Tuesday, November 4, 2014

dress up

While I was yanking my shirt down and my skirt up because of the hysterical toddler I was carrying at church on Sunday, I thought deeply about what would have been a better wardrobe choice.  It's not as easy as thinking of a different outfit I should have worn because they all have their issues.  If I find a dress that's long enough, the neckline is ALWAYS going to be too big and gaping, or if the neckline covers okay, it's too short.  Or too sheer.  Or waaayyyy too tight.  Every.  Single.  Time.

So I resolved right then that I would go home and make the perfect wresting-with-a-toddler-in-church dress.  I do have a few DIY wins in my closet, but many, many more failures, so I was nervous.  I can't read patterns so everything I do is by eye-balling and Pinterest tutorials.  But I was resolved, dagnabit.

I bought the material yesterday and cut it out, but was too nervous to actually sew it until today, and by the time I was done sewing, it was too dark to take any pictures, so I got WonderGirl to take a whole lotta crummy ones with my cell phone.  I had seen this adorable and really well explained tute for a girl's dress and thought if I left the waist elastic out, that could be pretty promising for a grown-up like me:


I had planned on a dress about this length to wear with a cardigan, but when I got done it was waaay longer than I thought.  And then I thought maybe that wasn't such a bad thing?


Not bad, huh???  And before we move on to length options, let's just bask in the glory that is this neckband:


I have NEVER managed to get a neck looking good and the tutorial was so clear and concise, it gave me the confidence I needed.  IT'S A NECKBAND, PEOPLE!!!!!

So then I tried to have WG take pictures of it me in the longer length to get an idea of what it looked like and maybe ask for y'all's opinion, but the only pictures we got illustrate my need for the dress in the first place:


Creepy blurry, I know.  But we see how impossible it is to have more than 2 seconds of private time around here.  (When I try to take his pictures he won't stop moving and cooperate but when I need a picture of just me, he's allll up in there, trying to pose, even. Stinker.)


And then there's this guy, yanking away...


Get the picture? (pun intended).  Staying fully dressed while being attacked by these yay-hoos is a serious challenge.  But so far, the dress looks up to it!

So this was my original plan - knee-length with a bright cardigan.  I pinned it up to see what the effect was, and so of course, I was attacked again...




So after looking at both, I think I'm going to go with the knee-length option, but I'm going to make another one that goes to the floor.  It's still nerve-wracking because I'm terrified I'll mess up and the thought of facing the fabric store any time soon with Thing 3 in tow is terrifying.

But hey, not bad, huh??  Necessity (and desperation) is the mother of invention for this mother!


5 comments:

klutzy k said...

I love it! The neckline is fantastic. I am so, so impressed (and jealous!) of your sewing awesomeness! I think knee-length on this one looks best, though you can rock it either way. I love your pics. My mom can't understand why we don't have a nice family photo or why I don't seem to take any non-blurry pictures. That's because there are none! :D

Miss D said...

First of all, I'm so impressed that ICAN'TBELIEVEYOUDIDN'TLINKTHETUTORIAL. I've done plenty of sewing but I'm scared crapless by knits and stretchy things. They make me curse and not be able to sew at RS functions. (Actually most of my sewing makes me curse and not be able to go to RS functions where people socially sew.) Second of all, it makes me really mad that my phone won't let me post comments from it. It freaks out. Every. Dang. Time. And the post about trick or treating made me almost hurt a rib from trying not to obnoxiously snort in public.

Miss D said...

Seriously, I want the tutorial that helped you make that neckline.

Jane said...

I knew there was that awesomeness in you!!
Knee length is best for that one dress, but either way...
And top marks for the neckline!
On another note; can you just pitch the boys out that there door to the side of you while WG takes the picture? It hasn't actually snowed yet, so they'll be fine.
And wow - you are so skinny.

Pisceanchick said...

Ça c'est très belle!

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