the top thread from white to yellow because it was hard to see while sewing. I mentioned this was a casual dress, right?


One thing, I don't know that 1yd of 44" wide fabric is enough for the pattern. In my haste, of course I cut the pattern wrong and was forced to cut the skirt section upside down and join two pieces at the back. Luckily, it's not a big deal with this patterned fabric on this dress.

I really liked the end result. It's a nice way to get a dress on Monkey Pants that she can still run around and play in. I tried to get a yellow cardigan at the last minute. There were some cheap ones at Walmart for $10, but I guess everyone wanted the yellow ones, they were all gone by the time I went back ... to three Walmarts.




Comments

Popular Posts

Tinkerbell Cake

I made something! A friend of a friend ..... needed a cake made for her daughter's fourth birthday. I came up with a few ideas, trying to keep them uncomplicated. She opted for the more traditional nine inch round cake with decorations. I thought it would be simple enough, but it always ends up taking me way longer than I anticipate. I wish I could go to a professional cake decorating class by Debbie Brown or Rebecca Sutterby so I could learn some techniques like how to get things to stay glued on. I could never be a cake decorator -my time to money ratio is kind of ridiculous. But here it is. Monkey Pants now wants a Tinkerbell cake for her next birthday too, of course. I need to wake up early tomorrow to make sure she's not eating the mushrooms off of it. (It's happened before).

Emmeline Apron 2

Just got done with this one. Another Emmeline Apron for a Christmas gift. I wanted to try something different with my choice of fabrics this time, although not too different since they are still Amy Butler prints. I chose some darker blue fabrics from the Daisy Chain (Aquatic) line that I wouldn't normally be drawn too. But I'm glad I did. I really like the result. This time, I did a few things a bit differently. One thing about the pattern I'm not fond of is the wordy, yet poor instructions on how to place the waist straps onto the sides of the apron at the right angle. I really don't know why the correct angle isn't just printed on the pattern. So to minimize the trial and error approach encouraged in the pattern instructions, [TIP:] I laid out the fabric and the strap as it would appear once constructed and simply marked a line on the strap corresponding to the angle of the apron. Then, I flipped both apron and strap layers over together; lined up the strap wit...

Face painting

For my daughter's upcoming birthday party, I decided I might try my hand at face painting. I collected some photos from the internet I liked, check out a book at the library, and bought some face paints at the party store. The face paints are not very cheap but cheaper than hiring a face painter, right. Here's a couple of the faces I've tried so far. Now if I can only get my face painting time down to ten minutes from twenty minutes a face for the party. I think I may have to enlist a volunteer to help out too. The painting part is actually much easier than it would seem. The only thing that makes it challenging is that the canvas is constantly moving around (at least my canvas). It's not too hard to wash off, but the black takes a bit more scrubbing as the paint is grease or oil based. It makes for a fun activity especially as it gets too cold to go outside. My 3-year old thought it was "amazing" when she looked in the mirror. I even talked my husband i...