Last year, I have wanted to start working on the dress that my niece will be using for her 7th birthday in February. I did not want to cram so I wanted that headstart. But the thing is, my design is not getting me anywhere. I have frogged the skirt countless times until I decided I would stick to that one last design. That was back in December. But then I had to step back from the yellow dress because I needed to work on the MTOs I accepted.
The moment I looked at the yellow dress again, it dawned on me that it was really looking uninspired. It made me realize that I was just working on it just for the sake of working on it. It felt like I just wanted to get it over and done. When I came to that realization and had accepted that I just wasted some couple of weeks or even months of my time and energy, I discarded the dress. It's in my box of WIPs because I don't have the heart to frog it all at once.
Come Christmas time, my sister handed over the tulle that she wants to be incorporated into the dress. As soon as I got home, I started working on the skirt. It's as if the tulle helped me find the inspiration for the dress. I am a visual kind of person, I work best when I see the materials I am dealing with.
Finally, I found the design I wanted to do with my niece's skirt. The first issue I encountered with the previous design I was working on was the waistband. The stitch I used was unable to support the weight of the skirt. That's going to be an issue once my niece starts dancing like Belle. I know she will because kids, you know how they are. And so I had to device another waistband that would address that dilemma. I used the BLO stitch on single crochets to create that sturdy but still somehow stretchy waistband. I often see this on beanies but why not use it as a waistband, right? I made two of these. One for the crochet skirt, one for the tulle wrap thingy that has those ruffles and curtain-like folds and styles on Beauty's ball gown.
I handstitched the tulle to the crochet waistband because I don't want to have a fight with my electric sewing machine. I have been Marie Kondo-ing my entire house these past few days and I just don't have that much energy for another battle. Maybe some other time.
The idea is that my niece will be wearing the crochet skirt and then the tulle skirt will be worn over the crochet skirt. She will have that princess moment while the tulle skirt is on. And then have "wardrobe change" into the outgoing little girl that she is.
Right now, I am convinced with the design I am working on. But will it fit? I have worked on a few wearables at this point but this one will be the first time I am not testing the fit mid-project. I usually ask my daughter to model the WIP for me so I can see how it fits but my niece is a different size than my daughter. So for this one, I guess I will just have to trust my measurements. I really wish I paid more attention to my HE teacher and to my mom when they were teaching me these things. Oh if only I could turn back time.
But of course, onward, looking forward! I am hoping for the best but this time, I am not sure if I am prepared for the worst. My sister is coming over in two weeks' time. The good thing about that is this WIP will finally be a complete project. She likes the new design, but then again, she also said she liked the previous one. I guess she's just too focused on the tulle part of the dress. She really just likes her little girl to look like a princess on her 7th birthday. And so, with the dress I'm making, a princess she shall be.
Nonetheless, I am glad that I started it over. It is a lot easier to work on the skirt now that I am feeling more comfortable and confident with my work. It helped that I stopped for a little bit and hid it for a while. The experience and confidence I gained from the MTOs last month helped a lot.
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