Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Belated Sundress

Why belated? Because I think I made this dress for Rosa when she was about nine months old. And considering that nine months is about half of her current lifespan, I think that's rather belated!

But better late than never, right?




I used a thrifted linen skirt (beautiful, but not my style), so the whole project cost $1 in materials. See the fancy diamond pintucks on the yoke? I totally did all of that myself  That was one of the skirt's details, which I just had to salvage. Basically, using thrifted clothing can not only save you a bunch of moolah, it can also save you a ton of work (or just make your projects more interesting, because it's highly unlikely I would have bothered with all of those tucks). 




The pattern is one I drafted myself, probably using an existing pattern to get some idea for the size (it's been a while since I made this, so I can't be sure!). I used my favorite placket method -- a seam up the center back, with a strip of fabric for the placket. It's so very easy that I almost can't stand any other kind of placket.




It's always a challenge to work an entire dress or project out of an existing garment -- sometimes it requires quite a bit of creativity! Or at least some contrast fabric. *wink* Fortunately I was able to get every single piece that I needed, with a few ruffles to boot. The bodice is lined (which conveniently envelops the bodice/skirt seam).

This dress has been worn so many times since it was made! Which you can tell a bit from the pictures. It lasted beyond summer into winter (this is Florida, so I could pair it with a sweater for cooler weather), and it's still going strong. I'm discovering that dresses are the best when it comes to lasting more than one size.  




I mentioned my love of leather in my last post, and now this post features one of my other loves (linen). But you know, I love the little person inside the linen best.

4 comments:

  1. Oh I love the sun dress. It's great how long you have used it, and that it is upcycled from the linen skirt. That style of back placket is also my favorite, as it is so easy to construct. It also allows for the large button that is so popular on girls' dresses nowadays. Prim blessings :)

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    1. Danice,

      Thank you! I've been surprised by how long it's lasted -- I made it rather long, so I suppose that helps. Even now she doesn't need leggings with it, in spite of some major growth spurts over the past few months.

      And yay for easy plackets! :-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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  2. This is so sweet! I like the way you used the detail from the skirt. :)

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    1. Thanks, Brooke! I was certainly chuffed to be able to "recycle" that pintuck detail! :-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

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