A Dress for Little Lady

I’ve always told myself that I’m a crafty person. On further reflection though, I have decided that I’m more creative than crafty. I have good ideas and good intentions, but when it comes to actually making things, my skills are poor and my patience is low.

Last year I made all of my Christmas presents and it nearly killed me. The first cushion cover was fun. The other seven were just plain annoying. And, full of gaps in the seams, which I didn’t discover until I was wrapping them. I made a bracelet for my brother’s partner; it took four attempts before I finally created something that looked wearable. I made my brother a case for passports etc, as they were heading off to Scotland for Christmas; it was just a basic pencil case with a zip, that somehow ended up wonky and with a hand sewn zip because for the life of me I couldn’t get it to work on the sewing machine. The only gifts that I made that I was really proud of were; a patchwork quilt for my baby niece (thanks to lots of help from a lovely girlfriend) and some hampers of baked goods and jams. Everyone was gracious and full of compliments, but I quietly swore that I would never do it again.

And so, I think you can understand why my latest project feels a little daunting. I am going to make Little Lady some summer dresses. This time, however, I have help, in the form of my Grandma. Grandma is the daughter of a tailor and has been making garments for years.  All of my dresses when I was a child were made with love by Grandma. She doesn’t sew much now, but she’s willing to teach me.

So, last week we headed off to Spotlight to buy patterns and fabric. This is what I brought home:

The total cost of the fabric was $15, this is enough for two dresses, and the pattern was $10. Patterns are not exactly cheap, and this is a relatively simple one, but patterns can be re used. In fact, I already have plans to re-use this pattern and make LL a couple of pinafores for winter using corduroy instead of cotton.

This pattern is a perfect little dress for summer. It can be worn on it’s own on a hot day, or with a little blouse or tee-shirt underneath in cooler weather. I predict that LL will get lots of wear out of these dresses, and at $13.50 each, plus a little work, I’m quite happy with my savings!

So, why not try it yourself? Start with something simple, and ask for guidance from someone who knows what they’re doing. I’ll post some photos of the finished dresses soon..