Burda 9885 - Vibrant Dress* and Leggings

So, is there anyone still out there reading this? So very little sewing time lately. Even less blogging time. Last September was the same way. I'm optimistic that things are going to calm down a little soon.

My firstborn is the most in need of fall clothes, so last week I started sewing some for her. I foresee making a lot of leggings this year. She likes to wear dresses and skirts, but last year I was really frustrated with tights that got holes in the toes too soon and just didn't seem warm enough. Leggings take care of those problems and are easy to make.

The Preacher's grandma gave me this printed poplin fabric. She had started a project that wasn't turning out and was ready to pass it on. The fabric for the leggings came from a thrift store. It was too good of a deal to pass up, but I wasn't sure about the very bright red/pink/coral/not-sure-what-it-is color. I thought it might be a good candidate for a dye job. That was more than a couple of years ago. I was surprised and delighted to find that it was an exact match for the very bright red/pink/coral/not-sure-what-it-is color of the flowers in the print.

The poplin was already cut into long, narrow pieces, so I used Burda 9885 for the dress. I've used this before and it's a nice, simple pattern that doesn't use a lot of fabric.

I had problems with the tucks on the front. When I stitched them as marked, the front ended up being too narrow. Instead of adjusting all of the tucks, I just slightly let out the center two so the front was the right width. The pattern recommends rickrack along the neck and sleeve hems. I used turquoise piping instead. It matches the turquoise buttons I had in stash and I thought it was a nice complement to the leggings color. The sleeves are "fooler sleeves" made from black rayon jersey. They're sewn to the armscye seam.



Near the hem I added a ruffled strip of turquoise cut on the bias. I stitched it down under a green ribbon with one of the decorative stitches that my machine has and I rarely use. It seemed like this was a good opportunity. It looks rather crooked in the picture, but I'm pretty sure that's because the dress was not laying flat.

And since the ruffle trim got an "Oooooohhhhh! Wow!" response from my daughter, I couldn't help but make a matching headband for her. The headband got a squealing and clapping response. She's fun to sew for. :)

*When The Preacher saw this dress for the first time he said, "Wow. That's very....vibrant." Yup.