I made something I saw on Pinterest!

Yes, I did something I saw on Pinterest!! Yea me! 

I think there should be applause or trumpets or something  that sounds when you do something you see online. They could boast your accomplishment for you.   You could say " Hear that world?  These are the trumpets of productivity proving I am not just sitting here staring at pinterest for hours. "  

My life needs an applause and trumpet button.  Somebody get me one, ok? :)

I made this dress at the beginning of summer but never got around to posting about it.   It was a busy summer! Now that  E is back in school  I have much more quiet computer time. 

Today I have computer time because my car will not start. I am not going anywhere.  I had to cancel my appt with a student  that I was so looking forward to and am  really bummed. Sorry Carolann!! 

So with my new found free time today I will catch up on the blog! :) 

I really wanted to share this dress  because it was my go to dress all summer.  I would literally  pull it out of the dryer and out it on.   It doesn't need ironing or hand washing or any  attention at all. Just wash and wear. It is so comfortable. I love this  fabric - it  very soft.  The elastic makes it super flexible so I could do anything in it.  I wore  it to dinners out, dinners in, play dates, birthday parties, playing on the beach ( the ruffle at the bottom does get  unbelievably  heavy if you misjudge a wave and get wet- just a heads up for ya if you plan on making one and wearing it to the seaside),  going to see bands, end of summer camp programs,  grocery shopping, and   for hanging out at home. Oh and teaching lessons too- My students saw this dress weekly.   Kayla has pointed it out to me a couple of times that I wear this dress a lot on  lesson Saturdays.  :) Yes,  I have worn it most teaching days because it is easy to put on  at 8:30 on  summer Saturday mornings and look like I made effort to get dressed for work. Pulled it right out of the dryer...

Yep. That's Sophie behind me. Just hanging out. Chillin'. 

Here is the inspiration dress:


Isn't it lovely? When I pinned it  I  thought it would be a fantastic dress for summer.  And super easy. When I read the tutorial I realized that the pattern she used for the bodice was very much like  a peasant  top pattern I had for eden. I graded the pattern up to my size, which was gloriously easy: added  to the top of the neckline and sleeves, widened the back & front bodice, lengthened the sleeve and  lowered the armscye. That was it.
 I ordered the same fabric she used in her dress for mine but in black. Of course.  It is a black cotton gauze. It isn't stretchy, but due to the tiny folds in the fabric, it acts stretchy. There is elastic at the neckline, sleeves and where the bodice meets the skirt.

Again,  Sophie is standing behind me.  No pup head shots  at all  in any of these pictures.
 Just side dog. 

I had planned on adding the ruffles on each tier like my inspiration dress but on me, the ruffles just seemed bulky. They didn't look romantic on me. They just kinda made me look fatter.  So I ditched that idea and  just did one longer ruffle at the bottom of the dress.
There are three tiers  in the skirt , I just did not attach the smaller ruffles onto them. The gathering and attaching of the three tiers  and then the bottom ruffle TAKE. FOREVER. Seriously. A fraking long time.    But, I do have to say for this dress, it was totally worth it.  I want to make another one I just have not found the right fabric yet.   For the next dress I am only going to change one thing: I am going to use a different method for  the elastic at the waist. The tutorial says to sew the elastic onto the seam allowance on the inside and I am going to do that.  For this dress, I felt the because the skirt is a little heavy, I needed  a wider elastic. I made a channel out of the bodice seam allowance on the inside. It is ok,  I looks nice, I just want something less visible on the next one.

I love this dress.  Now, in September , it is showing the love. It has faded a bit. I am going to re-dye it black and  wear it all fall and winter.

At the neckline, I used a method from the Kids Peasant Top pattern. I folded the top hem to the inside  then sewed bias tape over that raw edge. I inserted the elastic though the bias tape.  The method gives you a  little ruffle at the top edge and I liked that detail. 

I love this dress  because the elastic keeps the dress close to my body. I can lean over without flashing!

And wow!  can you tell this picture is from the beginning of summer?  That is  one pale  face. :)  :) 

 My student April made this dress too this summer! She was a bit pregnant and wanted a comfy long dress. This fabric has tiny little silver stripes in it and was beautifully thin and breezy.   Doesn't she look lovely for  being almost ready to  have the baby? :)   She also chose to skip the ruffles on the tiers .

April also made a top from the pattern. She used an awesome pink and black plaid .    April decided after making the dress and the top that she was done with gathering and ruffles for a while. Luckily , she had a baby boy so she won't be ruffling any baby clothes.  :)  Baby Dalton is finally here and SO CUTE! He has the most adorable little baby chin you have ever seen :) :

Yea!  A photo with Sophie's face in it- not just her side!