The Hannah Dress

Back in October after KCWC, I found this smashing dress in the KCWC flickr pool.  I followed the link in the description and found the link the pattern that was used.  It was the Hannah Dress by an Etsy shop in Thailand and was a PDF pattern for $5.95.  Pretty sweet deal!

For whatever reason it has taken me until this week to finally move this dress to the top of the sewing priority list and get it done.

As far as the pattern goes,  you get what you pay for.  I had to do a lot of front end work because the pattern didn't include seam allowances.  Sew, I pinned all my pattern pieces down to my fabric, and then I laboriously measured 1/2" away from every edge BEFORE I could cut.

Cutting this beauty out took me close to 2 hours.  Granted I was distracted a wee little bit finishing up Downton Abbey Season 2, but all the same, this step in the dress creating took longer than expected.

Next up came the sewing.  I was bound and determined to have 3 blog posts this week AND a new dress for Grace to wear to church on Sunday, the Hannah Dress being the dress in consideration.  Last night, even though I was so tired and could have probably collapsed into my bed at 8 and slept soundly all night, I forced myself to sit at my sewing machine.  Funny how when I do that, I'm rarely disappointed.  Last night was no different.

I'm so happy I sewed this dress last night, however, this pattern lacks a TON of written instructions.  There are 21 short sentences to this entire dress.  That's sleeves, a collar, pleats, etc. The saving grace of the pattern is the pictures, but even that wasn't quite enough at times.  Luckily I kind of know what I'm doing, so my knowledge of basic dress construction was called on to help see this little number through until the end.

If you look at the pattern, she does add a closure to the bodice which I omitted.  I didn't care for the look of it.  The dress I found on Flickr had a zipper added to the bodice, and I just wasn't going to go to that trouble, and I wasn't sure it was going to look right.  In the end I didn't do anything.  I'm not sure how I'd fix it should I make another one, so for now the dress will need a shirt or tank top under it.

Grace did think it was super comfy which is pretty much the number one factor in making her clothes.  She also seemed to not mind my fabric choices which at times can cause some tears.

While this dress is definitely a summer dress, I think it looks fine with a long sleeve shirt, leggings, and boots.  However, we did a FAST photo shoot seeing as the high today is barely going to be 50 here, and for us wimps in California it's just cold!!!

Sew, there you have it.  A new dress, another item off of my sewing To Do List, and a simple pattern review.  Oh, and 3 blog posts this week!!  Granted most people aren't blog reading on Saturday, but I kept my own personal goal.  My husband will quote me a Steven Covey teaching when he reads that I kept my personal goal, and I'll tease him relentlessly.  All the same, I did it.  And I kind of feel proud of my small success.

Off to make pizza and to get the crying baby from his crib.  Never a dull moment.  I feel like Grace needs more handmade clothes in her wardrobe.  I just need to figure out what's next.  Maybe even just some simple Lazy Day Skirts would be a nice thing to add to her collection.   Who knows, maybe I'll feel really crazy and set out to finish the Oliver & S pattern I drafted ONE YEAR ago.  Too bad I'm sure I'll need to redraft the pattern.

Tootles for now.