The first dress for any doll is always a learning dress, because a new doll means fashions I haven’t sewn before and techniques I’m not familiar with. I never use my favorite fabric because I know, inevitably, the dress will disappoint me. But it will also teach me things I can’t learn any other way.
It’s the path I have to take in order to make better dresses.
So far, working on Maddie’s first dress has taught me several things:
The ruching at the center of enfantine bodices is harder than it looks.
Hat making is a good distraction from unsatisfying ruching.
Cats are not a good distraction from anything in your sewing room.
Three cans of Diet Coke in one hour is too much.
Two things that should not be combined are: cats and almost-empty soda cans.
Husbands who offer to cook dinner are worth their weight in antique fabric.
Other than this, there’s not much to report from the workroom, but I’ll leave you with a final thought to ponder:
Hemingway rewrote the final words of A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times. Proof positive that before there is brilliance, there is always struggle and failure.
To continue following along with Maddie’s first dress project, click HERE.
To see all of Maddie’s wardrobe projects so far, click HERE.