(For the record, I really don't take myself this seriously... I just had fun thinking of a name and creating that picture!)
I was browsing inside the BabyGap store not too long ago, and saw this cute dress:
and immediately thought "Hey! I can totally make that!"
I already had some lace trim in my stash from thrift store trips, and got the rest of the trims from JoAnn.
I decided I wanted it to be shades of creams and whites, and different textures, too.
I took one of Mo's white shirts, a dress of Ava's, and got to work.
I already started chopping before I realized that maybe I want to take pictures for a tutorial.
Anyway, fold your shirt and dress in half, placing dress on top, and cut around the dress, using it like a pattern.
next, cut the armholes and shorten length of the straps.
sew the straps back together, rights sides facing.
Then, starting at the bottom of the dress, pin the trim you think would look prettiest hanging off the dress.
next, decide the order you want your trims to layer the dress. Once you have that figured out, pull them off to the side (keeping their order), and sew each trim, working your way up from the bottom. If you happen to have any trims that lay flat (not already ruffled) right across the upper belly, run them through your machine with a basting stitch, then pin them on the dress. I should have done this, but hindsight is 20/20, I guess!
(why, yes, those are coconut cream Hershey's Kisses! best. treat. ever.)
Once I had all the trims sewn on, I took a lace window curtain I picked up from the thrift store, and used that to cover the back. The BabyGap dress is just plain jersey in the back, but I didn't really like that, it just seemed too bipolar to me or something.
I don't have a picture, but when sewing the neck, you have to cut little triangles in the lace about every half-inch to inch or so, so that the lace doesn't get all puckered.
(at this point I think I just forgot to take pictures -it was late.)
Pin and sew around all the edges.
Then, put right sides of dress together and sew down both sides!
9 comments:
I love this!! Make me one? ;) Seriously though, such a good job. She looks like an Anthropologie model.
Thank you, Regan! I had fun making this... maybe I can figure out a way to make an adult version (that doesn't look ridiculous!), maybe a shirt, or just around the neckline having a few rows of ruffles or something. hmmm...
Way to go, Barbi! You deserve all the kudos - this dress is gorgeous. :)
aww... thank you, Lori!
Love this Barbi,
I'm impressed. Love the model too.
Good name 'The Valencia Dress '
Keep it up, I think it could make a great adult shirt or dress too!
This looks fantastic! Definitely gonna think about making a me-sized one
ooo, love this SO much! You did a fantastic job! My little daughter has been begging for a "wedding" dress, and this would do the job beautifully! She is adopted from an Asian country and has a "big girl" Asian friend who is getting married next week and who has a ~spectacular~ wedding dress, and I know my three-year-old will be going crazy wanting a dress of her own. I don't understand your comment about trim that lays flat across the upper belly and the basting stitch -- do you mean that trim should be ruffled first by machine, or that you like it laying flat, or that it should be sewn differently than the rest of the lace, or -- ? I am so excited to get started on this beautiful project but wasn't quite sure what you meant. Oh, also, since you were sewing with both cotton and knit, did you use a ball needle or a universal? And I agree with the other commenters -- I want to make a blouse like this for me! Thank you for posting!!!
Hello! Thank you so much for your kind comments on my dress! Sorry about the confusion--what I meant was that looking back I should have run a basting stitch across the flat trims (ruffled them) that were going to be laying across the upper belly before I sewed them onto the dress. And I used a universal needle, which worked out fine, but if my ball needles weren't all broken, I would've used those. ;)
Another thing that might be helpful to you, (another hindsight thing!) is if you're going to sew a sheet of lace on the back, instead of doing what I did around the neck and arms (folding the lace over, pinning, then sewing), just put right sides together, sew along the neck and arms -with the whole back of the dress detached from the front of the dress- then flip rightside out, and attach to the other part of dress. Hopefully I didn't confuse you more??! And I hope I cleared up your confusion with the ruffling!
Have fun making this! Let me know if you end up making an adult sized version, and how it went with your daughter! :) I'd love to see how it turned out!
Awesome, AWESOME!!! I LOVE the dress. And your tutorial is perfect. You seem like you've been doing this for years. I'm hoping for more... :)
Miss you!
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