Anna’s Sundress

The other day Djeryd asked me if, now that I’m no longer teaching Seminary, would I start blogging again?  I said, “Probably.”  Then he asked me if I would start sewing again, too.  I said, “Probably.”  Then he said, “Good, because I like it when you blog and then you make all kinds of crazy sewing stuff so you can blog about them.”  I still don’t know how to take the “crazy sewing stuff” remark, but it was the right encouragement I needed to jump back into the blogging saddle.  However, before I head up to my studio to “make all kinds of crazy sewing stuff” I have some projects I actually managed to squeak in between Seminary lessons last spring that I’d like to share.

I made this dress for right at the tail end of the school year.  I wanted Anna to have a pretty little sundress and I found a pattern in Sewing MODKID Style by Patty Young.  All of the clothing in this book is designed for knits, but I figured all the elastic shirring in the bodice would make it friendly for wovens.  I worked great.  I used the basic measurement guidelines that were in the book and then tweaked it to add more fabrics.  I also added a little flutter sleeve because I think they’re cute and they polish up the dress a bit.

After she had worn it a few times, I realized it needed a little pizazz, so Anna and I picked some trims from the stash and bumped up the style on her little dress.  This was another collaboration for us (we’re getting better at those).  I  really like it when Anna shares the creative process with me.  With this one, I actually drafted it up after we picked out the pattern and fabrics:

Obviously, things changed.  I think that is such an integral part of the creative process – flexibility.  For Anna’s sake I appreciate her being able to see that most things do not work out exactly the way we plan them.  Often better ideas will come along, or you cut where you weren’t supposed to cut, or a planned length of fabric comes up short, or a combination just doesn’t look quite right.  And we change.  We adapt.  We make it better.  We make it ours.

And Anna has definitely made this dress hers.  She climbs trees in it, plays in the sand, rolls in the grass, she even went canoeing in it.  She wears it everywhere and she loves it and that makes us both very, very happy.