The One In Which I Take The Advice Of Some Very Wise Women

7.17.2016


As I was stuffing dresses into C's closet the other day, I came to the realization that that kid has enough dresses to last her a lifetime and I should really focus more on sewing for O, who has grown out of nearly half of her clothes lately.  I haven't been paying much attention to kid's patterns lately because I've been wholly absorbed with my selfish sewing, but when I saw Rachel's post the other day, I knew that I was going to make a Hummingbird Dress for O.


First though, I just have to say how amazing the sewing community is because without the tips that Erin first passed on to Rachel and Rachel passed on to us, and without the added tips in this post, this dress would not have been as much of a success as it turned out to be.  Thanks to everyone who has ever taken the time to post tips and tricks to make all of our end-products that much better!


So, as for the modifications, I followed the advice of the wise women who went before me and cut out the bodice according to O's chest measurement and then added about two inches to the back bodice piece so that there was a bit more flexibility with the sizing.  I also raised the neckline a bit since several people mentioned that it seemed to hit low on the chest.  Lastly, I followed these instructions for finishing the inside in order to have a dress as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside.


As for the fabric, I picked up some lovely gray Japanese double-gauze the other day at Stiches.  Ben tried to convince me that the fabric was boring and that the kids wouldn't like it, but I had a vision of what I wanted to make and nobody was going to come between me and my vision!  My vision, of course, involved making a gorgeous, flowing summer dress with a lace over-lined bodice and I just so happened to have this lace begging to be made into something since it's been sitting on my shelf for over a year.


Now, I don't want to say "I told you so" or anything, but Ben was definitely wrong when he said that the kids would't be interested in a gray dress because this was C's face when she found out that the dress wasn't for her.


I suppose I'll be making another Hummingbird Dress sometime soon.



7 comments:

  1. What a beautiful dress! Thanks for the tip round-up. Is it mean that I LOL'd at the end 😁?

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  2. OH my goodness, I could not help but laugh out loud at C's face! The dress is so pretty. Rachel's post has me thinking about buying the pattern too, though I am having trouble being motivated since I know I'd have to make all these modifications. In any case, yours is gorgeous. I love the lace with the gray.

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  3. Ahhhhhh!! Such a gorgeous dress! C's face is pretty awesome, I'm not sure I blame her, since it's the BEST DRESS EVER and you MADE IT FOR HER SISTER. I mean WTF, mom? #assholeparent Hahaha, I love the looks of this pattern - so far I'm holding out, but I may collapse at any point.

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  4. This dress is so awesome! I love the way you placed the lace! It turned out so great! I don't blame C for being jealous. I forgot to add in my post that I did raise the neckline on my 2nd and 3rd dresses by about 1/2" and it was perfect!

    O is looking so grown up and the dress is truly stunning. I love seeing you sewing again! You always make the best things!

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  5. Ah that's awesome! Poor C, haha. I love this dress pattern every time I've seen it in blogland but have never pulled the trigger and gotten it myself! Arg!

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  6. Definite snort laugh at the disappointed child face. Sorry :)
    It is a lovely dress. Just the right amount of girly and that grey is so soothing to look at compared to the sea of pinks and prints the kids seem to like.
    Your dress looks a perfect fit, but when I read of how much input is required after a pattern is completed and released, for it to be a great sew, then I'm afraid I just tune out. After all, I would never remember to search for how to make it properly and would launch in and then hate the result. My bad, I know, but isn't that what testing is all about?

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  7. Your C and my Stella are two peas in a pod. Only a few days apart if I remember correctly! Xo

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