Waah! I sewed a dress!!
Okay, so it kinda barely counts as a dress. It's like a tube. But still!
The other day I dressed Mallow in one of the two drawstring dresses I've had in my Blythe wardrobe since back in the day. I think I got them second-hand on Blythe Kingdom; I don't know who originally made them. Basically, they're like little drawstring bags, but open at the far end. They cinch with ribbon strung through a channel that goes around the doll's neck, and then you can tie it at one side.
It's been a while since I've thought about these two dresses. But once I fished the green one out to put on Mallow, I realized, "This is just two pieces of fabric... I wonder if I can sew something like this."
I turned the other drawstring dress I have, which is white with squirrels on it, inside-out and gave it a look. First I traced around it onto some graph paper and tentatively extrapolated the places where the fabric was folded around the top. Then I studied the order of operations in how it had been sewn, folding it at the proper places. (And I have to say, for me, this was genuinely akin to messing with high-level black magicks, so I'm surprised my dark guess-trapolations were remotely workable. Honestly. My brain is not good at this kind of stuff.)
So, long story short, I tested it out and hand-sewed a frickin' DRESS! Out of this cute mushroom fabric, because of course, cute mushroom fabric, what do you take me for! I had some gingham ribbon on hand and thought it matched the vibe well enough to act for the closure. It came together pretty perfectly--in a technical sense, as in, everything works as it should! Of course my hand-stitching looks sort of homespun, especially because I used a highly contrasting thread. (Look... if I am sewing by hand, I have to be able to see my stitches on the fabric!!) And it took a couple of hours of sewing since I wasn't using a machine. But Fidielia is literally wearing it right now, so I do not care one whit if it looks cheesy!
Even having taken a couple of hours, this came together a lot faster than the skirts I've recently sewed, so you can bet I'm going to go through a phase of making drawstring dresses! Look forward to more...
I think they would look cute with some embellishments, like little pockets or embroidery or appliques. But there's something to be said for simplicity too. Simple shape, simple execution.
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