I made a dress!

So, I sew.  I'm experienced, but self taught.  And trust me when I say...I'm only self taught so far as I need to be.  I can make what I can make, and I don't travel out of my comfort zone often.  And can I just say, I HATE MATH and numbers and rulers, etc.  When you sew, it's important to be able to measure and cut precisely.  Ya, I don't do that.  So it becomes rather daunting to make an actual garment that someone would have to wear.

But as my sister's birthday was approaching this year, I knew I wanted to give her something personal and not store bought.  I took to Pinterest and quickly found what I wanted to do for her.  A beautiful maxi dress!

This wonderful tutorial by A Small Snippet made it seem so simple.  So I excitedly took off for the fabric store in search of the perfect fabric.  I found it and bought a couple of yards, plus some elastic thread.  So here's the thing: the perfect fabric was silk (eek) and I've never even heard of elastic thread.  I did some reading online and found out that the particular silk I had bought was actually called 'shantung' and while it looks and feels like real silk, it's 100% polyester, which is great because it can be washed relatively easily.  But, it's still a very fragile, not to mention slippery, material and I had to work with it very carefully.

The elastic thread was a pain.  I was so frustrated trying to get it to work.  Finally gave up for the evening, fell asleep watching YouTube videos about it, and awoke with renewed determination.  And it worked!  This stuff is so cool!  Here's what I learned to get it to work: 1) hand wind your bobbin, not too tight, not too loose.  Do it. I tried the machine, and it will not work right. I have a drop in, which in the blog post it says you can use the machine winder, but don't. 2) set your stitch length to a 3.5 or 4. 3) Gently pull the fabric with both hands, one behind the needle, one in front, as it goes through the machine...stretch it out! 4) Keep at it, you'll get it, I promise! 

All of my girls excitedly begged for their own after it was finished.  I may have to make some more :)  It also has a sash that you can use around the waist, although I forgot to take pictures of it.  

There was enough scrap leftover from my sisters dress that I was able to make my four year old her own.  So cute!

So bright and fun!

It ain't pretty, but it works!  Elastic thread in action!

Using my daughter to be sure the length was right

Hemming!

I couldn't get her to hold still so I could get a pic!

She liked it!