just a little dress
A gift from the grandniece's aunt:
Silly me, I think, wow, maybe I could copy that pattern for the grandniece. I traced around the bodice part on my pattern paper (I use a roll of medical exam room paper), assuming I could figure out the skirt later (rectangular piece, cut and sewn like a regular skirt, sewed a basting thread on one edge and pulled it tight for a ruffle, then sewn to the bottom edge of the bodice). Starting with this dress, recycled from her poppa's old Hawaiian shirt.
Then I planned on a dress for a co-worker, using a cute dotted pattern and a coordinating print. But I got a ton of the dotted material, so I practiced on another dress for the grandniece, making the shoulder straps a little better. The bodice comes up on the chest a little ways, and the straps have an elastic strip inside, sewn to each edge of the bodice and then the elastic causes the ruffley-look on the strap.
Finally the co-worker's dress, finished. The bodice is made from four pieces, front and back, and lining front and back.
The bodice was lined with the dotted material. I did not add a tie as with the original dress, but maybe the next dress will have one.
