Saturday, June 13, 2009

a birthday present



Rainy afternoon hand sewing. I bought this lace for $1/yard in the garment district and it's been floating around my sewing loft for a few weeks. My mom is showing me how to hand sew it to a garment. This is actually another refashion of a dress that didn't work for me to a dress for Kate, and it will be a birthday present for her. I started a peachy silk dress for myself a few years ago, but messed up the bodice and stuffed it into a trunk. After last week's successful refashion, I remembered this one and pulled it out and took off the bodice. So I had a nice silk skirt, and was able to cut a bodice using BWOF 02-2009-139, in size 6X. So it will be a bit big on Kate, but she'll grow into it.

Here's the dress, still mostly pinned together. The fabric is some peach colored dupioni silk that frays like crazy, unfortunately.



I'm going to put in a back zipper, even though the instructions say it doesn't need one. They cut it REALLY low in the front- typical BWOF, but this is a little kids dress!!! So we're going to try to fix it with a lace insert behind the neckline, which would mean that it needs a zipper to go over her head. The insert will be hand sewn in, and then the zipper inserted and the neckline seam finished. Then I'll hand sew down the bodice lining over the waist seam. After that it will be finished!

And here is Declan, enjoying a rainy day nap.

declan

3 comments:

Antoinette said...

I just love your idea to refashion stuff that doesn't work for you into something great for a girl. It would dull the sting I have felt putting together a dress for me that just isn't quite right.... And it takes the pressure off wearable muslins when you really don't feel like messing with them.

Faye Lewis said...

That is going to be adorable!

Meg said...

Wendy, that dress is precious!