kcwc - the tinkering dress

I'm calling this the tinkering dress because it's one of those garments that I can tell I may never be finished with fiddling with. You know the sort... "if I just... add a bit of fabric at the bottom/trim the ruffles down/take it in etc, it will be right!" But you keep tinkering, never entirely happy.

I used the "Go To Dress" pattern from The Train to Crazy (hmm, I think I'm on that train too!). It is generously offered free of charge and was easy to follow. I think my desire to create a spring version of it without the long sleeves caused me problems and it all spiraled from there. I should have probably just made the standard version first before trying modifications. Well, that's what the logical part of my brain was trying to tell me but unfortunately the impulsive, impatient, excited side won! Anyway... after this one I made another dress that did work well. I'll show you later when I can get some half decent pics.



The fabric was a cherished piece I'd bought ages ago, a thick interlock of magenta pink with small black horses. I made it without the long sleeves, a double cap sleeve for a bit more 'flounce', and a pocket at the front to stop it looking too much like a nightie.

A benefit of making this dress is that it's definitely helped with my knit fabric sewing skills. I've learnt that I can actually use my old sewing machine to do a bit of top stitching. It doesn't have zig zag stitch - or anything but straight stitch - (it's an oldie but a goodie) so I was doubtful I could do any finishing apart from with my overlocker (serger). But now there's no stopping me!