A new pink dress for DearSD Charlotte
I sewed a new dress! This uses the "Orietta" or "Memory of St. Hildegard" pattern from ancienne, a doll seamstress whose work I really admire. The pattern goes together beautifully and is very clear. I'll just note that it is a pattern rather than full instructions, so if you are new to sewing then you may be better off starting elsewhere.
I used a very lightweight Swiss dot voile, which was so thin that I lined the whole thing in a plain white cotton. In hindsight I wouldn't line the skirt if I made this again, because the gathering at the waist became too bulky, but I would instead make a separate petticoat to prevent the skirt being see-through. I tried to cover this crime with a waist ribbon.
I did make this dress a bit long for DearSD, but that was entirely my fault and not the pattern. (Luckily, I failed to get a full-length shot, so this particular crime is hidden.) I also greatly simplified the skirt due to not having enough lace or other trim.
The dress is mostly hand-sewn, including the top stitching. It's absolutely not perfect, but I think I'm getting better! So far the key factors for success (for me) are: a very sharp, thin needle, and excellent light. The hand-sewing was mainly for convenience, so I could be sewing while with my family instead of shut away in another room. I did sew most of the skirt by machine, just to get it over with.
For these photos I gave Charlotte the default wig from DearSD Nayu's fullset, because I still don't love any of the blonde wigs I have for her. Maybe light brown is better? The wig is a bit big (Nayu has a melon head) so there was a lot of adjusting needed between shots. The eyes are from miyabi glass studio (bought second-hand). I tied the bow on as a last-minute addition and realised I don't know how to tie a neat bow. How have I gone through life like this?
Disclaimer: In my last post I wrote about how wonderful my new camera is. It's still wonderful, but I may have jinxed something, because it took me 20+ Lightroom crashes to edit these photos (how I wish I was exaggerating!), even after turning off features and downgrading. So if the colours are a little inconsistent across the photos, that's the reason.