The First Holy Communion Dress(es)

So my darling daughter made her first Holy Communion this morning and looked lovely in the Regency pattern dress that some lovely folks here turned me on to. A million thanks! Her veil is made from my wedding veil, too. Lucky little sister will get the other layer of my veil - bordered in cording and dotted with pearls.

And I'm wearing my newest project: Simplicity 3833. What you can't see in the picture above is the piping that goes down the center front and under the bust/at the waist line. I made it myself!!! W00T to the Ceiling Cat for learning a new skill! The back waist is trimmed with a belt-ish thingy and I trimmed that bad boy out in piping as well. I also found some AMAZING retro styled buttons at Joann's which look like they were custom made for the dress. Quilt fabric never looked so good. ;-) Also, check out the $3.99 Anne Klein II shoes from the Charity Shop. Worn *maybe* once. And perfect with the dress.

First Holy Communion Dress

The Muslin!


Using the pattern from Sensibility Patterns and an Indonesian baby sling (so it counts for Warbrobe Refashion!), I crafted the practice run before cutting into the silk and embroidered organza.


The fabric before cutting (folded in half lengthwise, pattern repeats in mirror):

The fabric is roughly 70" long by 30" wide. I used the tails as the sleeves and the blue border for the sleeve band:

The bodice is made from the lighter brown fabric with it's motif centered in the front. The neckline is finished with self-bias binding.

The skirt is made from the main body of the fabric with the motif running down the front:

I'm really pleased with the result, even though the sleeve bands were a bit small for her. So, her younger sister gets this one. :-) I added a grosgrain ribbon sash and some amazing fuschia buttons on the back.

I have to edit this and add the picture of the back. It's just TOO cute for words. And the Bernina sews buttonholes AND buttons! I didn't have to hand sew ONE thing. The neat thing is that the back bodice pattern is made from the edges of the print, so it adds a little back interest as well. I want you all to know that I used almost every scrap of fabric in the cukin (baby sling). This dress was a size 8. The best part? This fabric, when washed, gets SO soft. It's AMAZING.