Things I Learned
- Sleeves – It took me awhile to figure out what the instructions for the sleeves were describing. From what I read I thought it was going to have some exposed seams which I didn’t think was correct! Finally I pinned the pieces to replicate where I thought they would be sewn and understood what I needed to do. Sometimes it’s just easier to play around with it than try to imagine the next steps! Unfortunately the length of elastic tape I used was too small for my daughter’s arms — the sleeves were a little too tight. Next time I will measure her arms first to confirm the elastic length!
- Back strap – I was worried about how the strap across the back would turn out and I was actually pleased with the result. I was afraid it wouldn’t be tight enough and would hang loose, but it was nice and tight.
- Ruffles – Attaching the bottom ruffle to the bottom of the skirt panel went fine, but I had a big battle with the upper ruffle. I’m still not sure if it was due to a mistake on my part, the type of fabric I used, or what… For some reason my skirt panel was about 7 inches bigger than the top ruffle and I’m pretty sure stretching the ruffle wasn’t going to make up enough of that difference. I ended up having to gather the top of the skirt panel. It worked out ok, can’t be seen from the outside of the dress, but I know it isn’t perfect. 😦
- Bodice size and length of dress – The bodice ended up being too small for my daughter even though the 110 size was actually supposed to be a little big for her. You can see in the pictures the bodice is pulling in strange areas. The length of the dress is too short too.
I ended up giving this dress to a friend’s daughter who normally wears a size 3T… The bodice is a little roomy for her, but actually looked ok loose-fitting like that. The length was perfect for her. I’m still not sure if I made a mistake somewhere or this size was not right for my daughter. If I try this dress again I’d probably go up a size or do some custom pattern changes to the bodice. Perhaps make it longer and wider.
I really wanted this dress to work! It’s such a cute design.