A Photographer Skirt

Camera fabric for a new skirt.

If you’re anything like me, you have many hobbies and interests. I love sewing, gardening, farm animal-ing, photography, cooking (sometimes, ha!), and Netflixing. As a photographer who sews, I have the skills to make my clothing in exciting prints that speak to me.

Novelty prints are my favorite. So, when I saw this fun camera fabric at Hobby Lobby, I bought the remainder of the bolt. I planned on making a skirt and hoped I had enough left for a few other small projects. Hint: I’m going to make another bag using leftover pieces.

This tutorial is super simple. We’re going to make a gathered skirt. It requires 2 yards or less of fabric. Since “Cove Cove,” aka the 2020 pandemonium, I’ve gained a few pounds. Elastic waistbands are my best friend, so I made the waistband with elastic in the back. The front has a flat waistband. Business in the front, party in the back!

Interested in making one? Let’s go.

What You Need:

1. 2 yards of fabric

2. 1” Elastic, measuring half the width of your waist, plus 1” for overlap

3. Matching thread

4. Sewing machine

5. Scissors, a chalk marker, ruler, etc.

6. Pins or clips

7. Safety pin to thread the elastic

8. Measuring tape

9. Pencil and paper to create your pattern

10. Scrap fabric for pockets

11. Pocket pattern piece

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Pockets

If you don’t want to self-draft a pocket piece, here are a couple of easy ways to find a pocket pattern.

• Grab a pocket piece from another sewing pattern you already own. Most skirt, dress, and pants patterns usually have a pocket. Check your envelopes to find an in-seam pocket pattern piece.

• Look online for a free PDF one. A quick Pinterest or Google search will give you lots of patterns.

Cut 4 pieces from some matching or contrasting fabric scraps. Sometimes it’s fun to have colorful pockets. Use solids, patterns, polka dots, or cut animal print fabric for your pockets. Make it fun!

Pocket pattern and yellow fabric for the pockets.

Skirt Instructions

Measure the length from your waist to your leg (calf, above, or below your knee) that you want your skirt, then add 2-4” for a hem. I wanted to make mine 20” long. So, I cut my fabric 22” long. I used quilting cotton that was roughly 44” wide. I cut my fabric 22” by 44”.

Cut 2. This will be your front and back.

My waist is 35”, so this created a lightly gathered skirt. If your waist is larger, you will have less gathers. If you like lots of gathers you might need more fabric. If your waist is smaller, you will have more gathers.

Pinning the pockets to the front of the skirt.

I measured 1.5” down from the top and made a notch. This is where you want your pocket to be placed. This is customizable, depending on how tall or short you are.

Pin the pocket RST to the front of the skirt. Then sew using a 1/4”-3/8” seam allowance. Press open. Repeat on the other side.

Do the same for the back skirt piece. You will now have two pieces that look like rectangles with floppy elephant ears.

Place front and back pieces RST, and pin the side seam starting at the bottom, going around the pockets, and up to the top. Sew in that order, sewing around pocket pieces. Use a 5/8” Seam allowance.

As an extra precaution, I do a few extra back-and-forth stitches at the corners where I pivot for my pockets.

I chose yellow pockets to match the branding for my photography business. I usually wear this skirt when I have a vendor show or meet a new client. It’s a fun conversation piece.

Sew around the pinned pocket. It will get pressed and tuck away nicely within the skirt seam.

You inseam pocket should look something like the one below. Yes, I used the selvedge of my fabric and we all know that’s a big no-no. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.

The pocket is tucked inside nice and neat.

Secret yellow pocket.

Gathering your skirt.

Sew 2 rows of stitching along the top with a 5-7mm length. Pull to gather the skirt. Go slowly so you don’t break a thread.

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Waistband Fun

Time to sew the waistband. This part is a little more tricky than a regular waistband. You’re going to gather the back with a piece of elastic while leaving the front flat. It gives a nice look while adding comfort.

• Cut the front waistband strip half your waist measurement, plus 1” for seam allowance. If your waist is 30”, cut the piece 16”.15”+1”=16”. Use a 1/2” seam allowance for the waistband. I like easy math.

