UFO #1 - the homespun dress

Somehow gingham always reminds me of school uniforms and farms. However, when I first do a pattern for the kids I don't use the really crappy fabric that I use to make my muslins, but I use a fabric that I don't have any great attachment to ... like this pink cotton gingham. Remnant from Spotlight, easy to work with, you know, okay, just not something I would choose deliberately.

The pattern itself was okay, it is one of those little girls dresses that is really quite common. It became a UFO when I didn't have the patience to figure things out right then and there, and after a while it just laid there and I did other things. I forgot to take before pictures, but essentially I still needed to set in the sleeves, finish of the neck line and the hem.

Well, ta da ... Butterick B4176 in Pink Gingham (it is classed as very easy and it still took me ages)

I am actually very happy with it. I change the neckline (made it wider), but only because when I got to it, I couldn't for the life of me locate the instructions so I arbitrarily decided it was going to be an inch wide, so I cut a 4 in strip of the fabric on the bias and went from there. I realised when taking this picture that I had sewn the button on too high and maybe, in a few month, I find I can't live with that level of imperfection anymore, but until then I am just glad I finished the dress. I later found the instructions right beside my iron :-)

I did set some eyelet lace under the hem, because I have seen something similar in RTW dresses for little girls and I thought the dress suits it.

Overall I am really glad I finished the dress. It looks very homespun, yet my daughter loves it and whilst it is slightly on the large side, she does grow, so all is well. I'll see about making her another one after Christmas with some voile I have laying about. Onwards to the next project ... only seven more to go :-)