Week two is already here! I can’t believe it. Well, after mulling over the sketches that you weren’t supposed to make fun of—(Megan!)—I agree whole-heartedly with Joshua that Sketch B is the winner. This is going to be a fun dress. This week we are going to cut out the bodice and think about the skirt. Let’s go to the work table.

Here we have our size 6 basic bodice pattern. You normally start with a “block” which is a basic pattern and manipulate it to become exactly what you want. You should make a mock-up with your initial patterns in a muslin fabric. This process will continue until you perfect your pattern. I’m going to skip these steps because I have already done this to the size 6, so I know it’s perfect. Let’s cut! Fear my scissors!!!!

PAY ATTENTION!!! This fabric requires you to pay close attention to detail when you cut. The most important step to any garment is in the cutting. If you mess that up—you’ve got troubles, my friend. There is a prominent pattern with these bold flowers so you will want a row of flowers exactly centered down the front. Fold the fabric along the center of a row of flowers, then pin down your front pattern piece. Cut with confidence! Don’t let the size of the scissors scare you!

After you have your front pattern cut, you will want to keep the rows of flowers consistent in the back as well. Line them up with your back pattern and let the scissors do their work!

Now you can see we have our basic bodice cut and the flowers are well aligned around the entire bodice. This next week, let’s think about what we want our skirt to do. I’m going to post two sketches and we’ll need to pick one.

Sketch A shows a semi-full a-line skirt with a contrast panel (flat) in the front.
Sketch B shows a center front pleat with the contrast panel underneath — this will peek out when the child walks, twirls, and plays.

Share your comments and thoughts!!!

Love, Rachel

Monday, November 12th, 2007 - Works-In-Progress Month, Mamma-Made

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