I started to think about Christmas dresses for the three girls back in October, inspired once again to experiment with my two current sewing passions: the use of complementary fabrics and bias trim. I love clothes--especially children's clothes--that are constructed using an assortment of fabrics, but lack confidence in coordinating colors and patterns. I was confident, however, that I could talk Kathy into meeting me at Fabric Depot. After much pondering and rearranging of the Christmas fabric display, we selected three cotton prints for the dresses and a
Blue Hill Fabrics plaid from the Victorian Christmas collection for a bias trim.
I've never been a fan of facings, either around the neck or armholes of a garment. I don't like the way they look if tacked down and I don't like the way they feel if not tacked down. Now that I have my handy-dandy cutting surface, rotary cutter, and a number of quilting rulers and cutting guides, I'm done with facings and have moved on to finishing neck and armhole edges with bias strips cut from fabric. To finish the neck edges of the two bigger dresses, I cut a 2 1/4" strip of fabric on the bias and folded one side in 5/8". Matching the cut edges (right sides together) of the neckline and bias strip, I sewed a 5/8" seam around the neckline, trimed the seam allowance down to 3/8", then folded the strip to the inside, leaving a 1/2" bias trim around the neckline. Instead of cuffs, I also finished the sleeves with the same bias trim.
The ruffles and sashes are also cut on the bias. In retrospect, I should have bought enough of the plaid fabric to make piping to go in the seam between the skirt of the dress and the border around the hem. After scouring fabric stores from Portland to McMinnville, I determined that the Blue Hill Fabrics Victorian collection was, in fact, no longer to be found. Lesson learned ... always fudge and buy a bit more fabric than you think you might need.
I started to think about Christmas dresses for the three girls back in October, inspired once again to experiment with my two current sewing passions: the use of complementary fabrics and bias trim. I love clothes--especially children's clothes--that are constructed using an assortment of fabrics, but lack confidence in coordinating colors and patterns. I was confident, however, that I could talk Kathy into meeting me at Fabric Depot. After much pondering and rearranging of the Christmas fabric display, we selected three cotton prints for the dresses and a Blue Hill Fabrics plaid from the Victorian Christmas collection for a bias trim. 
I've never been a fan of facings, either around the neck or armholes of a garment. I don't like the way they look if tacked down and I don't like the way they feel if not tacked down. Now that I have my handy-dandy cutting surface, rotary cutter, and a number of quilting rulers and cutting guides, I'm done with facings and have moved on to finishing neck and armhole edges with bias strips cut from fabric. To finish the neck edges of the two bigger dresses, I cut a 2 1/4" strip of fabric on the bias and folded one side in 5/8". Matching the cut edges (right sides together) of the neckline and bias strip, I sewed a 5/8" seam around the neckline, trimed the seam allowance down to 3/8", then folded the strip to the inside, leaving a 1/2" bias trim around the neckline. Instead of cuffs, I also finished the sleeves with the same bias trim.
The ruffles and sashes are also cut on the bias. In retrospect, I should have bought enough of the plaid fabric to make piping to go in the seam between the skirt of the dress and the border around the hem. After scouring fabric stores from Portland to McMinnville, I determined that the Blue Hill Fabrics Victorian collection was, in fact, no longer to be found. Lesson learned ... always fudge and buy a bit more fabric than you think you might need.
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