• I made my waistband 2.5” tall, this is completely customizable for you and what you want.

Example: Cut 2 front strips 16” wide by 2.5” tall.

• Add interfacing to one strip, this will be the outer piece.

• Sew right sides together, along the top long edge, only. Press open.

Making your waistband.

• For the back waistband piece, you’ll cut 2 strips the same height, 2.5” (or your preferred height) by the fabric width measurement.

• I cut mine 2.5” by 35”. The width can be fudged a little here, it’ll be gathered anyway. Sew along the top with the 2 pieces facing RST, just like you did with the front waistband. Press open.

Pin and sew the short sides of the waistband pieces together, creating a super-duper long loop. Press the seams open.

Pin the waistband to the skirt gathers, starting at the side seams.

Pin your waistband strip to the skirt along the gathered top.

• Pin at the side seams first.

• Then, pin the front waistband piece along the front skirt.

• Fold the back piece in half and mark it with chalk. Pin that to the center back of the skirt. This can be finicky because you’re pinning 2 gathered pieces to each other, go slow and it’ll work out. Use lots of pins or clips.

You can hand sew the waistband- which is the correct way but, hand sewing is not my favorite thing. I turn the edge under on the inner waistband and pin it from the outside, making sure I catch the seam.

Pin from the outside and remove the pins as you stitch in the ditch.

Tricky Part of the Waistband

Stitch in the ditch when sewing the waistband. This means keeping your needle in the area where the waistband and skirt meet up. It’s a hidden stitch.

Make sure to leave a 2” gap in the side seams for inserting your elastic.

Use a bodkin or safety pin to insert your elastic.

Use a safety pin or bodkin to insert your elastic into the waistband. Insert through one open side seam.

When you get to the other side, stitch over the side seam to lock the elastic in place. Repeat on the other side. Gather back fabric evenly, then stitch to close the openings.

You are “locking” the elastic in place by sewing over it, on the side seams. The elastic will only go in the back of the skirt.

The front looks nice and flat, the back is gathered for comfort.

Closer look at the gathered back waistband.

Front waistband is flat.

The hem is the easy part. Fold your hem up however much you want1-2”, then press, then fold up again 1-2”. Pin, and stitch using a 3-3.5mm stitch length. I chose to do a shorter hem here, but I usually do a 2” hem.

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I love my skirt! I made this to wear when I have events for my photography business. I usually pair it with a yellow top to match my branding. It’s simply perfect!

What do you think? Do you plan on making a skirt with elastic in the back? I call it a mullet skirt. Business in the front, comfort in the back. LOL

Happy sewing,

Annette

Back of the skirt hanging on my dressform.

Front of the skirt on the dressform.

Beetlejuice Handbag by Swoon Patterns

Coffee and sewing just go together!

Beetlejuice…Beetlejuice…Beetleju……Ha, I’m not saying it!

Do you ever feel like you need a bigger bag? All of your life doesn’t quite fit into your current bag, and it’d be nice to have a larger one, right? I sewed a big bag using Swoon Patterns “Annette Tote” sewing pattern. And, OMGSH! I am not joking when I say it’s a bigger bag. The bag is huge! I’ve made many Swoon patterns, and this one was no different. It’s well thought out, every pattern piece matches up, and the result is very professional-looking, as always.

I had some bright green Beetlejuice fabric and knew I wanted it for this bag. I also had black vinyl in my stash so, this was going to be a perfect bag for the spooky season. And, bonus, the new Beetlejuice movie came out around the same time I finished my bag. Yay!

If you’re new to bag-making, it can be a little intimidating. The most important thing is buying good quality interfacings and vinyl. Don’t skimp on these things. And, press, press, press.

Bonus, the pattern is my name, so you knew I was going to make a few of these, right?

Supply List:

• Annette Tote sewing pattern

• By Annie’s soft n stable (there are other brands, but this is THE best) Also, available on Amazon

• Sewing machine

• Wonder Clips. Pins are nice, but clips are my go-to for bag-making, especially if you use vinyl or leather

• Fabric for the outside (roughly1.5 yards)

• Lining fabric (1.5 yards)

• 2 Zippers- 1 for interior pocket, 1 for bag

• Interfacings

• Rotary cutter and mat

• Double-sided tape, I like Tandy leather

• Chalk marker

• Rulers

• Iron and board

• Marine Vinyl for handles and outside pockets, don’t skimp on this.

