Category Archives: Design

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Let me start off by saying that Miss Taffeta and Miss Organza were my fabric enemies at the start of this project, but by the end, we worked out our differences and we are now the best of  friends. (So are the following tools of the trade: tissue paper, spray adhesive, pinking shears, Fray check, extra small needles, light thread & a ton of patience.) My seam ripper and I are also really close. I joked with a friend recently that as much time as my seam ripper and I were together these days, we might as well throw formality out the window. I now call him, “Seam” and he calls me Miss S. (Ha!!) Join me on this coming Tutorial Tuesday for a Working with Slippery Fabrics tutorial.

So anyway my friends, after a good two weeks of pattern drafting, cutting, and sewing, I finished two dresses for this weeks challenge for Project Run & Play. My girls are always asking me for a princess dress, so I thought that the Party Dress Remix would be a great opportunity to give them something they’ve been asking for. This was the original dress by Lindsay over at The Cottage Home that we were supposed to “remix” and make our own:

My girls are definitely girly girls but they have absolutely no problem climbing a tree, getting dirty or wrestling with their brothers if they “get out of line”. Yep! So, I felt that it was only befitting to create a dress that they could feel “princessy” in, but one that they could easily transform into something less girly if the mood struck.

When I first sketched out my design, my initial thought was a dress with a detachable skirt, but the dress eventually morphed into a pant set.

Once I sketched out my design, I selected my fabrics. When I found the two toned taffeta and embroidered organza, I was hooked.

My design process began with a drafted bodice block. Thankfully, my girls measured the same (within a centimeter or two), so I only had to create one bodice and pant block, but because they’re proportions are changing, I had to add darts to their bodice(2) and pant (4) blocks.

This was a very labor intensive project for my first week at Project Run & Play, but it was well worth the effort. Here are some our pictures from our photo shoot. The girls were perfect models, even braving the chilly weather in their sleeveless dresses.

I wanted a color contrast for the back closure of the bodice, but I didn’t want the look of a standard zipper. I used an invisible zipper in a contrasting color but installed it using a standard zipper installation so that it would peek through.

The detachable skirts are very easy for the girls to tie and untie themselves.

It wasn’t long before the girls were ready to detach their skirt:

And, then they danced.

And, then they ran.

Mission accomplished!

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Keep doing what you love!

Shannon