Sunday dress

I’ve already made the disclaimer that I’m not much of a seamstress. It’s true– sure, I’ve sewn pillows and Halloween costumes and such, but much of what I see on a printed pattern is foreign to me. Most of the terms and markings don’t make sense to me and I end up skipping steps, slopping through detailing. My creations were good enough for late night trick or treating but I’ve never made a dress that could stand the light of day.

But how could I resist the Mary dress in Girl’s World? The skirt is literally two rectangles sewn together and gathered with a string, the bodice so simple that even I wasn’t intimidated– no snaps, no zippers, not even a button. We did decide to add sleeves to the pattern (which truly tested my ingenuity– if you look carefully they are not really even) and I substituted a wide pink ribbon for the fabric sash (which covered masses of mistakes at the waistline).

For months I’ve had my mom’s fancy Viking sewing machine waiting on my counter; this seemed to be the perfect time to use it to embroider little flowers around the neck and hemline. And when we found a pink flower from an old broken headband we knew the project was inspired.

It wasn’t until Mary slipped the dress over her head on Sunday morning that I realized it was my mother’s favorite colors–yellow and bright pink.

If you are like me, a bit afraid of the sewing machine, try this pattern. You might turn out something pretty enough to make people think you know what you are doing. I’m just trying to decide what to make next…