Here it is. The last stash busting project of the year, number 25 of 25. And what would a blog post be without pictures or conversation? I’ll begin at the beginning and when I come to the end, I’ll stop.
- Curiouser and curiouser, this dress is a perfect example of when OCD meets ADHD. I find this happens so often when I’m sewing. I’m just never sure who I’m going to be from one minute to another. I’ll make a list of all the things I’d like to make, even gathering supplies, but then get distracted by a new pattern or another project. On the other hand, sometimes those distractions turn into a project I just can’t get out of my head until I see it fully made up.
Through the looking glass, things can and sometimes are made up in totally the wrong season. The fabric has been in my stash a while, It was originally in someone else’s stash, and gifted to me. It’s some kind of cotton or cotton blend, and the short sleeves and short skirt means tights and a layering tee underneath are necessities for the 34-or-so degree weather we’ve been having. Wouldn’t want her to lose anything to the cold, especially not her head.
The pattern is Advance 8571; it’s from some year in the 1950’s. Girls wore their skirts short then. I didn’t have the option of adding any length to the skirt because I used up almost every scrap of fabric just making this dress up as it was. I gave it a little length by making a narrow hem on the bottom edge instead of hemming it up 3 inches as the pattern directed. Her crinoline skirt fits underneath just perfectly.
I suspect that a big part of my OCD focus on getting this dress started had to do with not being sure whether there would be enough fabric to make the dress. For a bit, it seemed impossible, but sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. I don’t do well with suspense, so I had to find out for sure. Perhaps I’m entirely bonkers, but I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
The top fits a little bit big. It’s a well-drafted neckline and facing, but Guinevere’s shoulders don’t seem to fill it out completely. I could move the buttons over in the back if I needed to, but for now I’m leaving it. If it fits the same in the summer when she won’t want a t-shirt under it, then I’ll move the buttons. I’m sure there’s a moral to that. Everything’s got moral. If only you can find it.
So, there it is, the last stash busting project of the year. Do I have plenty of fabrics still left in my stash? Absolutely I do. I don’t know whether the 2013 stash-busting group will continue with new pledges in 2014, but whether they do or not, I think I’ll be making a new stash busting pledge next month. I do generally give myself very good advice, (though I very seldom follow it).
Stash busting stats: 25/25. All done 🙂
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