Dress 12 - Sunny Sky

Today, I used one of my commercial patterns to make a dress.  Using two fabrics donated by Nancy S., this bright yellow reminds me of the sun in a blue sky.

Dress twelve will be for an older girl.  I wanted one with a fuller skirt to provide better movement for a young lady.  I chose this simple pattern from the Butterick line, called See &Sew.  It is made especially for new sewers.

From start to finish, it took a little over two hours.








I used pattern group 6-7-8.  I cut out the pattern to the size 8. There are only a few pattern pieces:  The skirt, yoke front, yoke back and ties.  The finished dress measured 32 inches from yoke to hem.


The skirt was cut twice on the fold.   To save fabric, I folded over only the amount needed to fit the pattern piece.  That left a wider piece that can be used for another project.   Casey, my sewing buddy, let me use his cat food cans as pattern weights.

The skirt portion was the only part that needed French seams.  After I sewed the side seams, I hemmed the skirt. Then I put gathering stitches around the waist edge.


Next I cut the yoke pieces, two fronts and two backs, on the fold and the two strap pieces.  The only alteration I did was to add about an inch and a half to the strap length.  I sewed the front and back pieces together at the side seams, and did the same to the facing pieces.  The straps took the longest.  You need to turn them inside out, and my fingers were not cooperating today.  I finally finished with the help of a long, skinny screwdriver.  I sewed the straps to the edge of the yoke front.

Next, I sewed the facing, right sides together, to the yoke, keeping the straps clear. I turned the yoke right side out, and ironed down.   I finished it with a top stitch close to the edge.

Next, I attached the skirt to the yoke.  I lined up the points and side seams, and gathered equally around.  Make sure you leave the lining free. The edge of the lining is folded under, covering the raw edges of the seam. Iron, sew down, and I am done!  Here is the basic dress, before I added trim.

I recently received some trim donation from Val L. It came in handy today.  I picked a turquoise blue rick rack and added it to the yoke.   I made two pockets from the sunny yellow, and added the same rick rack to them. Finally, I sewed large pink buttons to the pockets, and three smaller ones to the front of the yoke.  When I sewed the pockets to the skirt, I measured 8 inches up from the hem, and made sure to center the pockets evenly from the side seams.

Add the DAG tag to the hem, and all done!   Here it is:

Dresses 8, 9, 10 and 11 - Sweetheart Stripes

Dresses eight through eleven are called Sweetheart Stripes, with fabric again provided by Monica.   I would like to share her website with you, The Fabric Bird Link   She has a lot of wonderful fabrics for sale, take a look.

She sent me two yards of this adorable double border print. 
The first thing I did, was cut the fabric into 4 pieces, each with a bordered edge.  The pieces measured approximately 36 inches wide and 22 inches long.  According to the DAG chart, this would allow me to make four size 3-4 dresses.

I decided not to add any contrast color to the hem as this pattern is busy enough with all the stripes.  Since these are small dresses, one six inch pocket is fine.  The best and quickest way to make these dresses is by assembly line.

After ironing, I hemmed all the dresses.  Next I sewed up all the backs with French seams.

I chose a green floral print to make the pockets, since I didn't make a contrast color band around the bottom.  I trimmed with pink rick rack and a pale green button.   Here I gathered all my supplies and cut the trim, elastic and bias tape ties.





 







I found a great template for pockets.  You will need to buy chocolate and eat it all first.  Yum!  Its Merci chocolate, and comes in a flat 6 1/4 inch square box.  After consuming all the chocolate (remember, its for a good cause), cut the front or the back off.  Its a perfect size!

Next I cut all the armholes using the "small" template.   I turned

down and ironed all 8 casings, and inserted the elastic, front and back.  I made sure to sew over the elastic several times at each end to prevent it from coming loose.

Next, were the bias tape ties.  I used light pink for two, and a darker pink for the other two.  Finally, I sewed on the pockets, lining them up with the pink heart row near the bottom.   Don't forget to add your DAG tag!  I put mine on the opposite side from the pocket, near the hem.

Here they all are, hanging from my china cabinet.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

 

Dresses 6 and 7 - Hangin' Around

Dresses six and seven are called "Hangin' Around".  I received this fabric from Ambassador Monica.

It's the name of the print, designed by Alexander Henry. Animal prints are my favorites for younger girls.  I wanted to make two dresses from this because I love it so much. I received one yard, so I cut it in half.   To each 18 inch long piece, I added some solid rusty color fabric I had in my stash to the bottom for contrast, and to make it longer.


Adding the extra at the bottom makes these dresses between a size five and six on the chart.  I used the medium armhole template, and cut 36 inch ties of bias tape for each side.







At our local Walmart, the sewing section carries "fat quarters" for 97 cents. These pieces are generally meant for quilting, but they are perfect for pockets and other accents such as a yoke or hem contrast.  Fat quarters are made by taking one yard of fabric, cutting in half lengthwise, and then in half width-wise. The dimensions are approximately 18" x 21" or 22" (depending on fabric width).

For these dresses, I used a fat quarter for the pockets.  After lining with cotton and turning, I added white cotton trim across the top.  I measured about 8 inches up from the bottom, then measured equal distance from the center front, where I thought it worked best.

I like the way this tiger is leaning against the pocket. 

Here are a few pictures of the finished dresses.  I live in a concrete condominium, so no pretty backgrounds for photos.   I need to find a better place to take them 😁