This one started out as a sewing fail. Well, not a sewing fail really; more like a style fail. It's quite evident that I'm just getting back into the swing of sewing, as I forgot to fussy-cut the fabric (english: line up the print on the fabric with the pattern). You can see what I mean in the above photo, the circles aren't centered, and the pattern in the skirt isn't centered. In the end though, it turns out that I didn't even care for these two color schemes together anyway. Luckily, this was fabric I bought just for this dress, not something pulled from my stash, so I was able to order more. Speaking of buying fabric, some designers are really really hard to find in England, so I end up ordering a lot of fabric from the States. The original dress is still pretty cute, and might show up at a discount in my Etsy shop if I can ever get it up and running.
I really love this little dress. So many nice details. The skirt is lined and the bodice is faced. There is elastic in the back to help it fit better. I took extra care to make sure all the edges were finished off nicely. I serged all the exposed inside seams (which is SCARY! see note after jump about my serger issues). And see how the fabric print is all nice and centered now? Muuuch better.
The only place I altered from the pattern was with the snaps. The pattern called for buttons, but I just love using my snap press, and since I chose to lug it all this way in the move, I decided to use it. I really like the way the snaps look too.
The bloomers and hat turned out lovely on the first try; except for that silly butterfly, but more on that later. I made a smaller size of the bloomers previously, and remember something about the elastic lengths being way off. Too much in the top and not enough in the bottom, or something like that. I didn't have that problem this time. Everything looks about right to me. Not that I would really know, having two boys I don't have much experience with bloomers.
This little hat is cute, and I'm so glad I figured out a way to sew the points where they all line up perfectly!! I might just have to do a tutorial on that actually... The butterfly isn't my favorite, but I think the biggest reason for that is because I put the wrong side of the velcro on the butterfly portion. Have you ever tried to stuff toy filling through an opening flanked with velcro (the scratchy side)?? Oy!
Tomorrow is the final day of Baby Week. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. I'll do a review of the week and I'll show off the final piece (a baby blanket), and show how I wrapped it all up to send off to my family.
PS-About my serger... My serger isn't dual voltage, which means I need a power converter to use it here in the UK. The power converter 'steps-down' the super high voltage here so that the motor doesn't blow up when I run it. However. I think I need to buy a higher quality converter. Ahem. When I use my machine, it is SOOOO fast. I have a really hard time controlling the speed, and sometimes it gets going so fast that it starts to shake and shudder. I end up with frazzled nerves and shaking hands each time I use it (electricity issues scare me). I have a feeling that my converter isn't fulling stepping down the voltage, so instead of getting 110v as it should, it's getting a bit more and therefore running out of control.
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