no 6- success! Beautiful ruffle dress for B!

On Friday, I decided the first item on my eleven before 2011 list I wanted to complete was a ruffle dress that I found on Simply Modern Mom. I searched for a pillowcase Friday after work and found an adorable one from an old duvet set I had in college. It was colorful & busy and reminded me of Fiesta-Ware. Since the duvet cover it was apart of was long gone, I decided to use it for Baileigh's ruffle dress. I should mention that although I took sewing classes for two semesters in high-school (like 9 years ago!) I have only touched the sewing machine ONCE since then, and that was to make curtain panels. ( I don't even count sewing 4 straight lines as making anything!) I took this as a challenge because even though Tiffany at SMM had good directions, there wasn't a true pattern to follow. Nonetheless, I wanted to create something with ruffles for baby B. 

It was a cool pillowcase because it had a different patterns on each side. The size however, was a bit too small. Tiffany's was 20 x 40 in and mine was only 20 x 30in. I made do. I can't say I didn't struggle with it. From start to finish it took 3 1/2 hours, but since it was my first time sewing in quite some time, I say that isn't half bad!


Well, you can see the "before" pillowcase I started with, and now here is the finished product!

As you can see, it turned out ok! Not nearly as good as Tiffany's, but I'm still proud of it! I almost didn't post the bottom picture (close up) because I noticed my v-closure didn't look very good and you can see much more mistake then in the top two, but then again, oh well!


Here are a few things I have learned:


1. Use thread that matches. All I had was white. Not a good idea. If I has used red, or pink or some color that was in the material my mi9stake wouldn't have been as obvious.


2. Invest in a seam ripper. Using a sharp steak knife works, but it less effective.


3. Take my time. I kind of hurried myself on a few parts, and I can tell. Next time I'll take more time.


Here are a couple shots of Baileigh in her new ruffle dress. I think she loved it!

It's a little big on her, but she'll grow into it! I have learned that I like sewing, and I may have to start working on more sewing projects. The best part about this dress? It was free! Look's pretty good for free, especially on the super cute model :)


Have you sewed anything cute for your baby, or yourself? I'd love to see it!