Saturday, July 19, 2014

best. sister. ever.

That's me.... BEST SISTER EVER... in case you didn't know. Why? Because I made my little sister this for her 26th birthday:


A cotton jersey, peacock feather, maxi-dress! With a racer-back!


The fabric is from GirlCharlee.com. This was my first experience with them. Their fabric is very affordable and the service is excellent. You can get up to four swatches free, just ask. The pattern is McCalls 6744. What's great about sewing for my sister is that I usually don't have to make any pattern adjustments. She is a perfectly proportioned for the most Big-4 patterns, and even the design height at 5'7". Despite out different heights and body shapes, we have about the same bust-waist-hip measurements, so I can make her dress right out of the envelope, try it on me and know what I'll need to adjust when I make a version for myself (navy with polka-dots maybe?). 

This dress is very easy, and you can get a maxi-dress out of just 2 yards of 60-wide fabric. The whole dress took me 3 hours, including cutting out the 4 pieces. The neck and arm holes are finished with a simple narrow hem; a breeze on stable, cotton jersey. I didn't measure, press or pin before stitching, just eye-balled it as I sewed and it came out pretty good!



My serger needs a new cutting blade, otherwise I totally would have done the side seams on it. Instead I did two lines of narrow zig-zag stitching then clipped my seam allowance close. 


I'm quite pleased and hope she is too! I suspect a cool cotton jersey maxidress will get a lot of wear when the days get hot in Philadelphia. And given the timing... would Oona approve of this make?

6 comments:

  1. What a success! Love the fabric. It must be so satisfying to give a lovely gift made by you. Thanks for the details of how you put it together too.

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  2. Yup, officially Best Sister Ever. :) That's a really lovely gift, and so thoughtful. I'm sure she'll love it!

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  3. And was she happy with it? I'm sure she was, it looks great! Looks like something you could wear all summer and be super comfy while looking stylish!

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  4. Indeed, a sister that can sew is a wonderful thing! & what fabulous fabric - works so well with the design.

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  5. Hi it's Nicole from The Girl Charlee Team. This dress is absolutely adorable! If you send 1-2 images of your final projects to gcblog@girlcharlee.com, you can be featured in our monthly Knit Picks post. Thanks for the linking back to us!

    www.girlcharlee.com

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  6. Do you remember what this fabric is called? I can't seem to find it on Girl Charlee. Thanks!

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