summery apron-top dress...my first try

[kumarp]

My husband was out of town this weekend so I spent my time sewing...This is my first attempt at making a dress. I'm new to sewing, and I'm not sure if I like how it turned out...but here it is. I didn't follow a pattern, but rather I used a hippie-apron style top that I already have as a pattern for the top, and just winged it for the bottom. Not sure if I like it enough to actually wear it out of the house....but we'll see. Here in frigid upstate NY, it's definitely not warm enough yet!


Sorry for the blurry pictures; who knew holding a camera still could be so hard?

I got the fabric from JoAnn fabrics last year -- it came with the "sari border" at the bottom, so I didn't even have to finish the bottom edge.

Does anyone have any tips for me on how to make it better? I feel that the front is too boring. I was planning to embroider something on it, but then I tried embroidering on some scrap fabric and realized I need a LOT more practice before I can actually make something that looks good. So I don't want to ruin the dress with my shoddy embroidery skills. I was thinking of deocrating it with ribbon??? Any ideas?

Also, I just kind of winged it on the back ties and bottom...is there a better way to do this? anyone have a tutorial out there of how to (properly) make an apron-style dress?

Oh, and almost forgot -- I didn't put any darts or anything in the front because I'm scared of messing it up...Does anyone have any tips for me on how to sew in darts? I don't need much because I'm pretty flat (*sigh*), but I'm thinking that a little bit of boob-dart might be nice. what do you think?

[tickleagangster]

That dress certainly would do just fine in Cali! Hmmm, I wonder whether you would mind doing a lil tute!?? LOL
Seriously, that's great work!

[fluffysam]

I love it.. the bottom is super cute! I don't think it's boring at all - the simplicity makes it all the cuter.

[piratekittie]

I like that the front is really simple and the back is all WOW. It's a good contrast. And that's amazing for a first dress, especially without a pattern.

[whyislife]

I like it just the way it is. It's really cute.

ok, off topic....tickleagan gster, i have a shirt that has your icon on it!

[motleykitten]

This dress is super cute! I too am a member of TLC (the Titty-Less Crew), so I know how hard it is to find a dress that fits at the top. But the GREAT thing about being flat is that you can rock the hippie vibe of this dress and not wear a bra! It looks great without darts but if you want some:
1. just sew an empire waist seam (fold over the fabric from the inside and sew just under where your boobs would go)
2. Then measure where your nipples are (I know that sounds weird but that will make it even) and fold a tapered triangle from the inside to make darts)

Otherwise you could just get a pattern from Joann's and only use the bodice, but then you might have to take your dress apart.

Hope this helps!

[dirt_made_my_lunch]

You should put a little line of ribbon that matches the bottom detail along to top. Then you should make a tiny bow out of the same ribbon and sew it right in the center of the top. Know what I mean? I am really big on bows right now

[jezebel7383]

I love it the way it is. You should wear it out; it looks great on you!

[bootygirl]

If you think the front is too plain maybe you could make a matching flower brooch. Then you could put it on or take it off when you want. I really like the back. I think I would make the top strap a little wider so I could wear a bra (i'm not big up top but rely on my bra for better shape and extra boost!). How did you do the bottom strap part? I mean did you need to cut the fabric a certain shapewhere the ties are attached? I'm having trouble imagining it.

[kumarp]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas!

The bottom strap is actually a big mess. I made buttonholes for each of the straps (4 buttonholes total, 2 for each strap), and for the bottom one, I also folded down the edging of the top of the skirt part to make a little tube for the strap to go through, with a slit in the center...so the bottom strap goes through the buttonholes, through the "tube", and comes out at the slit in the center of the tube. Confusing! Next time I will definitely do it differently!