For some reason, baby clothing designers make holiday dresses without sleeves. Maybe it's a way to get us to purchase a sweater to go with it. In any case, I got Maddy a dress that I had been eying since early November and searched all over for a matching sweater to go with it. No luck. But then I got an idea...The Dress
I had a dress from my college formals sitting in the closet unworn for awhile. It was my "skinny" dress: body hugging velvety fabric with marabou-boa across the neckline. I bought it from Joyce Leslie at a time when I was so excited that I hadn't gained the Freshmen-15 and could now shop at this cheap and made-for-girls-with-no-hips store. Needless to say, it does not get worn anymore. So I made the decision to give up the dress in order to keep Maddy warm and cute for the holidays. And it was an opportunity for me to test out my sewing skills.
The Project
I worked without a formal pattern, but made one using a similar shaped sweater that I had in a size 6 months (Maddy is now wearing 12-18 months). Using taped together pieces of Steno-Pad paper, I made up a pattern for this simple bolero style sweater. Since my sewing machine had been moved to our storage locker after our home staging day (that's another post to come in the near future), I had to use a combination of no-sew glue and hand stitching. I wasn't even sure that this would work, but as I cut out the pieces and started gluing the sweater together I was so excited that it was coming together as planned. I had to hand stitch areas where multiple parts came together and for the boa application, but the majority of it stayed together with the glue.
The finished product exceeded my expectations and it fit Maddy perfectly and complemented her dress well. You can view the project below from start to finish.
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