Category: Sewing

Here’s a quick update about sewing my daughter’s Christmas dress…

Guess what? I’m back to to Plan A. You know, the first pattern I drafted? Plan B, was looking way too much like a choir robe for my taste, and since I don’t have a lot of time to “make it right,”  I quickly switched directions.

 

My daughter just tried on the above dress and is really liking it a lot. I really don’t have too much more to do, but since the program is tomorrow, I most likely will complete everything this evening. You now… if I stuck with Plan A from the beginning, I would have been finished yesterday. 😉

This Tuesday, my daughter’s Lutheran School, will be performing their Christmas program. It’s the middle schools turn, the lower school had their program last week.

Mom, she said, “The drama teacher told us to wear something Christmassy.” Well duh…. My daughter looked a bit worried. I’m guessing because she recently outgrew most of her clothes. They wear uniforms at school. Forget about dress clothes, with the exception of the dress I sewed for her middle school dance, she has nothing. This summer, and continuing into the fall, she hit a growth spurt. Clothes that were fitting no longer do, let’s not even talk about shoes! The girl can now wear mine. My goodness, she’s growing fast. You want to know something? She can now wear my clothes!  She’s already as tall as me! Ok… that’s not saying much since I’m only 5′. Ha!

And so yesterday, when I finally had some time, I started racking my brain of what to sew in a short time frame.

 

I even drafted a pattern for a simple dress, but ultimately I went another route and have created a pattern for a flowing dress.

 

After much deliberation, we chose winter white satin for the fabric. I thought green and red would be awesome, but my daughter wrinkled her nose and said, “I want something a bit different.” That’s fine with me.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that some of the lining is peeking out underneath the winter white fabric. It’s pink! I would have used something like red or melted gold if (I had that on hand) but I didn’t, so I’m using what I have. I never liked muted linings, I always leaned towards the unexpected and it’s even better if it’s bright and beautiful.

Brenda Lee: Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree

This song will be playing at the Christmas program. In fact, my daughter, and her best friend, have a dance routine for this song. She’s been practicing solo and occasionally with me, at home. I do believe, I might add horsehair braid to the hem. The dress being made, is floaty and perfect for twirling.

 

There will be one contrast, a gold belt that works perfectly with her newly purchased Sam & Libby gold ballerina slippers. I’m also I’m thinking of creating a flower out of gold fabric or even make one out of beads. We’ll see, Tuesday is right around the corner.

So now the fun begins… later today, I’ll start sewing this outfit. It’s actually very simple and it has to be, since Tuesday is when they’re performing. The bulk of this outfit will be completed today and I’ll be finished tomorrow.

Yesterday afternoon, I finally got around to sewing something for myself, hooray! My daughter took these pictures a few moments ago. Note to self, use a better background.

It’s a maxi skirt made from knit fabric. I don’t work with knit fabric too much, it’s super slippery, but that’s not why I don’t use it. I find it much easier to sew than cloth that does not stretch. I find that you really don’t have to do as much with stretchy fabric. While some might enjoy this since it is indeed easier, I much prefer working with cloth that lets your sewing skills shine.

But back to the skirt… I won’t be wearing it until I get the proper elastic. I have 1/2″ elastic but that’s too small. I need at least 1″ and I do have that elastic somewhere… but for now it’s laughing at me from it’s hiding place and so I’ve folded up the long maxi skirt and have set it to the side.

I do think I’ll make an adjustment with this skirt and add a small split at the bottom. I most likely will do that later today and then, I’ll tuck it way until I get the elastic.

Now, my focus is on that ruffled shirt. You know the one I posted about way back when. I removed the ruffle and am thinking about adding a teeny tiny ruffle around the hem. Hmm, decisions, decisions, decisions. I hate giving up on this shirt, because it has the potential to be something lovely, once I decide exactly what needs to be done to make it right for me.

I’m thrilled to say that my daughter’s dress ensemble is finished.

I decided to secure the hem (where the horsehair braid is attached) with my Brother 2340 CV Coverstitch machine. I love this machine!

The bodice has a lining and I decided it would be a good idea to understitch on the lining/facing side of the fabric.

I can’t wait to show you an up close and personal look at my daughter’s outfit, but I can’t right now since she’s at our Lutheran Church’s Middle School dance. I will say that she was all smiles when the outfit was completed.