Twin Chevrons

Shortly after I told my sister I wouldn't really be able to sew for her girls anymore (time management is very different now that I'm not staying home with my kids), I noticed she posted a picture on Facebook of a cute peasant dress with a big bow. It was made from a print I happened to recognize and I thought I would surprise her by making something similar.

Little did I know that my sister would start posting LOTS of pictures of boutique clothes. You know, the "share it to win it" photos?  Needless to say, I didn't sew dozens of garments to match the other photos she posted. I also didn't know how difficult it would be to try to line up chevrons, so my "quick and easy" project took longer than anticipated. I thought I matched them pretty good though.

Because the side of the dress is angled, the
chevrons can't all line up along the seam

I even found what I thought was the exact pattern that was used in the inspiration dress. And I paid way too much ($7, on sale) for what I think is the WORST pattern I have ever used. This pattern, from a well-known shop, consisted of a single pattern piece. Not only was it hand-drawn, it was POORLY drawn. I wish I could post a picture of it. The lines were seriously sketch-y looking--the designer didn't even bother to draw a smooth, final line for each size! I ended up using a peasant dress pattern I already owned, and only made the bow from the horrible pattern. The instructions say to safety pin it on the dress. Really? I ended up stitching the bows to a pin back, so that my sister could remove the bows to wash the dresses.

The instructions did make a pretty cute bow

Oh chevrons, you were such a challenge. I had to make the chevrons run in opposite color order on the dresses because the stripes ran along the length of the yardage, not from selvedge to selvedge like I anticipated when I order the fabric. This meant I had much less length to work with and I had to make short sleeves instead of longer, shirred sleeves like the inspiration. It all worked out though, and my sister thought they were really cute. Now she just needs to send a picture of my gorgeous nieces wearing them (hint hint Shawna).