Ready and Waiting

The dresses are done. Now we just need Christmas Day. Here they are looking all pretty on their hangers. The front of the orange dress and the back of the white one. I'm quite pleased with how they have turned out. The ribbon is sitting a bit funny at the front on the white dress but I tried it on D and it sits fine when it's on and done up so all good. I think it's just all the gathers that pulls it in a funny direction when it's on the hanger. Yay!



I tried to get some photos of it on D but she wouldn't co-operate. She had been turning around in circles showing me how pretty she was but when I said I want to take a picture she threw herself on the ground and started crying. Then she decided to wipe her now snotty face on her pretty new dress so I distracted her with the flowers on it. That did the trick to get her to sit still long enough for me to snap something.

Immediately following this she up and ran away. So, that will have to suffice until Christmas Day.

I must say, with no zippers or buttons or anything, it's a slightly tricky dress to get back off. More tears from D, who was (as I had discovered earlier with the photo taking caper) a little on the grumpy side, but I worked it out eventually.

Oh, and if anyone is wondering, the fabric for both dresses is Moda fabric by Me and My Sister Designs. The orange one is Overly Orange Uppsy Daisy from their Spring Fever range and the white one is Bright Black from their Happy range. I LOVE the fabrics these ladies do. I want to buy some of all of it!

And then there were two

I did manage to finish the elastic on my first Christmas dress on Sunday. I photographed it for you. I wasn't happy with it, however, as (what you can't see in the photo but I wish now I'd snapped) where the top of the neckline folds over and is sewed down to the dress, it was coming away. The method advised in the pattern instructions for if you are sewing without an overlocker/serger is to just fold it down, press it, and zigzag stitch all the way around, leaving the obligatory inch at the back to thread the elastic. So, this is what I did. But I musn't have done a wide enough zigzag as it really only caught the very edge of the fabric and once the elastic was in and pulling the fabric, it didn't old. Decided to unpick it all, zigzag the edge and then just sew it down using a normal straight top stitch. Only issue was I'd run out of thread. D'oh! So, yesterday saw me back at Spotlight purchasing some new thread (among other things) and last night at my sewing class I re-finished the neckline.




I had also started working on the second Christmas dress on the weekend. I managed to get it all cut out and the bodice sewn up. Then last night I pretty much completed the rest. Just left with the elastic to put into the neckline. Only a few mins worth of work and it nearly killed me to not finish it but when the class is scheduled to finish at 9pm and everyone is packed up and waiting to leave, "just another 5 mins" doesn't really go down well. I'm hoping to find a few spare mins later this afternoon to do it. Gotta get some work finished first, though. Then it's just a matter of attaching some sashes and they're done. Nice.

Had hoped to pick up some shirred fabric from spotlight for those overalls I want to try but they only had some boring plain colours and it was $20 per m. They had heaps of lovely options last year that were way cheaper. I know because I made us all some dresses. Maybe I can sacrifice my dresses to overalls. I'm not overly attached to them. Just liked the fabric.

Oh, and done of these days I'll get back to my cushion cover tutorial. I haven't forgotten.