The dress is done. It's cute (in my opinion), it was fun to make, and my daughter's only comment was "Where's my kitty ("Hello Kitty") application?"
Kids! Although I must admit a large part of sewing for my daughter is for my gratification, so she ought to be entitled to her own, different opinion.
On the other hand, she did not want to leave the dress at her grandmother's (who asked when witnessing her lukewarm response "Oh, can I keep it and wear it tomorrow then?"), so there's hope!
The Farbenmix pattern was, as I said, a joy to trace, cut and sew; it went together very well, the instructions on the envelope were at least Burda quality, and they have more detailed instructions on their website, which I didn't refer to.
The bear, as always, were the closures, in this case the buttonholes. I hardly ever mind sewing with an old, non brand machine, but I really miss an automatic buttonholer.
Or access to buttonhole makers as in NYC. For now, I'll keep practising on kids' clothes (and envying Lindsay); if I follow my tentative plan of making a coat this fall, I'd better learn to make bound buttonholes, though!
I'm off to finetune my fall sewing plans, shift around some fabric and patterns, and dream!
