dresses!

First up, a plug:

I have two new dresses for sale over at Bon*Bons - do check them out if you are so inclined. One is a poly blend floaty ruffled sundress, size 3:



The other is a sweet cotton navy polka-dot sundress with a gathered empire waist and buttons down the back, size 2:


The death of my serger is the customer's gain here, people - both dresses are finished entirely with french seams (meaning the raw edges of the seams are fully enclosed, for the non-sewers reading this). I think the pricing is fair considering the extra effort involved in this type of construction. Please do let me know if you think otherwise! I'm always open to feedback on pricing.

And on to personal sewing...

I made this funky little frock for Daughter before Christmas, but stopped with one sleeve and the ruffle unsewn. Christmas was coming, I had gifts to work on, and the dress got shoved aside. I originally bought the pattern because Karen made a version of this for her daughter and I adored it. She actually finished hers properly, though, with the pinafore over top. I haven't gotten that far and don't know if I will or not. The pattern is Simplicity and it's from the 70s - I'm not sure of the number off the top of my head and I'm a bit too lazy to run upstairs for it right now. If anyone is desperate to know it, leave a comment.

The problem is the sleeves - they are SO PUFFY! I like the cute style of the dress, but wow, the sleeves are enormous. They just look so funny on my petite, thin child.


I am loving the huge ruffle, though (and believe me it is straight in real life, I don't know why it looks crooked in the photo). And the gathered sleeve cuff is sweet, though I might try making it with clear elastic stitched directly to the fabric if I do it again, rather than making a casing with bias tape. Might be less bulky around the wrists. And despite my total lack of ability or experience in alteration, I might try to redraft the sleeve so the cap is much smaller. My poor little girl does not need that much fabric poofing out from her shoulders.

I love the fabric, though. It's just an inexpensive calico from Joann's, and I think it has pomegranates on it. That may be totally wrong, but that's what I keep thinking when I look at it. Daughter pulled this on over black leggings and black buckle shoes the other day and she looked all Little House on the Prairie* - I find I really like that look of the black stockings/leggings with the calico dresses...yes, I am totally weird. I'm going to go churn some butter now and light the oil lamp, because apparently I think it is 1880.

Well, the weather has finally come around and the sun is blazing. It's still chilly (barely 60 F) but supposed to climb into the 70s over the weekend. Should be a wonderful holiday here, at least. I have lots of sewing and knitting underway and hope to have some good posts next week. If I can drag my kid away from the playground long enough to get anything made, that is. Happy Memorial Day!

*I know I have shared how I buy my calicoes as far as quantity is concerned, but have I ever shared how I actually choose the prints? I look at them through the lens of: would Ma Ingalls have used this to make a dress for Mary, Laura, or Carrie? That's how I qualify "calico" in my mind. Wait - are you backing away from your computer? Come back! I'm only a little bit obsessed with LHOTP! I only re-read the entire series of books once a year! Come baaaaaaaaaack!