Today at Preschool we celebrated Easter with egg dying, Easter coloring sheets, and an Easter egg hunt! Jessica and River wore the matching dresses I made for them. Aren't they sweet?
The dresses are a little bit big, but I am sure they will fill them out by the end of the summer! I made the dresses in a size 5 and altered them to fit now. I took up the back at the zipper and the hem of the dress. I also placed the ribbons I used for straps where they would fit them now, not where the pattern said to put them! All three of those things are easy to go back in and fix later! Here are some pictures of the girls and our Preschool egg hunt!
Such sweet dreses. I have alway wanted to take up sewing, but it almost seems like buying clothes on discount is cheaper than buying the materials and patterns to make them myself. Have you found that to be true, or do you get away with doing it cheaply? If you have, please share your secrets!
ReplyDeleteJill, people ask me this all the time, and later I may do a whole post on it. I most definitely do it cheaply!! I rarely spend more than $1-$2 per dress that will last 4 years!!! The dresses I have made for Jessica are usually a size 5 that I alter each year as she grows. (last year she was a size 1) The fabric I use was either given to me, re-purposed from our clothes, scraps from something else, or bought on sale. I rarely spend more than $1 a yard.
ReplyDeleteThe real trick though is finding 1 simple, classic, pattern that has several different styles you can make. Also if the pattern uses straps then it is easier to make it several sizes bigger and then alter it to fit. (Sleeves make that rather challenging!) You can also get the pattern on sale for less than $1. I use the same pattern over and over again. I just choose different styles, use different fabrics, add some trim, piping, machine embroider, hand embroider, smock, etc to make them look different.
Usually the most expensive part of making Jessica a dress is buying the zipper! I try to avoid trims except on occasion because they can be rather expensive. I try to find other (less expensive) ways to embellish her dresses. What it all comes down to is finding one basic pattern, and then changing things up to make it cheaper and more interesting!
Oh and the remnant bin can be a great place to look for fabric for little girls as a lot of times you only need 1 yard!
ReplyDeleteOh and the reason I choose to use a zipper is because it is easier to significantly alter the size than if you made button holes!
ReplyDelete