Liah's dress

So, remember when I was going to get Liah's dress done before we went on vacation? Well, it didn't exactly happen. I cleaned the house instead...BIG mistake. Totally should have finished the dress and cleaned later!

After vacation, I came home and busied myself with finishing her dress, because I hadn't even begun my dress. And I knew mine would be quite the project. Maliah's came together pretty quick. I read up on how to make pin tucks in my favorite sewing book, and away we went! They were easier than I thought. But, every wave in their sewing line is obvious on the dress. To look perfect, each line of stitching needs to be perfectly parallel to the previous one. I'm sure no one else will even notice...Why is it that we are so much more critical of ourselves, than others?

Anyway, after the tucks and ribbon were attached, then it was basic stuff - attaching front to back, marking button placement, and gathering/attaching the skirt to the bodice. Then the sleeves. The last part was covering the neck/sleeve edges with self bias. Although the process wasn't necessarily difficult, it was time consuming, because it was done by hand. I suppose I may have been able to blind-hem stitch it, but I don't remember how...Maybe its time to read up on that!
I used flat felled seams (which are easy, these are like the seams on jeans) with Anna's dress, and it was too stiff. So, I used french seams on this one instead - which I love!!! I think they are my favorite seam finish, and I may begin to use them as my default whenever I sew. There are a lot of tutorials online, if you aren't sure how to do them. They are so easy, and look amazing.

Up next: Petticoats!