Handmade Wardrobe // first of spring

Fabric : pucker gingham from Joann

my dress: Megan Nielsen Darling Ranges dress lengthened and with added ruffle hem, buttons by Tabitha Sewer

Penny’s dress: Oh Oh My Sewing Sunflower dress

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We may be living in a crazy time right now - self isolating, staying at home, etc, but I can’t stop making pretty things. Sewing keeps me occupied and sane. So while we technically don’t have anywhere to wear these pretty dresses right now, it makes me pretty happy to have them made and in our closets.

My dress is an old tried and true for me - the Darling Ranges dress. I made it maxi length by simply extending the skirt pattern (its a rectangle, so easy to do), and adding an additional rectangular piece ruffle on the bottom. I also brought the neckline up by 1”, and made it sleeveless by just leaving the sleeves off and finishing the raw edges with bias facings instead. I probably should have brought the armscye and shoulder seam in a little bit, so that the shoulders are not so wide. Bt alas, I forgot to.

I was so excited to use these Tabitha Sewer buttons with this fabric! They are called the ‘macaroni’ wood buttons, but I actually see little rainbow shapes. My only regret is not purchasing just one more pack of them to use on P’s dress too. I actually didn’t realize I would have enough fabric left to make anything for P, so that’s why I didn’t. But I suppose that’s an easy thing to swap out if I decided to go back and purchase more later! For now, I’ve used some vintage mix-and-match white buttons from my my grandma’s old stash for hers. Still cute!

Handmade wardrobe // lena horne

Dress: Tabitha Sewer Lena Horne dress

Penny’s dress: McCall’s 7739

fabric: bubble crepe from Cali Fabrics (interfaced and lined for body and stability)

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GUYS, I’m SO excited about how this dress turned out! When Tabitha Sewer first released her Lena Horne pattern, I immediately pictured it in this mustard-y medallion fabric I’ve been hoarding in my stash. Problem was, this fabric is a crepe. A lightweight and drapey crepe. Something suited more for a flowy dress or blouse, and I really wanted the ruffles on my Lean Horne to have body and weight. But I was determined, so I interfaced the ruffles to give them stability so they stood up more and didn’t drape, and I lined the bodice in a cotton for more added stability. and as a quick add-on, I attached a ruffled flounce along the bottom hem. It just made sense to me with the whole vibe of the fabric/dress combo. Kind of like a 70’s boho vibe, I think. Yes?

I did have a few set backs with this make. I had to completely remove the bust darts, but thats my issue, not the pattern’s (no boobs problem. Like literally, no boobs. I can get away with no bust darts at all). I also struggled with the fact that the interfaced underside of the ruffle was visible. I really wanted to double layer/line the ruffles, but didn’t have enough fabric since I was determined to make a dress for Penny too. And speaking of Penny’s, I also kind of struggled with hers, too. The pattern seemed like a perfect match. But because I was working with limited leftover fabric and I was in a rush to finish it, it didn’t turn out quite as much of a match as I was picturing. The dress itself was huge, even though I cut out her size. I ended up having to add a little pleat in the front to help keep it on her shoulders. And the shape of the ruffle is much wider and drapy-er than the Lena Horne ruffle. If I would’ve been paying more attention and slowed down when making it, I would’ve modified her ruffle to be less wide, longer and more gathered. So that it looked similar to mine. But c’est la vie. It’s still a really cute dress once I get past the fact that its not a perfect match for mine. She looked freakin adorable twirling around in it. And since its so big, she’ll be able to wear it for years, ha.

But seriously - my dress? OBSESSED. I need some place to wear this baby more often.