This is a beautiful, symmetrical dress–not cockeyed as it appears in this photo.  The wind would NOT stop blowing so it kept swinging on the hanger as I tried to snap it in a moment of calm. Note also that the hanger is an adult size, so the shoulder appears to be wider than the pattern picture.
But, hurrah!! Laurel’s Easter dress is almost done, lacking only buttons and buttonholes. The pattern is one of Nancy Coburn’s at Ginger Snaps Designs.
Laurel’s dress includes absolutely no originality from me. I copied this beauty as is because I didn’t think there was any way I could improve upon it.
This is a great pattern which almost falls together. Aside from its excellent directions and photo illustrations, the pattern includes several tips. These make construction easier and the finished product even prettier. For instance, look at the way the collar lays across the sleeves. Nancy recommends that you leave the center 3″ on the sleeve cap ungathered so that the collar lays flat.
The dress fabric is Nelona Swiss batiste and the double collar is Swiss organdy. My last piece of white Swiss was a tad short of the yardage requirement, so I used organdy for the collars.
The English lace edging and insertion are both a soft ivory, a color I absolutely love, especially with white. My only disappointment was in the width of the header on the edging.
Usually, when a lace header is too wide to make a pretty, delicate join to entredeux or hemstitching, I just trim it down. But because the gathering thread is at the very, very top of the header, trimming only works if the lace is being applied flat. So the entire header had to remain. As you can see from the above photo of the hemline, it made for a bulky attachment.
The collar is machine embroidered with a bow design from Martha Pullen’s 2011 Embroidery Club and the trinity rings from somewhere else that I can’t recall. This dress will also be worn when Laurel is baptised next month, so the design was carefully chosen.
The sleeve feature entredeux beading, my favorite style. Early on in my heirloom sewing experience, I was dismayed to see the lace beading almost shredded from the ribbon being tied. Maybe I’m just rough with it, but it had to be replaced. So I find the extra expense of the entredeux beading to be money well spent and time saved.
Before I begin on Easter outfits for Alastair and Vivian Rose, I have to whip up 15 party favor teepee bags for Alastair’s upcoming zoo birthday party. That’s quite a change in style–from miles of imported lace, luscious fabrics and heirloom sewing techniques to zippers, zoo themed fabric and quick and easy sewing. But anything to make a grandchild smile!
What are you sewing for Easter…or birthday parties or whatever? I’d love to hear about it.
15 responses to “The Lace Dress for Easter”