My Favorite Of All!

I think it may be my favorite because it's my last! The first was really my favorite, since it was for my grand daughter. But, I do like these colors. My school friend who wanted this one for her niece didn't want a hat so it's just a dress and bloomers.


Now, for the process.
First, I sewed the back seam, leaving a couple of inches for a back opening. I simply clean finished the opening. (Pattern directions) Then, the pattern had me sew the top couple of inches of the sides with the wrong sides together, zigzag, and press, turn the rest of the seam with right sides together and stitch as usual. This was so, when the top tier was sewn to the underarm and turned, there wouldn't be a raw seam showing or irritating little armpits.
I learned very quickly that I needed to mark the lines with a water soluble marker for the tiers to be sewn on, so they would be straight. I learned this after having to take one partly apart and redoing it.

The tiers are actually circles with a doughnut hole (doughnut hole, hum... where have I heard that term lately? Oh yeah, when talking to my Mother's insurance people. She seemed ok today, but I still had them check her out.)in the center. The top one is cut through for a back opening. The most frustrating part of this dress style was clean finishing circles! It was easy on the part that was bias cut, around the front and the back, but on the sides where it was cut on the grain, it was hard going around a curve without puckers. Oh, well, I learned to take my time and get it right the first time around! LOL! Around, get it, that was a play on words. I just kill me with my humor. Ha Ha! Don't think I'd make it on prime time comedy hour!
Then I sewed each tier upside down on the dress, then zigzagged each one so there would not be raveling. I learned after the first few of these dresses that I should sew the bottom tier on first, rather than the top one, as the pattern directions suggest. I found that if I did the top one that each previous one was more in the way of the next one while I was sewing. And.... I found that I could make sure that the one above covered the right amount of the one below it. Does any of this make sense?

The top tier was sewn under the arms with the right side of the tier stitched to the wrong side of the dress. I trimmed all of my seams and zigzagged them as it shows in the photo below. Then the top tier is turned right side out and then the yoke is attached.

The yoke front and back were, of course, constructed separately, as usual. The pattern did not call for interfacing, but I added it anyway. I mean there's a button and button hole on the back. Anyway, once the front and back were constructed leaving the outside of the arm band unsewn about halfway up, the shoulders were connected. The opening for turning is on the outside of the arm band. This was different for me, but I liked it. To finish, there was a button hole and button, as I said, and then the hand whip stitching to sew down the facing and close up the arm band opening.
Look at that arthritic knuckle on my thumb!! The other one is worse!




The bonnet was not supposed to be lined, but I didn't want to look into an unfinished hat, so I made it hard on myself. The brim was easy. I zigzagged around the scallops of the smaller piece to the larger one. Then I sewed the right sides of the larger piece around the scallops and tuned it. To line the sides of the bonnet, I sandwiched the brim inside the two side pieces with interfacing lining one of them. The pattern did not call for interfacing except in the brim, but I added it anyway. Now, for the back of the bonnet. First I pinned one of the back horse shoe pieces with the interfacing to the sides. Then I squished the whole hat together so I could sandwich the sides into the two backs. After stitching this and turning it right side out, I cut a bias cut piece of one of the fabrics to bind the bottom of the sides and back. Then, I just added ribbon ties.