cottington's so crafty: Last Minute...And On Time!!! Disco Dress for Easter!!

So. I don't know if y'all ever get a chance to craft with friends, but it is a NICE thing. It'd been a long time since I'd been able to do such a thing with anyone, and I had just that chance the day before Easter. Lisa, over at Irons in the Fire, suggested we have a sewing day at her place, and THANK goodness! It is a bit easier (LOL) to sew without my children around. Just a bit ;)

Now....we will NOT talk about how I forgot tracing paper and pattern directions - and decided NOT to bring the serger, when, in fact, it may have been a good idea. Anyway, I did accomplish a bit - and in the end, with tracing paper in hand (thanks to Matt for dropping it off!), I was convinced by Lisa to sew up the Disco Dress by Ainslee Fox for Camden - to match Elora on Easter! I wasn't sure I had enough stash fabric at home, but prepare, I did. And low and behold, when I arrived home, I searched frantically, turning down idea after idea as I came across various gorgeous stash fabrics. Finally, though, I came across enough yardage from a past project (Apple Picking dress of January 2014) - yay! The red is NOT a linen, I swear, but it's something I grabbed at Bolt sometime in the last year or two. I was pleased I had that in my stash, as I like that the dress isn't solely quilting cotton. The yoke fabric gives the dress a nice textured section.

Obviously, this was a quick project...which....whew! I had traced it before I arrived home, and I essentially put in three hours Saturday night. Sunday, before noon, I managed to sew the belt, the four buttons and hand-sew the lining of the bodice. I have to say I'm pretty proud, aha! I felt like I was being challenged.

The pattern itself is super easy. The pattern designer, Jen, is pretty chatty in that she throws in humor/dialogue that isn't necessary to the pattern. I normally don't care for that sort of thing, but she does it in a way that works, honestly.

It's a simple pattern, as you can tell, and I only had one real issue. There is a better way of attaching the bodice to the "yoke" - in that a full bodice piece shouldn't be cut out, as you CUT AWAY what is underneath that yoke area...so, it's fabric waste, but I tried to get over it, LOL. Otherwise, it's a lovely pattern with detailed instructions, etc. I'm not sure why the belt is supposed to be so long, and you can't tell Camden's is, but I have it tucked away in the pictures. I could cut it down at some point, but we'll see if I get around to it. Also, there is a zipper option, but I happily had buttons on hand - for ONCE, right??!

The ONLY emergency was in thinking I didn't have to hit up the craft store for D-rings for the belt....Fatal mistake when you are trying to make a dress FOR Easter....the night before Easter....and stores are not open ON Easter. Except Home Depot! Matt did a great job finding what I needed.