I thought it was just the cutest thing, so when I found myself in a really wonderful fabric shop in Louisville last month, I picked up my own copy as well as some cool fabric.
I didn't want to cut into my pattern and fabric until I knew that I had the fit right, so I traced the pattern onto interfacing and made the top of the dress out of buck-a-yard fabric from Walmart . . . twice. Apparently 2007 Bonnie's boobs are a good inch lower than 1952 Bonnie's were, so I had to move the darts down. And I don't know if 1952 Bonnie was smoking more or maybe she just didn't like the cheese dip quite so much, but I also had to add a couple inches in the waist to accommodate 2007 Bonnie.
Once I had the alterations right, making the dress wasn't terribly tricky. It felt good to set up my serger again, which has been waiting patiently in its box for at least 4 years. I felt very clever when I applied the differential feed of the serger and finished the bottom of the circle skirt, thus gathering it just enough so that it folded easily for hemming. (Anybody who has every hemmed a circle skirt without a serger with differential feed can vouch for the fact that this can be a tricky proposition.)
I bought some smokin' hot red shoes and some red earrings and a red bracelet (and a red necklace that I wound up leaving at home as I felt like the black seam binding at the neckline was enough neck detail), and voila! I was ready for the first luncheon of the year yesterday:
Mike took this picture as a joke. I think I'll get an 8X10 printed for Fred's desk:
It's kind of like domestic cheesecake. I wish I had thought to do a whole series: me vacuuming, dusting, etc., all the while channeling my inner Donna Reed.
Now that the dress is done, I'd like to keep sewing, and I already have my next project picked out. About 3 years ago, I got Annabelle a stuffed anteater sewing kit for her birthday. We're going to work on that this weekend.
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