Since I’m getting pretty good at this sewing thing, I decided to challenge myself to do two things:
1. Make a dress for Lydia that incorporates fabric from one of her baby dresses.
2. Make a dress without using a pattern.
I accomplished both. Here’s a step-by-step (sorta) of what I did to make this dress. I’m not 100% sold on the top portion of the front (I love the back, especially since I used two buttons from one of her baby cardigans) so I may end up tearing out a bunch of seams and redoing it, but we’ll see. The dress is still big on her, so I have some time. Here goes!
These are the fabrics for the dress. The green flower fabric is actually part of a 9-month dress that my sister bought. Lydia picked out the orange fabric. The brown/white polka dot fabric is leftover from her apron. I thought the birds/flowers were really cute, and the yellow looked like a fun way to tie it all together.
I began by cutting the patterned fabric into 4-inch strips. There are two green strips (that’s all I could get out of the little dress) and four strips of each of the other patterned fabrics.
I pinned the fabric strips together into two panels. The front panel has the green in the middle, surrounded by brown. The back panel has the green in the middle, surrounded by orange.
Here are the two panels after sewing the pinned fabric. The back panel is on top and the front panel is on the bottom.
Next, I cut each panel using a rotary cutter. This gave me the bottom portion for the skirt and the upper portion for the top. I attached a folded-over piece of the yellow fabric to the bottom of the dress (front and back).
I am not certain of the proper terminology, but basically I made two rows of stitches and pulled in a manner that would be similar to a ruffle to make the skirt panels.
Then I sewed a folded-over piece of the yellow to the top of each skirt panel. I was messing around with another band of yellow in this picture.
I decided to do the top like this. The back portion has two pieces that overlap so that you can place two buttons. There’s also a slit about 2.5″ long below that button area so that the dress can open enough to be put on easily.
I attached the top portion to the midsection. This dress now has a completed front and a completed back.
And here’s the completed dress! (It’s not actually crooked like that. The picture was taken at an angle.)
Lydia wasn’t really in the mood to be my model, so these aren’t exactly the best pictures, but at least you can see the front and back.
UPDATE!!! Based on how much I totally disliked the top…I redid it! It needs to be ironed, but here it is. So much better, right?? Hooray for bias tape (even if it is lime green on a yellow dress).
And here’s a picture of my sister with Lydia, wearing the original dress, Summer 2010
You gathered the skirt by making two rows of basting stitches 🙂
It has a bit of a Dutch fairy tale look to it. Very cute!
Wait, where is the bias tape?
The bias tape is all around the collar and the sleeves (once I fixed the design – final picture of it).
I knew basting was in there…I just didn’t know how to word it 🙂
very nice!!!
Oh is it just inside? Maybe it’s the color on my screen or something because I don’t see it at all. I have used single fold inside where it doesn’t show outside the item before but only once and and it was to hem something without taking length. I usually use double fold around the outside of an unfinished edge so it shows.
Usually I think if you are using the longest stitch (usually a 5), it’s called a basting stitch even if it isn’t really basting. But I would think it is basting any time you are using a stitch that isn’t permanent? I learned on my own so I usually don’t know what I’m talking about anyway.
Yeah, it’s just on the inside. I took that picture when I finished at like midnight last night, so I need to take another in the daylight and add it to the post. I was just too excited to share!
Regarding the basting stitch, I did a pattern last week that required a basting stitch, and then the stitch was completely removed. So I think it’s a basting stitch when it’s a long stitch and you don’t “tie off” the ends?? That way, it can be removed or ‘cinched’ easily. (I think that makes sense, right?)
Oh I never bother removing it if it will be encased in the seam….never had one that wasn’t but I always fold seams under twice and topstitch so they wouldn’t show. I wish I could get my hands on it and see what you did with the bias tape because I’m very curious lol.
Jennifer- I posted a picture to your facebook wall of how I did the bias tape 🙂