Fabric: Sheet and pillowcase from Goodwill thrift store $3.99 + $1.99
Patterns: Simplicity It’s So Easy 3728
Year: 2007
Notions: Just thread
Time to complete: 6 hours
First worn: Cinco De Mayo! (May 5th 2012)
Wear again? Yes, lots
Total Cost: $5.98 (£3.70)
The challenge: “Family Inspiration: Inspired by an old family photo”.
When Mena first put up the challenges for April/May for contributors, I initially thought about missing the ‘Childhood’ and ‘Family’ weeks.
But then I started thinking more creatively about the topics. As you saw, I did complete a childhood dress, though it came with some torment. I therefore decided that I wouldn’t put myself through that again for this challenge….there was absolutely no way I was going to make something for Family week….no way….
Hmmm, I’ve got absolutely no resolve when it comes to sewing have I?
The problem came when I realised that nowhere did it say in Mena’s instructions that it had to be MY old family photo…..so instead this is the requisite old family photo that inspired me this week:
Well, it was either going to be Brady Bunch or the Partridge Family…..and for all you 20-somethings who are saying “what? never heard of them”, does this ring a bell? You’ll have seen it spoofed so many times in other shows.
And if you haven’t seen it, the original TV show morphed into the delightful awfulness of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour show (you have to make it through the clip till at least their murdering of Live and Let Die). The Simpsons did a fabulous spoof on the show once, complete with a Fake Lisa to mimic the Brady Bunch’s Fake Jan.
Sooooo, I made myself a much needed maxi dress that Marcia Brady might have worn…
Oh ok, perhaps this is a little loud for Marcia. But doesn’t this meet the ‘Tempest tries to make something conventional’ challenge I set myself last week (and you all shouted “no! don’t do it!”)
Oh ok, again, maybe not. Pah, don’t care.
Can I just point out the reason I look like I’m frowning in most of these pics isn’t because I’m doing my Sewing Rebel Without A Gauze, it’s because me and Mr D didn’t get up early enough to take these pics…..it’s now summer in Phoenix and the sun is a bleaching white light from about 8am-ish till 6pm-ish. It doesn’t help when we’d decided to shoot at disused cafe with bright white walls….
To get any photos that aren’t horribly over exposed we’ve been getting up earlier and earlier each weekend. Well, this weekend we slept in, so these were taken around 9am, and my eyes can’t take the brightness (don’t worry all you caring mums out there, I do wear sunglasses 99% of the time here in Phoenix). So hence the difficulty smiling this week.
Sometimes we try and use shadows cast by buildings:
And look, there’s Mr D in the reflection in the window! Fame at last :)
OK the dress – LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this dress.
I love it because I managed to make it out of a sheet and pillowcase for just $5.98 (or even better because as a Brit only in the USA for 2 and a bit years, I still convert everything in my head into pounds, and it’s only £3.70! Bargain!). Btw…….who has sheets and pillowcases in these nightmare-inducing colours/pattern? If this is a kid’s set, I’m assuming it is, how the heck did they get any sleep? Perhaps that’s why it was thrifted.
I also love that there was enough of it for me to nearly match seams up, and be clever with how I cut the pieces. I love the back in particular:
And there’s Mr D in the reflection again.
The pattern, Simplicity It’s So Easy 3728 was lovely to make too and I really enjoyed the square neckline. I don’t think you can still get it though, I got mine, as you can see from the same Goodwill store I got the sheet and pillowcase.
Oooh, did I mention the fabric is like a nice thick t-shirt jersey. This dress is soooooooo comfy. I can see me wearing this most of the summer. I might even make another dress with this pattern…..in the near future……watch this space……
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