Hi, I'm Becky and I normally blog at bigflynotions. I am excited to share this dress as part of the Bella Sunshine Design's Back to School Blog Series.
Back to School Spirit Day Blues
My kids’ school has spirit days sprinkled throughout the year. The school announces the theme and children can decide whether to participate or not. There are things like Superhero Day, Wacky Wednesday, or Backwards Day (remember Kris Kross?).The most popular day is sports spirit day. The kids wear blue during the hockey season to support the local team. My pink princess has “nothing to wear”. I went for the two birds/one stone approach with this dress: my daughter gets a new back to school dress and I am not caught unprepared for a blue spirit day.
Blue on Blue on Blue
I could have used one shade of blue and made a lovely dress but why stop there? Bella Sunshine Designs has the perfect pattern for monochromatic bliss: (affiliate link) Emmaline. I purchased the ladies/girls bundle (affiliate link) in the recent Sunday Sunshine Sale and was eager to give it a try!
I used three different shades of cotton lycra from The Fabric Fairy. The pattern calls for knits with four-way stretch and good drape. Cotton lycra might have felt too boxy if I were sewing this dress for myself but it worked great for my daughter.
Sewing Emmaline
I followed the pattern suggestions for selecting sizes. My daughter is slender and needs the size 12m for width and the size 4 for height. The pattern includes simple instructions for blending. Melissa also made this helpful video for blending sizes for the chevron skirt.
I did not perfectly execute the gathered sleeve. Next time, I will pay greater attention to evenly gather between the notches and ensure that I am not stretching as I insert the sleeve. Using a fabric with more drape might also make those small gathers a little easier to manipulate.
I really liked piecing together the skirt and watching the chevrons form. I sometimes worry about how blocked pieces will feel against skin. The skirt's ease means this is not an issue with Emmaline. Ironing per the pattern instructions worked great but the seams would be simple to topstitch too.
Tadah!
The outcome is a gorgeous dress with amazing twirl:
Still intimidated by the Emmaline? You’ve got support:
- Detailed pattern instructions and blending video
- Check out the Emmaline sew-along
- Post in the Bella Sunshine Designs PDF Patterns Facebook group if you get stuck. Your BSD community will help (and oooh and ahh over your finished garment)
*I used affiliate links in this post. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase,
I will receive a small commission from your purchase, at no greater cost to you.*