• Purse feet (optional)

• Metal hardware for handles

• Matching thread

• Printer, paper, and tape

I might have forgotten a thing or two, I’m going off memory here. There’s a whole list of what you’ll need in the pattern instructions. The fabric amount is probably wrong as well, make sure to check the pattern.

Annette Satchel first steps.

Interface everything!

• After you’ve printed the PDF pattern, cut, and taped everything together, it’s time to start the bag.

• Trace your pieces onto the fabric. Cut all the extra pieces there aren’t actual pattern pieces for.

• Interface everything! You have to sew the foam to the interfaced fabric main pieces. A serger is nice for this, or use the zigzag stitch on your machine.

• Cut out the vinyl handle pieces and place them onto the purse front and back. This is easy to do by folding the purse front in half and marking the CF. Use your ruler and chalk to mark placement spots for the handles. Use your double-sided tape to attach the handle in place.

Sew the handle connectors on.

Clip the 2 pieces of the side pockets together, matching placement points. This will feel funny, but it creates a nice big pocket. This pocket will fit a few cell phones, a small water bottle, a stuffed puppy, or a pair of flip-flops.

My Beetlejuice bag is coming along nicely.

Create the interior pocket. Leave a large gap in the bottom, this is how you will turn the bag right side out after it’s completed.

Purse feet are nice to have but not necessary.

You will sew the bottom base to the front and back of the bag. Topstitch. Below is what the outer will look like.

Now it’s time for the interior of the bag. I had some fun stripe fabric left over from a Halloween quilt I made last year. I didn’t have enough for the whole interior, but I made it work. Making bags is fun because you can use scraps for inside pockets and other small areas.

The intereior of the bag. Stripe fabric for the sides and Beetlejuice fabric on the bottom base.

Now the bag starts coming together.

Take the bag's main piece and side pocket pieces, and get your clips.

Start by clipping at the top, then the middle marked spot, and go from there.

Sew from one top edge, down and around, and up to the other edge. Repeat for both sides.

Clip, clip, hooray!

After the outside is finished, sew the interior the same way. This will be easier because there isn’t a layer of thick foam.

Add your own label. This is the chef’s kiss!

Clip around the top of the inside and outside. Sew!

Use lots and lots of clips.

Turn inside out through the interior pocket. This is tough, but you’ll persevere. LOL

The last step is to make the handles.

I usually make mine a little shorter or longer than what patterns call for. I measure the length I prefer with a soft measuring tape, draped over my shoulder.

Fold the handle in half, mark, then fold each side to the mark down the middle. Using the double-sided tape really helps with this part. Clip and sew.

When sewing vinyl, you cannot backstitch. The needle leaves permanent holes, so go slow and sew carefully.

Mark the center point, fold each edge to the line. Then fold onto itself, clip, then sew.

Insert into the hardware rings on your purse. Sew a few rows of stitching across the vinyl.

Dress accordingly and go see the new Beeltejuice movie.

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That’s it! Your big beautiful handbag is ready to get filled with everything on the planet.

It’s a fairly simple handbag to sew. I’ve made the smaller version as well and love it.

I’ve never had a handbag this large before so, I do feel a little funny shopping with it. I haven’t knocked anything over inside a store, yet. Haha! Oh, and it takes up a whole seat at a restaurant, but it fits everything! My laptop and camera both fit inside, which is nice if I’m on a photoshoot.

Do you need a huge carpet bag like this? I plan on making another in a different fabric- one that is more suitable for year-round use. I also might make a third using some leftover camera fabric from this skirt project.

Here’s a silly reel I made on Instagram showing what fits inside the bag.

Happy bag-making!

Annette

Movie theater goofball photos.

The Patio Dress by Gertie

Oh Hi! I’m just dancing in my new dress.

