She's Sew Modish: Finally, progress on the Ladybug dresses

You mean my ladybug dress?

Yes, (Thing 3) it's time to make your ladybug dress.

Really, it is!?!

Progress (finally)!

So here is a part of the process:

Step 1) The beginning. Figure out pattern and fabric of your dreams. This is when delusions of grandeur and angels singing, harps being played happen. Enjoy it now, the rest maybe a downhill ride.

Step 2) Start shopping. Buy pattern of your dreams and hope (if it is a secondhand pattern) it is complete and in good condition. Heck, hope if it is store bought that it is complete. It can happen.

Step3) Find and purchase fabric. Spend a lot more on fabric than you would like, silently cursing yourself for the total cost of it all while you are doing a little jig of happiness because the material is real, it is in your hands and not a figment of your over active imagination.

Step 4) Prep work. Do all the little mundane things in preparation to make a new garment; wash, dry and iron, iron and iron some more. By the way, did I mention that you need to iron it?

Best Press is an awesome spray starch. I have tried Lavender (swoon) and Peaches and Cream (Yum). But a word of warning, the dye in Peaches tints whites. Perfect for this, not so for my vintage white hankies.

Step 5) Pattern placement and cutting! This is fun. I have a blast trying to place pattern pieces on the prepared fabric for optimal usage and minimal waste. Often, my placements are better than the suggested and I can squeeze out between 1/4 to a 1/2 of extra fabric! Mind you, if it is one garment, I round up a half yard anyways, but if it is for multiple garments, I round down and still get extra! Don't ask me what happens when I make a big mistake and run out (something about Kleenexes, vodka and a stuffed teddy bear...).

Making both shirts for Thing 1 and 2 and a dress for Thing 3.

The more transparent paper is a purchased pattern where as the solid brown is a copy of the original 1956 girls dress pattern.

Three things that help me out most, Mark-B-Gone, Wonder Weights and a simple quilters ruler. The marker is a tad pricey, but worth it's weight in gold. The weights hold my patterns down so I don't have to poke hole into them. and the clear ruler with grid saves my bacon time and time again.

Step 6) Pin fabric, not fingers. I have had too many pins go under my cuticle and under my nail. Yes. OUCH! It hurts. But the bigger pain is when it gets stuck...and you have to look at it...and then you have to hope you put on your big girl panties 'cause you are the one pulling that pin out. Alone. But aside from that horror, when it happens, is small compared to the joy of piecing it together. Almost.

Pinning bias tape to sleeve. Did I mention that these vintage patterns were in league with the bias tape makers? They must have been. They use it everywhere.

Collar work on Thing 3's dress. Slight variation in color that you won't see because it will be hidden inside the garment.

Step 7) Sewing at the machine. Usually, I remember to pull the pins out as I stitch, sometimes I get carried away in the moment or loose one under a fold of fabric Our costume shop would plow right over them like everything would plow through Mr. Bill (YouTube it). More often than not we would get "bobbin f*ck". And, no it is not pretty and sounds just as horrible as you can imagine. Often, you would break the needle and the pin would get jammed into the bobbin mechanism., hence the crass term. Some of those pins were works of art, if you were able to extract them just right. I do believe that we had a spot on the wall we taped them to. I have been rather fortunate (knocks on wood) and only broken needles--some in two places! But overall the sewing at the machine is a mixed blessing. You can go really fast compared to the hand stitching that you will need to do later on, yet, at times, the machine cannot go fast enough (especially on long, unending hems).

The is Thing 3's sleeve and it barely fit onto my sewing machine's arm. I had to go back and resew a time or two more and each time was like, will it fit on this time?

Step 8) Ironing in between times. This is another blessing and a curse. It is hard to have an iron at the ready when you have a few Things running around and under your ironing board. Or better yet, hiding under the ironing board as they play "hide and seek". The whole idea of my large, very hot and moderately heavy iron getting anywhere near them makes my skin crawl. Remember back to that one scene in Home Alone and the iron falling on the taller burglar's face. No way. So, you can imagine that trying to iron the seams open and flat in between stitching's can be a wee bit stressful. Though, it does make the process faster and smoother.

Step 9) Handiwork. Now that you have gotten to this point, it is almost done. The end is palatable. If there was a finish line, you might be able to see it and the adoring fans, come to cheer you to it's end. Yeah, I wish. Anywho, I use to hate hand stitching. It was boring. It took too long. Are we there yet? Yet, now in my later years (geeze, I sound ancient) I have found a peace with it, even at times enjoying it (but if you ask me again, I'll deny it). It is at those times, that you can fix the small boo-boos and make it appear perfect.

The inside seam edge that in time will fray and show. Time to hide it with a little stitch work.

All done. Now it is tucked away and won't fray with subsequent washings and general use.

Step 10a) Find a small thing that will inhibit your completion for another month or two. This one is mine. All mine. Maybe I was blessed like Ella in Ella Enchanted and had a crazy, inept fairy godmother that makes my projects last ten times longer than they need to. For instance, my darn collar (pulls hair, and bangs head on desk), will I ever get that (insert bad word here) thing done!?!? I am almost done with Thing 3's dress. I have proof! I need to complete the buttons in back and redo the collar, but then it's done! All done (maniacal laughter fills the room). There is the caplet and it too is almost done (creepy smile appears).

Here is our Nafy. She is modeling the in-progress caplet. She is our version from the wonderful girls/women over at http://ourdolls.net/ and You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVd1jDW2dOI My Things love Nafy and Pleasantville! If you have some time, check out their world. It amazes me each time.

Ah. It's cute. Don't deny it. Thing 3 loves to twirl in it. It has great twirl-ability!

Step 10b) Finish. The Hallelujah chorus fills the air. I breath a huge sign of relief and collapse, only to pick my head up and wonder which project is next. Repeat.

Easy, peasy, pumpkin breezy. Right?

Here is my progress, just so you know my reason (excuse) for not posting these past few days. I've been a working on the bug dress...(sung to I've been working on the railroad). Also, You will be getting a small glimpse of me.