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She Likes It!

So the dress met with the four-year-old’s approval yesterday. She likes the color and the “ruffles.” And it’s good for dancing…
…and twirling!
A few months ago she told me that the difference between a pretty dress and a really pretty dress is that a really pretty dress is one that is good for twirling (read: has a full skirt). I guess this one works for her.

I used Kwik Sew 2918 again. I made the short sleeves a little longer and decreased the width of the back at the side seams. The neck opening is a little larger than I would like, but that’s because I had to cut off my first attempt at finishing it. I tried sewing down the center of a strip of fabric onto the wrong side of the neck edge and then turning it to the right side, so that there would be three raw edges turned to the front. I saw it in Threads #121, but could not get it to work for me. I trimmed, clipped, understitched, and pressed but it would not stay turned to the right side. So off it went, and I bound the edge instead.

The skirt tiers are just gathered rectangles. I found a good formula for determining the difference in circumference from one tier to the next in Threads #125. The top tier of the skirt is a little shorter in length than the other two by mistake. I used a clear ruler and chalk marker to make the lapped seams even. When I was marking the top tier I accidently grabbed the rotary cutter instead of the chalk marker and cut off ¾” rather than making a line. Ahhh! I almost did it again another time after than and then learned to put the rotary cutter away in the drawer when I wasn’t using it.

I would have liked to make matching shorts for her to wear under the dress to reduce the underwear flashing factor (a hazard of twirling), but I really only had tiny scraps left. It’s nice to use up all of the yardage, but that makes it a little stressful during construction when you know there is no chance you can cut another piece if you mess up.

I’m working on more pink things for her…she just can’t get enough.
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Comments

  1. BeccaAApril 8, 2009 at 4:56 PM

    What a cute dress. She is adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. judyApril 10, 2009 at 10:57 AM

    This dress is super cute!! It looks like she loves it! I once had the neck issue with it being to big (I was making my dd a nightie from scratch and just over guessed how big to make the neck hole) and I put in a casing and elastic to gather it. I love your fabric...Very cute!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 11, 2009 at 8:47 PM

    It's super cute on her! It's so good she let you know what SHE thinks a really pretty dress looks like!!

    ReplyDelete

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