As sewists, we often see things out in the world and say to ourselves, (or out loud) “I can make that”! And, then we go home and usually do. Whether it takes a year or five is not the point. Ha! Rewind to last year when I went to Viva Las Vegas and saw beautiful vintage patio dresses. They were all priced waaay out of my budget, so I said to my husband, “I can make one. And, it’ll actually fit”. Vintage sizes aren’t always accommodating to me.

I already had the pattern. All I needed was the fabric. Oh, and trim. Lots and lots of trim!

I was gifted the absolute perfect fabric for a patio dress, so let’s dive in.

I wrote down a sketch of how much fabric I would need. It reminds me of a tiered wedding cake.

I was contacted by Fabric Wholesale Direct for a collaboration. I picked out the fabric, and they sent it to me in exchange for a blog post. That’s a win-win in my book!

I immediately thought of sewing the patio dress because it was fresh in my mind. I asked for 5 yards of shirting in a coral color. I’ve seen a few people make the dress out of heavier fabrics and I knew I wanted something very lightweight. Shirting was the perfect choice! The color is gorgeous too! Exactly what I wanted.

Let’s get to sewing a patio dress.

Gather your tracing tools. Rulers, markers, a pencil, and your favorite paper. I used medical paper this time.

I originally wanted to go with a Western theme, fringe everywhere, and then decided I wanted Ric Rac instead. So, make sure you choose the direction you want for your dress before you go trim shopping. I’ll use the fringe for something else, I’m sure. Eventually.

What You’ll Need

• At least 4.5 yards of fabric, I cut a size 12, short sleeve version, and had leftover fabric.

• Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses book, by Gertie

• Matching thread

• 22” ish zipper. I say “ish” because I used a shorter one I had on hand and it worked just fine.

• Trim. Yards and yards of trim. I used 20.

• Sewing machine

• Serger. Not necessary, but it is nice if you have one.

• The usual sewing notions

• Interfacing

• Tools for tracing off your pattern: paper, pencils, ruler, weights, etc.

• A ruffler foot. This is reeaaally nice to have.

I bought all the pretty colors from JoAnn. Luckily, they were on sale. 

The Bodice

Start by washing your fabric. This is always step one.

Trace your pattern from pattern page 5 in the book envelope. I used medical paper, fun markers, and a ruler to trace the straight lines.

Cut out your new pattern pieces. I use a small rotary cutter for this. I never used it for anything else, so it’s my pattern paper cutter.

Transfer all markings to your fabric. Then, cut out your fabric.

I like to apply the interfacing now, to get it done and over with.

Serge the vertical edges if you’d like. The shirting fabric I used wasn’t too bad at fraying, but the serger keeps the edges nice and clean.

Stay stitch your neckline, both front and back. This is an important step, especially for this lightweight fabric. You don’t want to stretch out the neckline while you're sewing rows and rows of trim.

Gather your trim. Originally I thought I could start sewing the dress first and worry about trim later. Nope, that’s not the case. The trim goes on the bodice in step number one.

I rummaged through bags of what I had on hand and started with those colors. I liked how they looked with the coral fabric, so I stuck with a fun color palette. It was deemed my Candyland dress.

I was surprised that I didn’t need to add interfacing to the back of the fabric considering the amount of Ric Rac I added. But, this fabric held up just fine.

Place the trim along the lines. I snipped into my seam allowance to mark those spots. 

Play with your different trims. Use ribbon, pom poms, and/or ric rac. Move them around to decide on the layout you love.

Pin everything in place and sew.

Go slowly, pulling out your pins one by one. I just eyeballed the seam line and kept it in the middle as best as I could.

Repeat on the other side. If you transferred your markings correctly, they should meet up in the center perfectly. Mine met up, but the nature of ric rac looked wonky. I decided I didn’t mind and kept it as-is.

Ta-da!

Sew your darts in the bodice pieces before you sew the center front seam.

Now it’s time for the collar.

The collar was easy enough, thankfully.

Below is a 1,2,3 of which direction the sew the collar and facing together. 

Start at the top out edge, sew along the top to the corner, then down. Clip corners and turn out. 

After that, you’re going to sew the collar to the bodice neck, at the back.

So far, so good. We’re moving right along.

Overlap the back collar. Mine didn’t really overlap, but I made it work. 

