Butterflies and a Handerchief Hem

I've been envisioning a 20s look for a while -- handkerchief hem and all.

Finally I sat down and did the math to make it work.  I calculated my circle and then the square of fabric I needed around the circle to achieve the hem.

Using a butterfly print charmeuse, I cut out all the pieces.

The bodice is low-waisted coming down to the skirt with a handkerchief hem. The short sleeves are a fitted style.

The waistline of the dress is accented with a black lace belt.

The look is finished off with a pair of black mary janes.

To see pictures of this look check out sewdolledup.blogspot.com or Flickr.

Shola in Chevron

Shola and I were inspired by a chevron print fabric we found.

For the hemline, we followed the angles to create a pointed hem.

The skirt was then pleated with the chevrons lining up.

The neckline of the bodice was also pointed by following the lines of the chevron.

The end result.....a cute end of summer look.

See the results at sewdolledup.blogspot.com and more views on Flickr.

Ready to Disco?

Caroline saw a printed fabric which made her think of #AmericanGirlDoll Julie. 

She picked out a sleeveless mini-dress pattern for her look.

The dress and facings were cut out of the circle print fabric. 

While the dress was being assembled, Caroline hunted out a pair of flat mary janes, some white tights and fixed her hair with a purple ribbon.

Caroline adds the dress to finish her look. 

Now she feels ready to step back into the 70s.  Maybe she'll go visit Julie...

Blue Hydrangea

This blue hydrangea print dress has a natural waist with a full knee length skirt. 

The bodice has banded puffed sleeves and the neckline comes to a slight v. 

Along the hem of the skirt, is a double row of light blue ribbon.

Zelia has belted the skirt with a blue ribbon.   The colors match the color of her butterfly earrings.

Watch for the picture on sewdollup.blogspot.com and for more pictures on Flickr.

Purple Regency Inspired

The purple fabric spoke to a regency style dress.  In order to modernize the look, I went for a knee length dress.

The bodice has a square neck and an empire waist length.  There are five vertical stripes down the bodice in a white organza ribbon for a hint of sparkle.

The skirt is knee length and gathered to the bodice.

The dress is belted at the empire waist with a wide organza ribbon.

Anna accessorized the look with purple shoes and a necklace.

Check out sewdolledup.blogspot.com for a picture of this look and Flickr for more views.

Monkey Redux

After studying the look from Monkeying Around, I decided that it didn't fully capture the inspiration.

So I cut the skirt away from the bodice.  Then cut the skirt in half lengthwise.  Using the extra fabric leftover from the first project, I cut a yoke for the skirt.  I cut the original skirt pieces so that it got a slightly gathered ruffled look.  Then I added elastic in the yoke and stitched green ribbon over the seam lines.

Then out of the extra fabric, I cut a tank style crop top.  Along the bottom edge of the top, I added a green ribbon.

When paired together, the top and the skirt allow just a little hint of skin to show between.  This gives it a little more grown up and modern look that the other dress was missing.

I think Hailey is going to like it much better this way.

Watch sewdollup.blogspot.com for a picture of this look and Flickr for more views.