Thursday, June 20, 2013

The Three-Way Dress With Three Changes + Three Fabrics


The past few weeks have been tough for finding sewing time.  A seriously nasty bout of poison ivy, guys working on our house after some storm damage, plus putting together a bridal shower & other wedding-related arrangements for my sister have left my poor craft room sorely neglected.  And when I finally got a few snippets of free time I was just to tired to start anything new.  So this past weekend I thought I'd ease back into things by making a sweet little dress.



I used a pattern called the Three-Way Dress from Ottobre Design's Spring 3/2009 issue and made some tweaks of my own to get it just right.  As I've mentioned before I've got mixed feelings about Ottobre Design patterns.  I love how many cute, varying size items are in a single issue and I've found some great go-to designs I've used time and time again. However, I've also found the directions frequently vague and the construction steps can be unnecessarily complicated which can be super frustrating.  I've shared some of my other Ottobre Design experiences with the Tiny Trenchcoat, Mariner Dress, Birthday Tea Dress and Union Suit Romper.  The results have ended up nice, but usually with some necessary creative changes.  Luckily this one was pretty minimal.

I had this lovely trio of coordinating prints, the Matilda collection by Alice Kennedy, some new prints from Timeless Treasures, that I knew would be perfect for a little dress.  



This pattern was pretty much a pillowcase dress, but gave sleeveless, flutter and cap sleeved options and I loved the fluttery look.  I made some changes to the sleeves since the pattern said to just serge or overcast the raw edges, which didn't seem very finished to me.  So I cut double the pieces and sewed them together, then topstitched them, so they would be nice and lined instead.


I also opted for using elastic for the gathering at the top instead of running a plain ribbon through for a tie.  This makes it a lot easier to get on and off and keeps the gathering more even after a wash.



It called for using just two prints, one for the body and another for the hem, so I made some bias tape from the tiny raindrop fabric and trimmed the armholes and hem with it.


I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and I love how well the tiny, medium & big prints work together.  It's been a nice way to get my sewing sweetness going again! 


I'm also sharing this project with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.
Click HERE to check them out!

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I received fabric from my Sponsor, Timeless Treasures to use as I desired.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.   For my complete disclosure policy, click here. 

12 comments:

  1. So sweet I Love it and your fabric choices are AWESOME.. Thanks for sharing...

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  2. Really pretty! The fabrics work beautifully together. Thank you for sharing this project!

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  3. The fabrics work so well together, Cheryl... a pretty little dress!!!

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  4. This dress is really cute. Love your choice of fabrics and style, Cheryl!

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  5. Super super cute dress!!! We would love for you to share at our first Super Summer Saturday party here: http://www.thechirpingmoms.com/2013/06/super-summer-saturday-party.html!

    Thanks!
    Julie

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  6. Thank you for sharing on Blog Stalking Thursday! I have featured your project on Blog Stalking Thursday Features YOU! The post is going live later tonight. I would love for you to stop by and grab a feature button. Thanks again for sharing!

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  7. Very, very cute! Love the fabric choices! Found on: The Chirping Moms :)

    Stop over & link up your posts at our SUPER SUNDAY Link Party:
    http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/06/super-sunday-party-4/

    Lori
    Whoneedsacape.com
    Not Your Average Super Moms!

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    1. Thank you Lori & I've headed over to link up and added your button to my party page too!

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  8. This dress is soooo cute! I love it :) Fun for the summer to run around in. I can just picture a little cutie in pig tails having so much fun in this. Alas all boys at my house, I'll have to stick with bugs and mud :) Krista @ A Handful of Everything

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    1. Thanks Krista & having two older boys, I know exactly what you mean. Good news is I'll have some fun boy projects coming up in July:)

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  9. Thanks so much Julie. I've linked up again this week:)

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  10. This is super cute and another one I can see my stepdaughters loving! Thanks for sharing :)

    Jess xo

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Getting your comments brightens my day. I'd love if you left one:)

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