Shhhhh...it's a Surprise!

The Sewing

My youngest daughter is turning 5 next month.  She wanted me to sew her a dress.  How could I resist?  My oldest has already outgrown the type of girly-girl dresses that are so fun and easy to sew, made out of well behaved woven cotton.  The fabric came from Dots and Stripes, always a pleasure to deal with and on sale this time, woohoo!

I used Burda 6-2010-147, as a starting point.  But, I made a few changes.  I omitted the buttons and opted for shirring instead.  Florence, at Flossie Tea Cakes, has a very good to tutorial on sheering. I found it hard to believe that hand winding, thick elastic thread around my bobbin would ever end well, but it was a snap!

Front view.

My dirndl skirt is fuller than Burda'a, the fabric I used was 145cm/56" wide and I used 2 full widths.  My strips were 12" long, so the finished skirt is probably about 10 1/2" long.  I also added some dark, pink ric-rac to the hem.  Here is a tutorial for adding ric-rac to a hem with lots of nice pictures.

Back view with shirring.

To change the bodice for shirring, I used the front pattern piece as it was designed, but dropped the back.  I lined up the pattern pieces and used a rotary cutter to make a clean, straight line at the top, removing all the armscye.  I think shirring with a curved arm hole would be very difficult, if even possible.  When cutting out the back piece, rather than putting the centre back on the fold, I moved it 3 inches away from the fold, carefully using a quilter's ruler to make sure the pattern stayed straight. This way the width of the back was increased to allow for the shirring.

Here is how I modified the pattern.  Click on the picture to enlarge.

Post script on Previous Sewing


Regarding the black ponte trousers I made from Burda 01-2012-120, I still stand by the pattern, but I am disappointed with the fabric I chose.  I took the pants with me on a three day weekend and after wearing them several times, they stretched out a bit.  They haven't snapped back fully after washing, either.  Also, there is pilling on the inside upper thighs.  Sigh.  I bought the fabric from TissuFabric.  I used the very same fabric for a Butterick dress that I have worn many times, and the dress has worn well.  But for something with negative ease, this fabric just doesn't have the stretch recovery.


My goofy, harem pants have actually had a lot of wear.  They fit nicely over bike shorts, and the close cut ankles means they can't get caught in a bike chain.  I even wore them to play badminton with friends!  I keep using them because they are comfortable and surprising practical and easy to move in.  However, whenever I wear them, I feel ridiculous.  So, today, I went and bought some rtw yoga pants.  I just couldn't keep doing this to my family and friends who have to be seen with me, lol.

Personal Stuff

My husband and I had a three day weekend in Wales without the children.  This is the first time we have done that since the eldest was born 8 years ago!  It was nice to find out that we still had things to talk about and liked each other's company.  We stayed at a lovely B&B, Ffynnon, and did some hiking and good eating.  For such a wild, rugged place the food was remarkable, just superb really.  

There were hardly any tourists about.  Maybe because it was February?  Don't know.  I would highly recommend a trip to Wales to anyone.  Romatic castles, challenging hikes, the best mountain biking in Britian, a thriving gastro scene, and friendly people who still speak their own ancient language, but will talk to you in English without making you feel like a twit.

What I did Valentine's Day
On the way to Penygadair, the peak of Cadair Idris.