Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Flower Petal Hem Tutorial

Today we have a talented seamstress with us sharing her Party Dress remix...someone you all know and love, Rachel from Nest Full of Eggs.  Welcome Rachel....thanks for guest judging for us this week!


Hello Project Run and Play readers! I'm Rachel and I blog at nest full of eggs. I'm so happy to be here to share how I remixed The Party Dress as I'm a huge fan of this silhouette! One of my absolute favorite things to sew is a party dress. They are a super fun way of expressing your creativity. Think of it as a cake and you get to decorate it any way you want to.

Some of the changes I made to Lindsay's pattern/tutorial were...  I went monochromic. And I created a narrower sash, downsizing it to the width of the beaded trim that I found.

I sewed a regular dress in size 4, then also a sheer silk overlay in size 5, making a second look possible, adding versatility to my little girl's wardrobe. By creating a sheer silk overlay The Party Dress becomes The 2-in-1 Party Dress. The silk sash with beaded trim can tie around either version of the dress.

Today I'm going to share with you a couple of little details that I added to the sheer silk overlay. Since the tutorial calls for a construction where you need to topstitch around the armholes, I decided to make the finished edges prettier since this is sheer fabric and that means all the seams show, so with machine embroidery I added embroidered topstitching around the armholes and decided to continue this same idea around the neckline as well.

 What looks like large polka dots on the skirt band are actually fabric flower petals which I found at the local craft store in the cake decorating section.

 I simply tucked in these fabric flower petals into the skirt band as I was sewing along.


 So I actually made the skirt band an encased hem (like a bias bound hem ~ just think of the skirt band as really wide bias tape) and did the topstitching on the skirt band part. I ended up making the skirt band 7 inches wide instead of 5 inches in order for the flower petals to fit.



I look forward to seeing how everyone remixes The Party Dress... Just as Lindsay writes: "get creative with this pattern and make it your own."


Isn't is beautiful?  And every little girl's dream?  Perfect, Rachel.  Thanks again.

The linky party to link up for linking up your Party Dress is HERE.

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27 comments :

  1. Very pretty Rachel! Glad to see you over here again

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  2. Thanks so much for having me, I'm excited to be guest judging this week.

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  3. That is a great use of that type of stitch. I often think all of those extra stitches are so unnecessary in a machine and I love that you found such a practical job for them!

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  4. Absolutely beautiful! I love the decorative stitch, that gorgeous sash and the double layer effect. Stunning.

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  5. Great job, Rachel! What a beautiful dress for your girl, and I love the overlay and the details you added to it. So pretty! :)

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  6. So cute Rachel! I love the color and petal detail!

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  7. Very pretty. I love the soft color and details.

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  8. What a stunning party dress! Rachel, your details are so creative and lovely - wonderful sewing as always!

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  9. This dress and overdress are just beautiful! I love how your daughter can wear the outfit two ways. The decorative stitching around the neck and armseyes is a great idea!

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  10. Beautiful fabric, work, and technique. This is a dream dress.

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  11. This is beautiful, Rachel! I love the embroidering details around the neckline and the sheer overlay is gorgeous.

    Jenny
    Seamingly Smitten Sewing Patterns
    www.seaminglysmitten.blogspot.com

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  12. What a lovely dress! Love your work!

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  13. Oh wow, that is beautiful! All of the little touches are wonderful. =)

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  14. You never disappoint (especially in your detail work), Rachel!! GREAT REMIX - very versatile for a busy little girl....

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  15. very beautiful! thank you for the tutorial!

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  16. Beautiful, Rachel!!! Love the petals in the hem. Great work.

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  17. I just love the stitching around the arm holes and neckline! It is perfect. Lovely Remix!

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  18. I love the embroidery work - and the two layers, twice the fun! That color is just perfect on your daughter too. It is just so much fun seeing all the different interpretations of such a great pattern!

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  19. I'm working with a similar sheer/netting type fabric to overlay the main skirt of a dress I am making my daughter for Valentine's day. I've never really sewn with this type of fabric before, and I'm wondering how you finished the seams of the sheer skirt. Also, I haven't yet decided if I want the sheer skirt to be removable like yours or if I want to sew it directly onto the bodice.

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  20. sewVery I did French seams on the side skirt seams, the back skirt seam I used liquid seam sealant, all the other seams are encased. Hope that helps :)

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