Bella's sporting her new fitted jersey dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design. I made the sleeveless, knee-length version, and then used circle-spiral appliques to embellish the hem. The circle spiral is a great entry point for the new embellisher--no paint or stencils are necessary, just the ability to cut out a sort-of circle. And sewing them on a garment is great fun.
The dress is topped with a cap-sleeved bolero from the same book. Such an easy pattern, and it takes just a dab of fabric. Also I've found that it fits both my differently-shaped girls like a glove. It's such a lovely design.
Looks good - and she's sporting a smile too.
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS dress on Bella--she looks smashing in those colors. You keep nudging me closer and closer to starting to think about One Day trying one of these dresses.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteLovely and a smile too:)
ReplyDeleteGod is good:)
In Christ,
Sandy
That dress looks amazing on Bella. And look at that - she's smiling at the camera. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe colour is just perfect for Bella.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous dress. Well done!
ReplyDeleteSonya
Now there's a style that could be made in about every color~lovely!
ReplyDeleteOh my she looks beautiful! Perfect colo for her!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you and your daughters give careful consideration to silhouettes and colours that flatter you individually. Clothing only really works if it suits you, and once you figure out what suits you it makes clothing selection so much easier. You've given your daughters a real leg up at a young age!
ReplyDeleteLove the finished product. It even made her smile for the camera. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love that color! It reminds me of Daisy's mango wall. Gorgeous Bella!
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIt looks wonderful ...
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous colour on her.
ReplyDeleteLovely! I love the design of the bolero with the dress too. I didn't realize at first that it was two pieces.
ReplyDeleteThe latest issue of Better Homes & Gardens arrived at my house today. The paint palate for the month is "Tomato Hues" and it reminded me immediately of your previous post of this gorgeous piece in progress.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful dress, lovely girl, and the combination is perfect! You are tempting me with this Alabama studio sewing . . .
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. Just gorgeous! Both the girl and the dress ;-)
ReplyDeleteDid you sew the spirals on after the dress was sewn, or before?
For a momma of many with limited stitching time, would you suggest machine sewing a quick 'muslin' to test for fit before embarking on hand-sewing an entire garment?
I would definitely sew a test run by machine (use a zigzag stitch) to check the fit. I even machine-sew the seams when the fit is right (sometimes) and then do a hand-finish. Also, cheap cotton-poly jersey can sometimes be found for a fitting try.
ReplyDeleteI appliqued after the seams were sewn. You can do either way, but don't let any of the applique fabric land in the seam allowance if you do the applique first.
thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh ~ I'm so glad you said that! That was one thing I wondered about - machine sewing the actual seams, then hand stitching the rest.
now, to find inexpensive quality jersey...