3 Dresses and Big Messes

When my mom sewed for us, she expected us to do something for her. This was as a teenager though. We did jobs as little kids but I dont; remember working for new dresses until high school. Well, this last Saturday, a friend of mine took my little ones for respite and I put the biggirls to work. I started on a cosrtume I am making for my dear friend Misty and then had to set it down for a break. My girls had selected their fabrics from my stash and it was as fun as choosing from our own little fabric shop. I sewed the big girl dresses simultaneously since they are the same pattern and same size. It was a very simple pattern and went together pretty quickly and easily with minor frustrations. I am really happy with how they turned out.
Amelia chose this FreeSpirit fabric which I think is ParkSlope, but I can't remember. She said she wanted soemthing different than blue, She always gets blue. We chose a geometric white tone on tone cotton for the contrasting bands. I didn't have that in my stash so we had to go SHOPPING!

Isn't she pretty? It looks great on her!

I actually bought these orange FreeSpirit fabrics specifially for girl #2. When she went looking in the stash, she picked it out and was thrilled. She asked for the orange and white as the bands which I agreed to but as I was cutting it out I thought the other would be better. Nope, She called it! I love it! Orange really fits this girl. I whipped out their headbands in no time, but Charlotte's was too tight and she was a bit uncomfortable. But she loved it.

Don't you love the poses? Idon't pose them; they do that on their own! I love the serious demure look here.

I was having so much fun as I wrapped these up, I knew I had to make something for my baby girl. I was holding onto the Heather Bailey FreshCut fabrics for awhile.. I have made some rockin' charm totes from these fabrics, but had these reserved for a dress. During this time I had to pick up the little ones and feed everyone and break up fights and blah, blah, blah.

I have a vintage reproduction pattern I bought on ebay. It is supposed to be from 1902, but typical of older patterns, there are not super clear instructions. I was flying blindly with this one. I didn't put the bodice on a fold on accident. So instead of sewing the pieces back together, I added the contrasting piece on the front with the little buttons. I had to alter it quite a bit to fit my tiny 4 year old. I sewed a few bias strips and placed Spanish hemstitching on the sleeves and skirt hems. I love that look so much. I lined the bodice with muslin although it didn't call for lining. I wanted my edges to be smooth and lovely. I added Spanish hemstitching with water soluble stabilizer on the square neck to mimic a lacy trim. There are buttons in the back and contrasting band around. This dress ended up looking very different than the picture on the pattern, but that's fine by me. I think I will try this one again with some different features. I drew a lot of inspiration from heirloom sewing and many dresses I've seen in Sew Beautiful magazine
She really loved the dress and didn't want to take it off after church. She felt very pretty and looked super stinking cute with the fabric covered button ponies I made to match as well.
Who's that cute little boy? Sorry I didn't make anything for him.
Out of the three dresses, I am most proud of this one because it came from me and was more complicated than the big girls'. But I love them all and I am so grateful I could spend the day sewing for these precious girls. As usually happens, even with the girls helping to clean, the house falls apart. They did a lot of laundry and dishes, so that was nice, but the bedrooms and playroom were extra trashed. Oh well!
Have I told you lately how much I love sewing? It brings a calm to my mental storm. Even when I am picking stitches and slipping and cutting the wrong thing or burning myself on the iron or catching my fingers in the machine; those little mishaps I can handle. Even when I am rushing to finish orders and get ready for craft fairs and freaking out. That is nothing compared to trials of every day life. I just have to keep making the time for it. My girls were so happy and felt so loved too. I have been on a sewing high that is lasting longer then the best Diet Coke, chocolate and potato chips can offer. It is an expensive high but better for my figure!