My 'Anna Dress' from Craftiness Is Not Optional

When I first started sewing, my goal was so that I can make dresses for my daughter Andrea. One of my goals for this year is to actually make her a dress from scratch... you know, not one of those refashion projects I am so fond of (because they're easier). And not one of those simple A-line dresses... I want one made with patterns and with puffed sleeves and buttons and bias tape binding. 

I first saw the dress I wanted to make at Sertyan's Sewing Corner. I followed her link to the sew-along at Craftiness Is Not Optional.

Reading the instructions... it looked like something I can do so I decided to give it a try.  And I showed a preview of the finished dress last Saturday. I promised more photos today... but unexpected things that shouldn't have been unexpected when you're dealing with toddlers happened while my toddler was wearing it.  She soiled it while we were having lunch yesterday after church... and BEFORE I was able to take pictures X(

Preview of my 'Anna Dress' during the final fitting stage last Saturday

I am so proud of this one because this must be the most 'complicated' sewing project I have accomplished so far. With buttons and binding and lining and all! Jess of Craftiness Is Not Optional did a good job on her sew-along tutorial. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

Being a novice sewer... I made several a few monumental small errors. First... I envisioned this dress as a white and red polka-dot dress with red satin in the middle and binding the sleeves. Unfortunately... I cut the fabric wrong and ended up with several small pieces of scrap and not enough for the skirt. I tried looking for more of the same fabric I was using but was unsuccessful. I had to settle for any red print on white background and though the store I went to had a wide range of fabric designs, they didn't have a lot of red on white. The one they showed me reminded me of table cloths in rural areas here in the Philippines but I didn't have much choice and ended up using that anyway. That's the fabric I used for the skirt part.

Another mistake I made is that I forgot about the binding on the sleeves when I put the dress together. I was too excited to put it together because I wanted to see it finished. The sleeves, when sewn together, leaves only a small opening for the arms and it was difficult to sew the bias tape binding along the raw edge of the sleeves using the sewing machine. In the end... I had to sew it on by hand. 

I love the dress though and I learned a lot while working on it. I am so proud of me for finishing it and seeing that it looks the dress I was trying to copy! Even my top stitches are even.. and that's saying a lot because I usually have a hard time sewing straight and even lines. 

Andrea wearing the dress outside the restaurant before we ate lunch, and before she got it dirty.

After I finished it, I had it washed, dried and pressed so Andrea could wear it to church yesterday morning.

Now, I am so inspired to make more! Good thing my little girl likes wearing dresses. I went to the mall with my husband yesterday after we had lunch and I looked at some dresses at the children's section for inspiration. Here are some that I find pretty.

I particularly love that schoolgirl look at the bottom right. Can't wait to see if I can make something like those!

I am linking up to the following parties (it's been a while since I linked up a project, wow!)

Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | Sundae Scoop at I Heart Nap Time | Sunday Showcase at Under The Table and Dreaming | Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around |  Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Craft-O-Maniac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Made with Love at Sew Chatty | Marvelously Messy at A Marvelous Mess | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter | Take-a-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts | Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Make It Wear It at The Train to Crazy | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts |