Easter duds: Bess top and Garden Party dress

One more sewing resolution is in the books! I made a Bess top for myself and finished it up the night before Easter. Earlier that day, I decided Stella needed a new dress. Yeah, sometimes I'm irrational. It was mostly done by Sunday morning, but done enough to wear. The ridiculous thing is that one thing lead to another and we didn't even make it to church. Boo! We were running normally late and then Charlotte got into the ashes in the fireplace and made a terrific mess. So we just wore our new duds to the family celebration.

Here's some pictures of my Bess top (there's a mini pattern review at the very bottom):

A close-up of the neat shoulder construction.

A back shot. I had no idea my elbows looked like that. Weird.

And some pics of Stella's late night dress.

And I've started just painting the size on my handmades with fabric paint. As my sewing is getting more prolific, I'm not remembering what size stuff is and that makes organizing it for Charlotte to wear trickier. Tags are needed. I made a bunch of tags by painting (with a toothpick) on twill tape I got from piggy and dirt on etsy, then I realized I could just skip the twill tape step and mimic store-bought clothes. We'll see how it holds up in the wash.

 

 Check out the first thread button loop I've ever made. I liked it as a closure! So delicate.

As with all Oliver + s patterns I've made, the Garden Party dress was pretty wonderful and has a great shape. This one was a fairly fast sew, too. I made a 3T width with extra length and added pockets. The floral fabric was won in a giveaway from Climbing the Willow awhile ago and it just screamed, "Make me into a garden party dress for Easter!" When fabric screams, it's good to listen. Also good to go to bed.

Here's a couple (okay, a lot) of Stella wearing the dress and the girls hunting Easter eggs (actually the the next Sunday. Charlotte is wearing one of my faves (from Ross) that Stella also wore for Easter one year.

 

That is the only way Char would hold her basket. It was so cute.

 

(She's putting more in her sister's basket, not stealing them.)

And a failed family selfie...

Mini pattern review: Bess top from Imagine Gnats

Size made: 12 (I measured a 14 but the consensus from the blogosphere indicated that I might like the fit better if I sized down and it proved true.)

Time spent: Three evenings. One for pattern and fabric cutting, two for sewing.

Fabric and notions: Lisette voile from Joann's clearance rack (score!) and ancient bias tape (I didn't have any matching jersey).

Thoughts: This was a lovely pattern to start my handmade wardrobe with! I will certainly use it again, and I'm not pleased with my bias binding skills so I might try the jersey binding technique the pattern recommends. I cut a tunic, but it was a bit too shapeless, so I trimmed it to a tee and like the shape on me better. I think it would be really fun to add a front placket using the nursing top modifications you and mie used.

Thanks for stopping by!

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