Sew the neck facing.

This is easy-peasy. Pin in place and sew.

The collar should look like this. Sorry for the blurry photo, womp-womp.

Next, sew the side seams and back seam down to the marked area. The zipper will go here, eventually.

Start stitching from the waistline and go up to the arm opening.

Sew the short ends of the sleeve facings. 

I chose to make the short-sleeved version of The Patio Dress. Sew the short ends together, and press open.

The long-sleeved version will be different.

1. The sleeve facing didn’t line up perfectly with the sleeve opening. I don’t know if I did something wrong, or if the pattern was wrong.

2. I marked where the correct seam needed to be and sewed a new seam.

3. It matched up perfectly. Yay!

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The Skirt

Buckle your seatbelts, this part is a doozy.

In her book, she guides you on how to measure the skirt tiers. I followed what Gertie did.

• Measure your waist. Write it down. Double it. This will be your first tier.

• Then, double that measurement to create your second tier.

• Then, double that for your third tier.

Easy enough, right?

Okay, she does some math to get the height of the tier, in the end, she makes them 10” tall. I did exactly that.

For example: The top tier will measure 60” long by 10” tall, for a 30” waist. Then, the second tier will measure 120” long by 10” tall, and so on.

I folded my fabric in half, selvage to selvage.

Measured 10” from the bottom edge and marked it. I ended up cutting 9 strips. My fabric was 56” wide. So keep in mind how wide your fabric is.

I serged the short edges together to form one super duper long strip for gathering.

My advice for this next part? Put on headphones and play a podcast or fun music. This is going to take a while.

The ruffler foot. It looks scary, but it’s easy to use once you get the hang of it.

To make sure the ruffler foot works out for this pattern, Gertie has you grab a piece of fabric that measures 10” long. Insert the ruffler foot, and change the settings until it gathers the fabric to 5” long. Basically, half the amount.

My foot was set on 6.

Now it’s peanut butter, ruffle time! If you don’t get the reference, sorry. Random songs live rent free in my head.

Afterwards, you’ll have a huge pile of ruffles.

Whew! It takes a minute, doesn’t it?

Grab an end and start measuring. You want the first tier to be the length of your waist. Measure, then snip into the mark and rip the fabric to get an even edge. Or, just cut through.

Next, you’re going to pin and sew the top tier to the bodice.

Pin those riffles in place from one back bodice opening to the next. Sew. 

Oooh, it’s looking like a peplum shirt now. Yuck!

Next, you’ll add the second tier. Pin to the top tier raw edge, then sew. And repeat with the last tier.

Time to Trim the Dress

Gather your trims and start pinning at the seamline. Gertie said to start above the seam, but, I liked covering it up a little. Choose your own adventure here. 

Pin all the rows at once and then sew. Or, pin each row and sew. It’s completely upto you.

Pinned ric rac before sewing.

A little word of advice: Pin the trims on and try on the dress. I found that I didn’t like the blue because it clashed with my teal trim on the bodice.

Time to bust out the seam ripper. Boooo!!

I turned on a show and ripped out all the blue. Face-palm. Wasn’t a fan of the shade.

And, the green looks much better. 

Overlapped rick rack with a drop or two of Fray check. 

If you use packages of trim, you’ll need to overlap it. Line up the edges as well as you can and use Fray check to keep it from unraveling.

Next up is the zipper. The pattern calls for a 22” zipper, but I only had an 18” on hand. I made it work. You’ll sew a lapped zipper.

The zipper is in the middle of the back seam. I don’t think I’ve done this before, it was fun doing something new. It was easy too.

You’re almost finished. The hem is next! Yay!!

Make a narrow hem.

I serged the raw edge, then turned it under, and under again to create a nice narrow hem. Use your iron to steam it into position. Pin and sew.

And, you’re done! Throw some flowers in your hair and dance the night (or day) away.

Back of the fun dress. It’s a little baggy and long in the torso. Ah well. 

Thoughts:

• I thought this dress would be difficult to make but, it was pretty easy.

• It was somewhat of a fabric hog, but not as bad as I anticipated. I used about 4.25 yards of fabric. If I were to sew the long-sleeved version, I would have used the full 5 yards.

