It started with love at first sight . . . (doesn’t it always?)
The green dress in the above fashion plate caught my eye and next thing I knew, I was dreaming up how something similar could be constructed.
Well.
Making this frothy delightfulness required a LOT of trial and error. The sleeves themselves became a weeks-long marathon of failed attempt after failed attempt. And then there was the math – to get the gathers distributed across waistbands proportionately . . . and ruffles overlapping perfectly . . .
I was prepared for all of this, headache inducing as it is.
What I was NOT prepared for was the broken heart (are we ever?)
Not far into the project, my yummy antique Civil War silk decided it had no intention of surviving another decade. Every time I folded something, it split along my fold. Which meant I couldn’t pull on it, or match checks with any level of assertiveness, or comb gathers into submission . . . In some places, my carefully stitched hems are the only thing holding the ruffles together. And if you think I’m exagerating, just look at this sleeve:
Needless to say, sewing this dress seemed to take f . . . o . . . r . . . e . . . v . . . e . . .r.
When the moment finally came to fit everything onto Maddie, I was tempted to throw my fists into the air – as if I’d won something by crossing that finish line.
I’m not quite sure what that something is . . .
But believe you me – I’m going to celebrate it anyway! And you can see the finished dress for yourself over HERE.
To follow along with Maddie’s Almost Spring Dress project, click HERE.
To see all of her wardrobe so far, click HERE.