Another Project Finished

The Leopard Dress is done! This is New Look 6583 in Savannah's favorite "color." Of course, it will look much better with some black tights, and a turtleneck tee underneath. But, we couldn't find those things this afternoon and we wanted to go ahead and post the picture.

Originally I planned to just do the base model of this dress which simply has the two flounces out of the main fabric. But I had this piece of black and white gingham lying by the ironing board, and I started playing around with it and wondering how it would look as a contrast fabric. So I cut two more flounces out of the gingham (Nothing like narrow hemming four flounces instead of two!) and basted it all together. I liked it, so I kept it. You can't really tell from the picture, but the gingham really breaks up the leopard and adds a "girlie" touch to the outfit. Plus, I'm thinking of doing the jacket out of black corduroy and I'll be able to use the leopard and/or the gingham for trim!

This dress is really easy. Narrow hemming the flounces was time consuming, but not hard. I considered using my serger to do a rolled hem, but decided that wasn't the look I was after. It would have been much quicker, and it's something I might try next time. There are only four pattern pieces to this dress- front, back and two flounces, so cutting is quick. It goes together in a flash, too. I used an invisible zipper because they're so quick and easy to insert. You can't see it, but I used bias strips of the gingham to bind the armholes and the neck edge. I made a size six, and there's plenty of room for a tee underneath and to grow. Thank goodness I took the time to trace this pattern before cutting because I can easily see myself making this again later.

And here is the Lizzie McGuire dress and shrug that I blogged about a while back.

This is Simplicity4248 out of Hello Kitty quilting cotton trimmed in white crocheted lace. The shrug is lime green Kona cotton. The silk flower is a pink daisy from Hobby Lobby with the stem removed and a pin back attached so that it's removable.

This dress turned out cute, but really short. Savannah won't be able to wear it very long. I made a size six, as usual, and I didn't think to check the length before cutting. It would have been very easy to add a couple of inches to the dress pieces. I won't be making this again, but I have lots of other Lizzie McGuire patterns and I know now to check the length if I decide to make any others.

So this wraps up two more works in progress. I have two smocking projects going right now, too, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing night in my armchair tonight watching TV and smocking. I might post pictures of those later. If I share them, I'll hopefully feel motivated to finish them quickly.