Dress Design for Shabby Apple Dresses

Here is my dress design for Shabby Apple Dresses.

They are having a Dare to Design Dress Contest and here is what I submitted.

It has cap sleeves, a boatneck top, a v-neck back, side zipper and a circular skirt. Think twirling! I was inspired by the most current season of Mad Men, Audrey Hepburn, Blair Waldorf (from Gossip Girl) and Jackie Onassis - classic style, modest, yet poised and flirty in a subtle way. Ideally this dress would be made of a poppy color - an orangey-red - perfect for Spring time. I can envision it in a silk or a poplin - it can be dressier or more casual depending on the material. The sash would be either a detailed lace in a cream color or a solid cream for the waistband.

This dress would be perfect to wear to anything Southern and social...like a baby shower, wedding shower, family reunion, Sunday church, a weekend brunch, jazz brunch in New Orleans, beignets at Cafe du Monde, a carriage ride in the French Quarter and boutique shopping stops along the way...that's why the color would have to pop!

One Shoulder Shirt and TUTORIAL

The next sewing project I decided to conquer was a one shoulder shirt. I thought it would be fun and flirty and perfect to wear on a date night without the kids :) Here's an example of a one-shoulder dress I found and I was inspired by the color of this dress. (It was found on thegloss.com).

I knew that a deep purple would be a wonderful fall color so that was what I went searching for at the fabric store, but in a print.

1)Here are the supplies needed to make a one-shoulder shirt: fabric (three-quarters of a yard), measuring tape, pins, thread, elastic thread for shirring the bottom, scissors, and an existing t-shirt you have, chalk (my 3 year old's sidewalk chalk works just fine!)

2) After washing and ironing your fabric lay the fabric right sides together then lay your t-shirt on top of it
3) Trace around your shirt - adding 2 or so inches along the sides and neckline and about 3 inches around the sleeve and making it a few inches longer in length. Also use the chalk to draw your line on the shirt from the neckline all the way across the the opposite sleeve under the armpit area. (since it is a one-shoulder shirt)

4) Cut out

5) Fold over the neckline to make a hem on both of the pieces (use the iron and pin as needed)

6) Sew both necklines using a straight stitch.
7) Place front and back of shirts right side together and pin. You will sew down the side that is sleeveless, then sew from the bottom of the other side up and around the armpit and lastly you will sew the other side of the sleeve up to the neckline where the shirts meet. (Don't sew the neckline together or the bottom of the shirt)

8) Trim and/or notch the seams where the sleeves are. This will make it lay better once you turn it right side out.
9) Turn it right side out. Now I folded (put in 3 small pleats) across the top. This gives it more interest and allows the shirt to have some movement. Try on your shirt and figure out how much it needs to "come in". I took in about 4 inches. Pin the pleats, iron them, then sew over them with a straight stitch to secure.

10) Repeat for the back of the shirt (Pleat, iron them, then sew over them with a straight stitch to secure)

11) Now it looks like a shirt! Cut one strip that will be a strap. Mine was 1.5 inches in width and about 14 inches long. Iron one side of the strip to the middle, then the other side to the middle and fold the strip in half. This will hide your edges. Sew along the edge.

12) Put on your shirt and place a pin where you want the strap to go in the front and the back. Pin on the strap and sew in place.
13) To add more shape to the shirt I shirred 3 lines along the bottom of the shirt.

14) It's done!

Cowl Neck Romper

Let's talk about the romper look. I've seen them in magazines, online and even on some people, but I never thought I could pull it off. I'm pretty petite - almost 5 feet - almost - so I thought a romper would make me looks wide and even shorter. So my next challenge was to create a romper I could actually wear and feel good in. (Here's a picture of it but this is without make-up...I was so excited I wanted to take a picture of it but it was only 7am when I finished it!)

I used an olive green matte jersey and created my own pattern using a pair of running shorts for the bottom and then just a simple rectangle for the top. I made the shorts then I sewed the rectangle together to make a tube. Next I put the two pieces together. I couldn't decide what to do to the neckline - I was tired of shirring and didn't want it to just have a strip of elastic. So I went with a cowl neckline following the newest fall trend and added two thin straps at the neckline to tie in the back. To add a little "girly-ness" to it I created a sash and left the edges raw and tied it in a bow. Here it is...

The Petite Romper with Cowl Neckline

AND the MOST EXCITING NEWS was I wore it to a jewelry trunk show this morning at a boutique in town and the 4 women working there walked up to me when I walked in the door and asked me where I got it! :) I was simply flattered! They told me they loved the cowl neckline and the color and told me I should be making rompers. I'm glowing :)

Cascading Ruffle Top with Sleeves

I knew my next project had to be with ruffles...they are everywhere and not going away. :) And I LOVE THEM! I just didn't know what I wanted to do so I browsed the Anthropologie site and decided to combine a few of my favorites. I took the basics of these....

And created my own version of something more my style. Here is the Cascading Ruffle Top made of navy blue matte jersey. I traced a shirt I had and added about 3 inches on each side and widened the sleeve hole. Then I sewed the pieces together, ruffled a long strip, sewed it onto the front, cut out 2 sleeves, added them to the shirt and then zigzagged the neckline and armholes to give it a frilled look. I left the bottom edges raw because this fabric doesn't fray.

And here it is with some jeggings and gold sandals. I need a new model! It's hard to take pictures of myself without feeling funny and the poses are all the same...boring! :) Maybe my sister will be up for some modeling next time!