Happy Friday + Grecian New Look 6297

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Happy Friday and today is the day to honor our veterans! What a week, right? I don’t talk politics in general and don’t plan on starting now, but I do want to acknowledge how heartened I was by the groundswell of positive solidarity that came out of the election results. I voted, of course, and I am a concerned citizen. Yet, at the end of the day, I feel very strongly that what we do as individuals on a daily basis matters far more than who we end up appointing as heads of states. We all have so much tremendous power within us to do good, I believe, and I’ll leave it at that. Besides, I know you’re just dying to find out about this New Look 6297 dress I made for K.

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It’s a dress that I wouldn’t have thought to sew, but it was the one K wanted pronto (remember the tween patterns I got from JoAnn’s a while back?). View C sports cut-out sleeves, an asymmetrical hem, and a gathered waist. Those cut-out sleeves were constructed by overlapping two pieces, and was much easier than I expected. I cut out a size 10 and the fit is pretty much perfect. The waist could have been lowered a teensy bit, but it doesn’t seem to bother her much.

nl6297-icyblue5The fabric is a slinky, icy blue stretch fabric of unidentifiable origin from my stash. It has a slight sheen to it and is super thin — not what I’d call easy to work with — but I can’t even begin to describe how much K loves this dress.

nl6297-icyblue11 nl6297-icyblue14She decided to wrap the waist tie around her left leg for the Greek Goddess effect and had loads of fun glamming it up with a feather in her hair and turquoise jewelry. Digging through my scarf collection, she found one that made her sway and swirl to imaginary music:

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With a more cooperative fabric, this would have been an effortless dress to make. Though I wish my seams hadn’t gotten so puckered, the obvious joy she’s deriving from the dress allows me to shrug my shoulders and laugh at my need for better results.

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She was so eager to wear the dress, she wouldn’t even let me finish the hem so it’s just raw. Already, she’s worn it twice, and it’s only been four days since I made it.

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Steadily but surely, I am relinquishing my tendency to sew only what I find aesthetically pleasing for her. We have vastly differing tastes, and that’s OK. I love that she’s her own person with her own opinions and I don’t want to ever discourage her from expressing herself. It’s very much the same process I underwent when K started assembling her own outfits. My way is not the only way.

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I thought it was hilarious that she insisted on wearing the dress even though she had gym that day. So she wore exercise-appropriate shorts and a tee that totally showed through the dress and popped on a pair of sneakers to school. I wish I’d gotten a photo, it was awesome. Ah well, at least I have about a million of these ethereal shots of her dancing about. It was a good sewing week.

Alright my friends, it’s time to call it quits for now. I hope you have a spectacular weekend, and I leave you with this poem that K wrote for me. She’s currently composing a song to go with the words. I’m one lucky mama.

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17 thoughts on “Happy Friday + Grecian New Look 6297

  1. I really like the color of the dress and it’s length.. I hope I can someday have children to make clothing for! That poem is precious. (:

    1. Sewing for my little girl was the gateway drug into sewing, Tiff! Nowadays, it’s sort of a tug-of-war to come up with a sewing project that makes us both happy, but we’re getting there! 🙂 Thank you.

  2. What a sweet poem! Tears in my eyes–i’m sure in yours! You are a lucky mamma for sure! And sewing for her joy–great!

    1. Yes, total tears in my eyes! We’re all saps in our household and I don’t want to give the impression that it’s always love poems and flowy dresses around here, but it’s surprisingly frequnet. Thank you, E!

    1. Thanks, Tammy! I so want to go with my natural inclinations but my preferences get rejected so often (just happened this week!) that I’m trying to be better about collaborating with her.

  3. The dress is so nice–and the way you sew striking looks out of all these mystery knits amaze me. I have bought one yard of knit and I am afraid to try thinking it would be a big mess! Anyway, you two have topped yourselves with these photos–I can only admire the fun you guys have! Fashion photography must now be added to your resume.

    1. Aw, you’re always so encouraging Greta, thank you!! Knits are finicky for sure, but also very forgiving. I had to be honest with myself and admit that K and I wear knits 99% of the time, so I’m getting a lot of practice sewing the stuff!

    1. Right?? I didn’t realize she was flipping the bird in one of the shots, but that’s the sort of thing that happens with my photo shoots :-). Thank you!

  4. My daughter asked for a “sassy” tee shirt yesterday. She says you know the kind that shows your shoulders but still has sleeves. At the back of my mind, I remembered seeing this beautiful goddess dress you made for K, which has just led me to the right pattern. Thank you thank you.

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