the Australia Day Dress

or the dress formerly known as the Christmas Dress. In all fairness I had finished all but the hemming for Christmas, but then it was so hot and I couldn't motivate myself for that last step. Hemming is my least favourite thing to do and I don't really know how to overcome that.

I finally decided on New Look 6935 and I did view B. I guess all the work with the kids clothes was worth it, because there wasn't one thing in the instructions that made my go cross-eyed or tearful.

I measured myself and made a muslin of the top in size 14 and it was MASSIVE, so I next up made a size 12 and it fitted quite well. I seem to have a small back, because I had to take quite a bit out in the back, but otherwise the fit was okay. I least as good as I would get buying it. The pictures are a bit dreary due to the left over weather yesterday from Ex-Cyclone Oswald. Luckily we still had power and the flooding was less then expected.

I haven't got a picture from the back, because I ended up cutting a size 12 in the skirt as well (I didn't make a muslin for that thinking it flares out more then it actually did) and I think I should have cut a size 14. It fits as in it goes over my bottom, but it doesn't skim as nicely as it could, ... sigh, perhaps instead of sewing more I should be walking more. Anyway, I am quite proud of its insides ... french seams, and I used some bias take for where the bodice and the skirt connect and it's all neat.

Since I had already sewn most of the dress before Christmas I can't really count this towards the Stashbusting Sewalong, but I did make another little skirt for my baby girl.

It is left over fabric from my sister's pj pants and my girly girl likes it despite it's blueness. Since I was out of wide elastic, I made the waistband out of 2 thinner bits of elastic separating them with a seam, so I feel like awarding myself extra points for that.

This was part 1 of the great Australia Day finish-a-tron, part 2 shall come tomorrow :-)