Hi, everybody! How was your weekend? Mine was nice and productive. I spent a good several hours of my weekend sewing. I told you all in my last post that I got my pattern pieces cut out and got my hands on some material for my first draft of this dress, Butterick 6453. Saturday night was the night I got started on it. I cut out the fabric, made the darts and princess seams: steps 1-4 of the sew along, before bed.
Sunday morning I made my straps, put together the pockets, and then sewed the skirt at the side and back seams. This was about the time my family and I made a trip into Jackson for a few hours. I had some shopping to do, the boy wanted to go jump at Sky Zone, and then we made our way to eat dinner at Red Robin. Even though all of this was taking away from my sewing time, I was happy being out and not having to cook.
We got back home and I got back to my dress. I finished gathering those super long skirt pieces – all stitched together they were as wide as I am tall, no kidding! I added the bodice to the skirt and tried it on with clothes pins to close up the back where the zipper will go. You might not be able to tell in the picture at the bottom of the post, but this dress is a little on the big side. I went a size up from my usual when I cut it out, based on the finished garment measurements at this size being closer to my actual size, and I was a little hesitant about doing this. It is always best to err on the side of too big when it comes to making clothes though, so I won’t beat myself up too much about my decision to size up. There is still hope for this one.
A few things I want to point out about my experiences with this dress so far:
- My material was very much directional and the pattern has you cutting out the skirt on the cross grain – it is intended for a border print, after all. I didn’t want sideways cherries, so I opened up my material full width, and cut all the skirt pieces along the grain. I couldn’t cut the front skirt on the fold doing it this way, so I cut two fronts and stitched them down the middle. Noticeable at first, yes, but not one bit once I got the gathering done.
- I didn’t get any of the recommended strap sliders, and after doing what I have done so far, it’s not too late to add a pair of these. I will be stopping somewhere tomorrow to get a couple of sets. I think they will make dealing with the strap placement and fit much better. My other make of this dress will have them as well.
- I am following the online tutorial completely and haven’t even opened up the pattern instructions once. Gertie’s step by step tutorial online is very easy to understand and I am enjoying the few little tips here and there that she offers for this make.
I think that is all I have to say about this one so far. I joined the Facebook group for this sew along and I love seeing all the posts of everyone’s makes. So much inspiration! I will be back again next week with my part 2.
Rejoice for the Day 
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