Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Brought to You by the Color Pink

Sometimes I have a vision of what I want -- a project materializes in my mind, and I go on a stash hunt (or a fabric store hunt, if necessary) for the corresponding materials. Sometimes, inspiration comes later. When I found a too-long, too-small, but oh-so-cute shirt at the thrift store, I plunked down a dollar and crossed my fingers that I could come up with the right design. 

A dollar's not much of an investment if it all goes "south," but this investment turned out to be quite rewarding. Rewarding, in the sense that I got to scratch my sewing itch and Rosa got a new dress (not that she needed one... *cough*). 





The original shirt had a pink band at the bottom, raglan sleeves with pink sleeve bands, and a wide pink boatneck collar. I just love the perfectly pink-and-white stripes! The fabric is super soft and flowy, too -- which does make the dress look a little odd when it's not being worn. Trust me, in real life the fit is perfect. 

I improvised the pattern, using a size 18 mths tee that I'd also picked up at the thrift store. I added to the sleeves to make them puffed, created a yoke, and added a slightly gathered skirt. Having all of those solid pink bands was so helpful in creating my own bands! I did have a hard time squeezing the bodice out of that oversized collar, but it all turned out fine.




Apparently I need to work on my gathering skills with knits, but fortunately it's a pretty forgiving fabric. I'd show you a picture of the back of the dress, but it looks virtually identical to the front! Which reminds me, I need to start putting "direction" tags in some of my garments. 




And that's that! Much as I love the cold weather, it's nice to be doing a bit of Spring and Summer sewing for the littles (and myself).

6 comments:

  1. I enjoy seeing all your sewing projects.
    Good idea to use thrift store clothing for material.

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    1. Mrs. H,

      Thank you!

      The thrift store has been such a help for finding fabrics that would otherwise be quite costly! Yesterday I scored several linens and a few knits, so it's time to do a bit more sewing! :-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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  2. Shannon,
    I love how creative and resourceful you are! It's always a pleasure for me to see your amazing projects. I just love your blog!

    -Alyssa

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    Replies
    1. Alyssa,

      Thank you so much for your kind words! It's such fun to share my projects here, but it's especially nice to know that someone out there is enjoying them, too! :-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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