• The fabric really understood the assignment! I didn’t have a single issue. With all the weight of the ric rac, the fabric held up. And, it’s the perfect weight for the many tiers. I would use this fabric again. Oh, and wearing it is comfy too. It feels like a nightgown. The fabric is a little see-through, but I wore skin-colored underthings. No issues.

• I didn’t make a muslin because it has kimono sleeves. They usually seem to be more forgiving for the larger bust gals like me.

• I would have made a smaller size. the 12 fits, but it’s a little baggy as you can see in the photos. Size 10 for me, for next time.

• I wish it had pockets! I assume they could be easily added.

• I should have done a short waist adjustment. Whoops! I do them for everything, usually. But, the pattern either didn’t have it marked or I was abducted by aliens during the pattern tracing part.

That’s it. I hope you liked following along. I sure enjoyed making it. If I were to count how many hours it took from start to finish, I’d say around 18 hours.

What do you think? Is there a Patio Dress in your near future? I’m packing it for Viva 2025 for sure!

Happy sewing,

Annette

Wearing my Patio dress by Gertie.

All photos taken by Annette Marie Photography. aka me ;)

Simplicity 1587 1940s Vintage-Style Dress

Howdy doodily! It’s been some time since I last wrote a blog post. I do have an excuse though, I had to switch platforms from one host to another and that was soul-sucking in itself. Then, I decided to update each and every blog post. Why!? Why would someone do that? Annnd, after that was all said and done, I enrolled in another photography class at the local college- which was brain cell killing as well. Oh, and to top it all off, I thought it was a good idea to open up a photography business. Yep, I’m officially a photographer now. I do portraits. I’m not your typical portrait photographer though. I create photos with magic and whimsy in them. If you’re in Southern California (or Monterey County, where I often travel) and are interested in photos, or know someone who might be, I invite you to check out my site. Whew! It’s been a huge whirlwind but, I’m finally hopping back into the sewing life. So, here we go!

Let’s start with a dress I made 1.5 years ago. I needed a dress for a friend’s wedding in San Diego. I wanted something with a 1940s feel to it. I had a pattern and bought two different fabrics. I loved the pattern so much, that I wanted to make two dresses. Spoiler alert: I didn’t end up making my first pattern choice.

Cue the Rabbit hole of sewing. And, patterns. And, muslins.

The First Dress

This dress was made in a short amount of time so, I didn’t photograph the whole process. This blog post is more of a “this is my dress I made” rather than a tutorial on how to make the dress.

I started with a Sew Over It dress pattern I had in my stash for years. Years, I tell you. I made a muslin and did a FBA and it didn’t fit. I thought I did something wrong, and made a whole new FBA and muslin. Nope, it still didn’t fit right. Something was way off. I went to the trusty ole Youtube and Google machine and found that most sewists had a similar issue. It fit funky. So, I went back to the drawing board and pattern rabbit hole.

The Final Dress

I discovered the Simplicity pattern and snagged one in my size range at ye olde JoAnn. I made a quick bodice muslin and it fit! So, I whipped the dress up in less than 24 hours. Ha! I told you I needed it for a wedding. This is the first garment I’ve ever sewn in a short time frame. I finished it minutes before leaving for the wedding.

The only issue I had was the yoke. Yokes can be finicky sometimes and this was no exception. I sewed it and ripped it out a few times. In the end, I didn’t care about the puckers anymore. Shhh, don’t tell the sewing Gods.

It has an easy pleated neck tie, gathered sleeves, a drop waist, and is comfy. It’s not the most flattering or form fit, however, it does look like a true 1930-1940s vintage style dress. I paired it with some 1940s-style booties from Payless Shoes Source, RIP. Looking back, I wish I had worn some different shoes. But, San Diego along with all of southern California was getting dumped on by all the rain in the world that weekend, so boots were worn out of necessity. Puddles and ballet flats don’t pair well.

Ignore my 2 different shoes. I was deciding which one to wear and forgot to change before taking some photos.

Awkward pose and view of the cute necktie.

Look at the easy gathered sleeve. You make this with a small piece of elastic.

