Ahoy there, sewists! Yesterday was pretty quiet around these parts, so I made a dress.  It’s one of those easy-breezy projects that make me really feel like I did something with my day, even if most of it was spent trying to entertain my dog.  (Spindle, why do you look so bored all the time??)

Anyhoo, I took a yard of Alexander Henry lawn and made a tube by sewing the selvedges together in a French seam.  I took a pic, but you couldn’t really see the seam, which is, I guess, the idea.  Oh well.  Then, I hemmed an inch on both ends of the tube, as evinced by the first two images.

After that, I wound elastic thread on my bobbin by hand (not too tightly, not too loosely – sort of Goldilocks-style) and put normal all-purpose thread on top.  I sewed rows around the top of the tube at 1/4 inch apart.  Pull the fabric flat when you are sewing; this will make it bunch up magically and evenly after you are done.  I used Lilac’s automatic tie off feature at the beginning and end of each row of stitches, but you could just backtack as usual. I’ve tried it where I just sew a continuous spiral instead of stopping at the end of each row, but it got a little wonky, so doing discreet rows seems to be the best bet for me.

Sew down for about 7″ or more.  I could have gone 8, I think, but 7 will suffice. I had to wind the bobbin three times, which felt like a pain, until I remembered that I was making a whole dress in what was actually record time.

The top shrank up to about 8.5″ across when lying flat, but still fits around my 36″ bust comfortably.  For those who are more well-endowed, I’d probably recommend using our 60″ wide voile instead of the 45″ lawn.  You’ll just have more freedom to make it fit that way.  I made my rows at .25″ apart; you could experiment on a scrap for the distance that is right for you. I don’t have plans to wear a bra with this, so I like how snug it is.  If you do or are using it for a swimsuit coverup, then you won’t have to worry about it being particularly tight.

It fits and is the elastic comfortable, though I think I might add some small ribbon shoulder ties to avoid that nagging suspicion that my dress is about to decide to become a skirt.  Though, it would certainly work as a skirt, since the shirring is so versatile.

Et, voila! (There’s a voile pun in there somewhere, I’m sure.)

Price breakdown:

1 yard of lawn or voile: $15

1 spool of normal thread: $3

1 spool of elastic thread: $3.50

= $21.50

Not too shabby!

New dress, new shoes, and a nice cold glass of white wine.  Pretty much a perfect Friday night.

ttfn, sweet sewists.