Wednesday, January 13, 2010

~Christmas dresses~

I finished The Baby's Christmas dress in time for her to wear it the Sunday before Christmas. Next year, if I make her Christmas dress, I'd like to make it earlier in the month so that she has time to wear it a few more times.



I used Simplicity 2767, which is a "Project Runway" pattern. Having used this one Project Runway pattern, I'm not much of a fan. I ended up buying way more fabric than I needed (which turned out to be a good thing...but still).



I think I took out as many seams as I put in. I don't know why, but sewing this dress was full of frustrations. I thought the sleeves would be way too long, so I shortened them. When I tried the bodice on, the elastic pulled the sleeves up and I realized that I should have left them the same length as the pattern. So this is where the extra fabric came in handy, as I had to cut, sew, and reinstall two new sleeves! Before I hemmed it, I tried it on The Baby and I was ready to throw it away! Thankfully, Kevin talked me into finishing it and I actually liked the end product. LOL So no matter how long you've sewn sometimes projects just don't go the way you hope!

And then, I came home with my Christmas dress. My mom made this for my 2nd Christmas. I'm hoping it fits The Baby next year! Crossing my fingers on this one! I was almost 14 months when my mom made this, and The Baby will be 21 months.



My dad was working his way through college, as well as supporting his wife and baby girl by working at a fabric mill. One day he brought home yards and yards of red wool which had gotten machine oil all over it. My mom was able to fit pieces of the dress here and there, and out of all those yards of fabric, she was able to make this dress!



Now, I have to say, that sometimes being the oldest in a large family just isn't "fair". All of my sisters wore this dress, so somehow they all think it belongs to them. This is the only keepsake item I have from my childhood, and no one wanted me to bring this home. But I have it now. ;-)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

such a mature looking print for a baby

Tammy said...

Why thank you. She is rather mature for her age. ;-)

zauber-a said...

Hey there! I just did a google search for: simplicity 2767 help and ended up at your blog. I see you fought with the pattern recently and I want to share in your frustrations! I've basted the bodice and linings together and set in the sleeves (my daughter wanted the 3/4 sleeves) and am now trying to figure out that darn neck band and facing. This is where I'm going to ask you what you remember about the pattern, besides frustrations...! My neckband is too big. I cannot match up the notches at all to get the bodice gathering right. if I want the shoulder seams to match up, then I can't gather the bodice at all and I still have extra neckband hanging off the edge. I am just about to take the whole thing apart and take in the seams so the whole thing is an inch or so shorter...but I thought I'd google help first. If you happen to have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!! Thanks so much!
Amber

Tammy said...

Hi Amber, I'm sorry you're having troubles with the pattern too!

As you can see in my picture, I definitely gathered the top bodice. I would suggest looking to make sure you cut out the correct size neckband first. And make sure the piece you are using is actually the neckband. Some of the pieces were pretty close looking to each other. If I remember correctly, the pattern for the neckbands was printed several times, rather than just one pattern piece, so it is possible you accidentally cut out a smaller size, which would explain why it is too big.

Other than that, I'm not sure what to tell you. Hope you can get it figured out!

zauber-a said...

pooh. thanks, tammy. I checked the size, and I cut out the right size on the neckband. I suppose I could check the bodice size too. anything at this point.

Tammy said...

Amber, did you ever get your problem figured out?

Anonymous said...

L looked so cute in your dress tonight! Such a treasure to have something for your little girl to wear that your mom made for you! Sue