Dresses 55 through 58 - Emily's Poem

Nobody knows this little rose,
It might a pilgrim be.
Did I not take it from the ways,
And lift it up to thee!
Only a bee will miss it,
Only a butterfly
Hastening from far journey,
On its breast to lie.
Only a bird will wonder,
Only a breeze will sigh.
Ah! Little rose how easy
For such as thee to die.
                  Emily Dickinson 
   

This is my favorite Emily poem.   I made a cute bee dress, which reminded me of the poem, and I decided to make dresses that went along with the poem.  I dug through my stash and came up with these fabrics to complete the garden's inhabitants.

1.  The Rose.  At the moment, this is the closest flower I have to a rose 😀    They look more like a peony, which is a kind of rose....   This is the Dress a Girl pattern.   I used a half yard floral fabric and added a micro dot dark pink for a bottom band, and the yoke.  Matching pink bias tape ties were added, along with white rick rack trim and a scrap of pink lace on the pocket.

2.  The Bee.  I had nearly a full bolt of this Michael Miller bee fabric.  This is the second dress I've made from it.  I really love the Peasant dress, my quick go-to pattern.  I paired this one with a black and white print  that is busy like a bee.  Some white rick rack trim and 3 black buttons for decoration.

 3.  The Butterfly.  This adorable border fabric has both butterflies and bees on it!  I used a Spring green fat quarter for sleeves and pockets, and some pre-gathered check ruffles around the bottom.  The words across the bottom say "Bees and Butterflies flying in the field"

4.   The Bird.  Pretty birdies on a flowering branch, with butterflies, nests and birdhouses in the background.  I have more of this print and will make other dresses.  I used a blue floral for a bodice and pockets, with lace trim and buttons on the pockets.

Dresses 50 through 54 - Audrey's Assortment

Here are an assortment of styles made from fabrics donated by my friend Audrey W.

 First up, back to basics with the official Dress A Girl pattern, found on the Dress A Girl Around the World website.   I love this fabric!  Oranges from sunny California being sent almost halfway around the world.

You can get the pattern two ways:

1.   If you are just joining DAG, you might want to order a kit from the DAG website for your first dress.  It includes fabric and instructions, everything you need.   link to kit

OR

2.  Make your own using your fabric with this cutting chart and armhole template  template link



Next, I made two dresses from the August dress pattern (see earlier post on construction).  These are complementary dresses, maybe for some sisters or best friends. Such a cute little sheep print!  I used a bright pink dot for the bodice and contrast on one, and a light pink floral for the other.  I added trim and three decorative buttons to the bodice using upholstery thread to secure them.

I also made two peasant dresses from one yard each of a vintage garden print and a grey and cream paisley pattern. The blue sleeves and pockets on the garden print are made from fat quarters. I also used a mint green lace trim on the hem, sleeves and pockets.  The red paisley print sleeves, pockets and contrast on the grey dress were made from a remnant.  I added two decorative red buttons, using upholstery thread to secure them.

Again, I love this easy and fast pattern.  See my last post on where to download it.  I also like the new white labels instead of the purple ones.  They blend better with the dresses.

HAPPY SEWING EVERYONE!

Dresses 40 through 49 - Sensational Skirts

These skirts are made for the older girls and young women, who want to wear something more modest and age appropriate.   Here is a photo from a recent visit.

They seem to wear any kind of top with the skirts. I have some solid T-shirts to send with the ones I make.

Here is the easy pattern I used. This is a very basic skirt, made from a single pattern piece cut twice on the fold. Sew the side seams, make a casing for elastic at the waist, and hem.  That's it!  If you want, you can sew a pocket in the side seam, or add an outside pocket.  I used view E.

I was able to cut out 10 skirts in about an hour, since its its only two pieces.   I am going by waist size, from about 24 inches and up.










I made these assembly line style.  Here are the steps:

1.  I cut out the two pieces, varying the sizes.

2.  I made a ton of pockets 😀  Ten sets.  I used the same fabric so they would blend better as a whole.  A simple piece of trim completed them.

3.  Next, I applied the pockets to the front piece.  First, I folded the top down between 8-9 inches, depending on the length of the skirt.  Second, I place the top of the pocket on the fold line, approximately 2 1/2 inches from the side seam and sewed them on.


















4.  I sewed the sides up with French seams.

5.  Ironed and folded down the waist to make a casing for the elastic.  Insert 1/2 inch wide elastic.

6.  Ironed the hem and sewed.   All done!

Here are the skirts.  I show eight of the different prints, because I made two of the ten skirts from the pink fabric, and two from the blue fabric.

The two dark blue flowered ones are the smallest, with a 24-26 inch waist and length of 32 inches, and the green/yellow stripe and blue lily of the valley prints are adult sized, with a 32-34 inch waist and length of 34 inches.  I will probably make more of these as they are pretty easy.  If you are a beginning sewer, these skirts would be perfect for you to make.