Well, that was a long twelve days with the PatternBee website down! It's been the biggest major update to the website in seven years, so there were several areas that needed attention. But the update is done and all is well (yay!) and I even managed to add two new Alice Brooks patterns, that I received a few weeks ago from a fellow stitcher, who wanted to share them with everyone...so enjoy!
In the meantime, between days of wet and dry weather, having me running indoors and out, with various projects starting and stalling because of it, I did manage to sew myself a knee-length garden smock (in progress above) and an ankle-length peasant dress with gathered tiers (left), for summer lounging. I've made a few of these long dresses over the years and LOVE them. They float around you like a cloud--so perfect on hot summer days. But all those tiers of gathered fabric require a massive amount of yardage and are frankly a pain to stitch, even with a gathering foot, so I don't make them often and will wear them to rags until I make another. And it was time for a new one.
My favorite fabric for these peasant dresses is 100% cotton percale cut from a flat bedsheet. If Maria Von Trapp can stitch up a wardrobe for seven children out of a curtain, then using a sheet to make a summer dress makes perfect sense to me! If the sheet is gently used and softened by numerous washings all the better. Vintage sheets work well too so I keep an eye out for them in the thrift shops with this type of sewing project in mind. I don't have a commercial pattern for these dresses but they are simple to make using a basic peasant top pattern with the addition of two gathered tiers. For the drop-waist style (right), I take a measurement from the bottom of the top portion to the floor and divide that number in half to get the approximate length of each tier; strips are cut double the width of the blouse for the front and back. Repeat for the bottom tier, using the bottom of the middle tier as the guide. Easy!
I also made some progress on the Little Animals Quilt!
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