And diligence produces results…. in an evening.  Yesterday evening, to be precise.  Well, it helps that the dress is an “easy” dress and that I’ve made it before!!!  Ah, yes…. the first dress for Niece 1 is complete!  Yay!  I used Vogue 8380, and made some changes to accommodate growth over the next year or so.

The fabric is a vivid purple cotton voile with a crazy multi-coloured cotton print in a flowery sketchy sort of design.  I used the multi-coloured cotton for the neckline tie and the armhole and waistband facings.  The tie is intended to sit in a bow at the left shoulder, but because the purple fabric is so plain, I moved the bow to the front.

Pattern alterations:  At the CF of the casing I added a buttonhole so that I could tie the bow there.  I just thought it would look nicer than off to the side.  Besides, I didn’t quite have enough fabric, so I had to piece the bodice at the CB and the CF.  The tie at the centre camouflages the piecing seam.

I also added about 12 inches of width in the back waistband and bodice to match the width of the back skirt.  Then I sewed two channels for 3/4” wide elastic and threaded that through to bring fit to the waistline.  It will accommodate her growth over the next year or so, I hope.

I omitted the side zipper because of the elastic waist.  It should go over DN’s head easily enough.  I shortened the bodice by about 1 inch, and the skirt by about 4 inches, as she’s only 8 years old.  The only other change I made was to tack the centre of the tie at the CB through all layers of the casing so that it will not move around.

Thoughts:  This is a really cute pattern, and easy enough to put together.  The instructions are well written, and although I made a lot of changes, it was helpful to refer to them for the basic construction of the dress.

In Me Made June news….

Day 28 outfit:  Yesterday was a 3H (hot, hazy & humid) day here in Toronto, so I dressed simply and coolly (temperature wise, that is).  Dress is a red cotton pique version of OOP Vogue 2864 lined in bemberg.  It’s comfortable and washes well.  The only thing I don’t like about it particularly is that it does stretch out of shape as I wear it because the fabric has no lycra.  Whatever.  It’s casual for a casual day.

And the cherries are almost ready for picking.  We’ve two – TWO – trees of black cherries in our back yard.  I do not like cherries.  Sad, but true.