So this is going to be my first official post about something I have made for myself. I have been having some serious closet envy towards my twin daughters and decided to take care of that by sewing for myself more often I must admit it took quite a while to get the courage to sew something for myself because it was a bit intimidating but I am so glad I got over my fears and discovered just how fun it is to make something for yourself! The best is when a complete stranger compliments your outfit and asks where you got your handmade top It’s even better when it happens while you are out with your hubby and you just look at each other and smile. Totally makes you feel good!
Anyways, I wanted to share you with today the FOUR dresses I made while testing the women’s Caroline dress pattern by Mouse House Creations. This pattern hasn’t been released yet but Hayley is aiming for it to be ready for purchase on MONDAY! I can’t even begin to tell you how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pattern! There are so many options from cap sleeve, short sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, long sleeve, gathered skirt, pleated skirt, below the knee, above the knee, and not to mention the many ways you can change up the pattern on your own to add your own flair. It is definitely my go-to pattern any time I need a new dress in my wardrobe! I have FOUR new dresses just from this one pattern and each one looks so different. It truly is the perfect dress pattern. And with Hayley’s attention to detail and perfectionist personality you know you will be getting a quality pattern!
The first dress I want to share with you is my upcycled dress. I made the cap sleeve bodice exactly as the pattern calls for but decided to cut up an old dress and use the skirt part of it for my new Caroline. It took a lot of seam ripping but I was able to salvage the skirt portion of the dress as well as the zipper and attach it to my new bodice. I love the way it turned out! It feels pretty good to turn something you never ever wear into something that you want to wear all of the time!
I also LOVE the shoes I am wearing it but they have been sitting in my closet for a year because I just didn’t have anything to wear with them. Now I get to wear two things in my closet that were never worn before.
And it is totally a twirl-worthy dress! I can’t put this dress on and NOT twirl.
This next dress is probably my favorite. I did the 3/4 length sleeve option with this one as well as the gathered skirt. To make the skirt I decided to piece together strips of black and white fabric to make the cabana stripe look. It would definitely make things easier if I could just find fabric already like this but really it wasn’t too hard at all. Just take the length you want your skirt and divide it by the number of stripes you want and then add your seam allowance to that number. Super easy!
I also chose to add pockets to this skirt and LOVE them! I wanted this skirt to have a little more proof to it so I added width to the overall skirt measurement so that there would be more gathers and make the skirt look fuller.
I made dresses for my girls using the children’s Caroline pattern that are very similar to this one and loved them so much I had to make one for myself. I am not one to like being matchy with my daughters but I just couldn’t resist and I had to have one in my own closet. I am so glad I did and can’t wait to wear this dress somewhere other than the back of my house for pictures.
This next dress is another favorite but I say that about all of these dresses! For this dress, I used some leftover fabric I had from a Norah dress I made my girls. I am so glad I decided to use it because I love the stripes on the skirt.
I decided to do the 3/4 length sleeve again on this dress ( I must really like that length ) but didn’t actually hem the arms yet because I wasn’t sure if I wanted them to hit right above the elbow instead. After seeing pictures though I think I like the length just the way it is.
For the skirt, I decided to do pleats instead of gathers but changed them up a little bit. I did pleats at the princess seams only and sort of double them up at each pleat. I wanted the skirt to be fuller and thought to do pleats this way would help with that. I really like how they turned out.
I also decided to change things a little bit at the back. When putting in the zipper I decided I wanted to make the back bodice in a slight V shape just to make things a little different from the other dresses. I think it was the perfect subtle change.
Last but not least is my mint feather, Caroline. I scored this chiffon fabric at FIDM at the LA fabric district and have been waiting for something to make with it. I kind of love this fabric.
For this dress I wanted it to be more of a casual dress. I decided to make the width of the skirt a little smaller so there wouldn’t be as many gathers and help make it a little less poofy. I also decided not to add the underskirt to this one. I love the way this dress turned out and think it’s the perfect dress for spring if it would hurry up and get here! I am SO ready for spring.
So there you have it! FOUR different dresses from just ONE totally awesome pattern. Would you like to win the Women’s Caroline Dress pattern for yourself?? Here is a chance for you to win! Just enter the rafflecopter below!