Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Project: Polka dots and ruffles

I bought the pattern to make this super cute ruffly dress from Etsy during the great series of blizzards earlier this year. The directions were super easy to follow and this was quick to put together. If my sewing machine had a longer stitch length, it would have been even easier (add that to the list of requirements for my future upgrade). Instead, it takes me years to make a ruffle perfectly ruffly.

I used fabrics from the Nicey Jane line by Heather Bailey. I think the polka dots are just perfect for a little girl.

The pattern called for an extra row of ruffles on the bottom but I think I had enough going on that one more would have been one too many. I still have the ruffle and I'm thinking about turning it into a flower or something.

As you can see, the dress is hanging off of Zadie but it was also really hard to get on (and off). There's definitely something wrong with the fit. The pattern didn't call for a closure but I'm going to have to cut it open in the back and add a button and elastic so this will be easier to manage during toddler-wrangling-getting-dressed time. I'll probably just tack up the straps with a longer stitch so that it will fit better but allow for some growth.

Does anyone have any suggestions for alterations that might be better than these?

5 comments:

Sarah said...

Cute dress! You could also cut the straps completely and add a couple of button/snap for closures and skip cutting the back. That way you could make it easy to get on AND adjustable if you add a couple sets of buttons too. Know what I mean?

Beth Lemon said...

That's a really good idea! I'm glad you're back in blogland and super excited about your new loot.

Katielin317 said...

Love it. Those polka dots are just too sweet.

Sarah Seitz said...

Adorable! This counts for the Pattern Challenge!

Lizzet said...

Hi!
Would it be possible to use one of the photos of this dress on my website (www.thefabriloft.co.uk) I'm writting a post with a few pics about fabrics from the Nicey Jane collection and I love what you have done!
Do let me know ifyou have any questions.

Lizzet xx