Good Morning Lovelies!
Confession time: Not being able to understand and finish a pattern completely was really bugging my brain, so I was determined to give it a try again and to conquer it!
I started my day feeling very optimistic, even did a few hours of research the night before and I told myself, “I GOT THIS!” ….but after 5 hours of frustration, hunger, and a few tears …I threw my hands up in the air and gave up. AGAIN.
I finally decided that just like algebra, pattern reading was not for me. Lol. At least not the commercial patterns because I can read and understand DIY tutorials just fine. (What’s up with that?)
Anywho, so I decided maybe I should put my SACurve rulers to good use and try my hand at drafting a pattern using one of the Marshmallow’s dresses.
I picked a 24mth size dress, just to stay on the safe side and if it came out really well, it would be something she could grow into. I outlined the dress, and then I used the SACurve rulers to polish the neck and arm curves and it was actually a lot simpler than I expected.
I wanted to be smart about it this, so I decided to make a muslin of the bodice first, just to be sure I didn’t horrendously ruin this darling fabric, and guess what? IT CAME OUT PERFECT! – I was so happy I wanted to scream! Now on to the exciting stuff, cutting the real fabric!
Figuring out how to successfully achieve a double layered top half (to give that manufactured look) was quite a challenge, but I applied some of what I do to make my infinity pieces and it became easy breezy! I’m pretty happy that the top has absolutely NO visible seam. (YAY! ME!!) Attaching the skirt with one seam was no issue, since I placed it at the middle back and worked the gather all around. Hemming was also super easy, since I learned to IRON FIRST and then hem. Before I felt it was such a bother, but now I know better and plus I’m always looking for an excuse to use my darling Ollie (my Oliso Smart Iron).
(click to enlarge)
For the rose ribbon, I used some Liquid Stitch I picked up at Joann’s a while back nd that was pretty simple to apply. ( I was sure to test it first.)
Once I was finished, I ironed it….and hung it up to take a look at it ….and then, I cried. Happy, joyful tears. I felt so accomplished, and so proud that I managed to “figure it out” …my way (really wish algebra was that simple! Lol). Here’s the finished dress:
I’m really, really happy with the way this dress came out knowing that I drafted the pattern myself. I’m sew (<– see what I did there?) eager now to start drafting more cutesy patterns for the Marshmallow. Here are some action shots of her, the dress is a little big but I can’t wait until she grows into it! She’s quite the busy body so its been a tad difficult! lol
Thank you all for following along my sewing journey. Talk to you soon! MUCH LOVE.
Fabric from: Michael Levine Fabrics. Found here: Tréfle by Kokka.