Sailor Dress Completed for Miss C.

Carly's dress is c'est finis, c'est tout! She and Zack will be little nautical babes and I think cute as plastic sailboats floating on the edge of a pond on a spring day. I used Simplicity 4711 pretty much as it came from the envelope in a size two. This was very easy to make. The sleeves are installed in the flat and are not puffed like the bottom of the sleeve. They fit beautifully with no fussing at all. The skirt was very full, the kind of fullness you usually only see in heirloom patterns. The linen for this dress is a heavier weight than Zack's handkerchief linen. It has been washed twice. By doing this and NOT starching, you can really prevent wrinkles.

Where the collar meets in the front are three little stars. On the back of the collar is a star in each corner. For the blue strip I used the same hanky linen I used for Zack's outfit cut on the bias. It's lighter weight is more appropriate for the binding. On the skirt this was placed on top of a bias strip of the same hanky linen used for the collar. Steam a Seam is invaluable for this type of application.
First I cut a two inch strip of the white hanky linen on the bias the length of the skirt width. This was stitched to make a tube with a 1/8th inch seam. The tube WAS NOT turned. The seam was centered on the back of the strip and ironed to the side. The bias blue linen strip was then topstitched to the white strip. The white strip was topstitched to the skirt securing and completing the hem on the inside of the skirt. No hemming that big hem! In the pictures the strip looks wonky, but it is perfectly straight. I measured and chalk marked a line to lay the strip on. It had more Steam A Seam on the back and was held in place beautifully for topstitching. This little dress was just so simple to make and with a premade bias or ribbon could easily be done in one day. So now my twins will coordinate. Grandmas have to make sure of these things!

I have some work for DH to complete but hope to get started on Miss Sophie's dress for Easter. I really need to go play with my fabrics for that one as I am still not settled on dress and fabric. It's just not hitting me. Usually an afternoon of folding stash brings on a solution, so that is the plan............Bunny