Today's Guest for Make This Look is the talented, Shannon from Little Kids Grow. She was inspired by a ready made dress design and used the draping method to create her own unique look. So impressive!
Good Day "Train to Crazy" Friends!
(It's 6 o'clock in the morning as I write this post. Early. Very Early. The kids are asleep, and I'm trying desperately to squeeze my wintery comfort foods body into this cute little number. Ha! Ha! Priceless.)
So here's my little secret: Most of the clothes that I make/ design for myself have never been out of my closet. Why you ask? I do like what I make, . . . usually. 🙂 It's just that most of it is just not very practical.
Sewing for my kids is necessary. Sewing for myself, hmmm, not so much. My little ones are growing quickly, so you can usually find me on my sewing machine, creating, mending, or replacing something of theirs. When I finally have time to sew something just for me, I want to be excited about it, even if I have ABSOLUTELY no place to wear it (LOL).
Sewing for myself is more about stretching my sewing and design skills than it is wearing my creations. My lifestyle is pretty laid back, so for now, my closet looks more like a storage facility for a fashion design experiment than anything else. I love figuring out how to do things or adding my own spin to something I see commercially. That's what I did with my Sweetheart Tea Dress. I spotted the lovely pic below by AlterBrooklyn and knew I wanted to do a spinoff for myself. I loved the contrasting colors and heart bodice, so I took those two elements and made a wrap sundress just in time for spring.
My biggest challenge was attaching the heart bodice to the neckline. I didn't realize the dip in the heart shape would make it difficult to attach it to a contrasting fabric. My solution? Godets! I created modified godets just as I would have with a skirt across the top of the heart shape. I fanned them out and then folded them over. To hold them in place on the inside of the garment, I shaped a piece of fusible interfacing and attached it. This worked beautifully. This method gave structure and body to the neckline that I love.
I wanted something different for the dress's closure. I love straps and summer dresses, so I attached six straps that can be tied in various ways to add interest. And finally, I wanted something easy to get into, especially with all of those straps!. I started with inverted pleats, and gave the skirt a single button wrap closure. So much fun! (I used the draping method for this design.) Thank you for allowing me to share something that I love with you today. Thank you, Andrea, for introducing me to your lovely blog family! Shannon LittleKidsGrow.com