The cute peephole button in the back. I love this dress! The button is a burgundy covered button I had in my button jar.

Hope you give this dress pattern a try if you’re searching for an authentic 40s-style dress. It is easy to sew and fits well.

No, I never did make the second dress with my other fabric (both were purchased from JoAnn). Maybe that’ll be next up on the sewing table, right after I finish a new purse, more flared shorts, and wide-leg trousers. Ha!

Please share in the comments your favorite 1940s dress pattern. I’m always on the lookout for new ones.

Thanks for popping by,

Annette

Sewing A Barbie Dress

Hi Barbie! Have you noticed the pink phenomenon that is spreading all over the world? It's a whole Barbie craze! And, I'm here for it. Gimme aaallll the pink. Have you seen the movie? I saw it twice. I made a dress and had to share it with you. Yay for Barbie sewing!

Barbie Dress. Check! Pink fuzzy slippers. Check!

I grabbed the Barbara Bodice pattern from Gertie's Patreon. If you aren't a member, run, don't walk, and join now! She gives so much over there, even at the base level. The Barbara bodice is the updated version of her original Butterick 6453.

This isn't a sew-along, but it's more of a show and tell. I want to show you the Barbie movie-inspired dress. If you've made a Barbie dress, shorts, PJs, or other inspirational item, tag me. I want to see what you made. I've seen a few goth Barbie outfits that are super fun too.

Let's dive in!

Feeling fabulous!

Barbara Bodice

My thoughts on the Barbara bodice might not be the popular opinion. But, I much prefer the Butterick 6453. I like how the back fits me. It has a simple dart. The Barbara has a 2-piece back pattern. It's fine enough, but seems to be extra. 

Barbara has different cup sizes, which is awesome!! No more figuring out your FBA. For the busty gals, this is a huge plus! However, my bodice didn't fit, as flawlessly as the Butterick 6453. I had some extra armpit room, which is weird. I like the FBA I created for the Butterick pattern better. I plan on making another Barbara (I didn't make a mock-up for my Barbie dress) and I'll play with the pattern, fit, and sizing.

Gertie included 2 strap options with the Barbara Bodice. Self-tie straps that are thin, and wide gathered straps, for bra strap coverage. I opted to use the thin self-tie straps, and they covered my wide bra straps well enough. 

The Barbara doesn't have any facings, it's fully lined, which I'm a huge fan of! I definitely love the pattern and am a huge fan. Both the Butterick 6453 and Barbara come together so easily and are fun to sew. It's the perfect last-minute dress pattern. But, I'm still on the fence if I'm over the moon happy with the Barbara. 

Have you sewn it? If so, have you compared the two patterns side by side? The general consensus I've seen across the interwebs is that the Barbara is wonderful. But, as I've gone down the pattern-making black hole, I've become more of a pattern snob kabob. 

Thinner straps that you can tie into a bow. Easy and cute.

The new scoop back is pretty too.

Skirt Stuff

Gertie also created the Barbie movie skirt pattern to go with the bodice. It's a full box pleat skirt that uses aalll the fabric. When I ordered my fabric, I ordered 4 yards. However, the skirt alone uses over 4 yards. So, I went with plan B.

I opted to draft my own circle skirt, and of course, I added roomy pockets. I actually prefer circle skirts over gathered ones anyway. I have a fuller tummy and appreciate less fabric in that area. Plus, circle skirts are just fun! 

I've been learning pattern making as I mentioned above, and I'm taking it one step at a time. If you're interested, check out Tricia, she's the best teacher! And, her motto is "You don't need to be good at math for pattern making". Which I'm all about because mathing is hard. Haha :D

Self drafted circle skirt.

Circle skirt twirls are the absolute best.

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Welp, that's it. Do you love the dress? I sure do. I feel so girly in it and it'll be a February staple as well. I plan on wearing tights and a sweater, or a long sleeve underneath it.  

Not a Barbie fan? You can sew a 1950s-style swimsuit instead. It's the Bombshell and it's flattering on everybody.

Have you ever been interested in making a quilt? Read my blog post and you can sew one up in about a week. 



Thanks for hanging out today. Happy sewing of all things pink! 


XOXO,
​Annette