Saturday, November 6, 2010

Festive Girl's Dress


Sewing therapy, anyone?


One simply can't maintain the blahs or blues when sewing yards and yards of pink duchesse satin, rose-embroidered taffeta and deliciously rustling silk organza!



(Front)


I reviewed this season's "social calendar" (mostly consisting of family birthdays, holidays and, yes, my ballet recital!) and, in a spur-of-the moment sewing decision, resolved to sew DD an all-out party/"princess" dress. Here it is!


(Back)




DD, if I haven't mentioned it before, is a very girly girl. No pink is too sweet, no glitter too bright, and no day too ordinary to put on a sparkly crown.


I think this hits the nail on the head!




(Note the stylish leggings and socks!)



Since my stash of satin and taffeta is rather small, I hit the nearest department store and paid double the fabric market price, boo. I also used some silk organza originally bought for the legions of Chanel-style jackets I will make someday (right). While I own some silk garments, I hadn't sewn with silk before. The incomparable sound of rustling organza made every Austen novel I've ever read come alive!



Some info:

I used Burdastyle 11/2010/151 for the bodice pattern, width graded down, length graded up, and added almost 3 inches on the bottom because the pattern has a strong empire line.
The sash is made of two bands sewn of both fashion fabrics and sandwiched between the front and back bodice pieces when sewing the side seams.
I then gathered all available width of skirt fabric (about 140 cm) and sewed that to the bodice.
I fully lined the dress, with a light blue polka dot cotton on top and twice the skirt width of organza on the bottom. I also bound the bottom of the underskirt with a pink lining fabric so it would look pretty when peeking through!



(Inside out, and from below.)




I also took some technique inspiration from the beautiful dresses seen around the internet and added a lapped, pickstitched zipper and understitched the neckline so the satin would lie as smoothly as possible.

DD reserves her right to wear things her way. In this case, bow in front ("Much prettier!").




Happy dress. Happy girl. Happy sewing!

14 comments:

  1. So cute! The bow detail is really gorgeous :-)

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  2. Any little girl would feel special in a dress like this! You've taken so much care in making a child's dress- it's lovely!

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  3. I love pink and blue together! This is a great dress!

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  4. What a lovely dress, and so beautifully finished. The pink binding on the underdress is a great idea.

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  5. What a cutie pie! Beautiful little dress, too. :-)

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  6. Beautiful dress on an adorable little girl! I felt very Austen-ish when last I sewed silk as well.

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  7. Just adorable! Look how beaming she is!!! Great work Mum!!

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  8. Adorable. The dress and the little girl.

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  9. What a pretty dress for a special girl! I'm loving it, and I'll bet she is too. I enjoyed sewing with silk lately too. You mention the rustling sound, but I also loved the feel and the way it smelled when I pressed it.

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  10. I bet she feels like a princess. Beautifully styled and constructed.

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  11. The bow is my favorite part, too! I'd wear in the front just like your daughter.

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  12. That's so cute! You did a beautiful job inside and out. I like it worn with the bow in the front too!

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  13. Adorable! I think I love the inside even more than the out.

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  14. OMG - she is SO adorable in that dress. I love the bow at the front. Great job!

    PS: Thank you for your comment on my post today. I'm so sorry you had to go through a misery during your birth experiences. I'm amazed, and thrilled for you, that you did not have depression under the circumstances. And look at the gorgeous results!

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