Out of fabric, but not quilted?

[Hannelore N.]

So, seeing that we are all surrounded by fabric, what have you made out of fabric that is not quilted?

I have just stepped out of my comfort zone and made a dress for my granddaughter. The first time ever that I attempted an item of clothing.

The light fabric is a standard cotton, the dark red is a silk and I trimmed it with a cotton lace.

[Margo C.]

How sweet it that!!! You will need to post a picture of her modeling it for us!

[Robin G.]

Lorchen, it's darling!! Can't wait to see her in it!

[Annis C.]

That is so pretty! I used to make dresses years ago. The last time was in the '90s for some grandnieces. I don't expect my grandkids will get any from me. There are so many pretty ones to buy already made.

[Annis C.]

Seeing that pretty little dress reminds me of all of the dresses that I made for my nieces when they were little. Sadly, I had no daughters and have no granddaughters to sew for. Until about 2005, I would have considered myself a seamstress and not a quilter. I had probably made a few baby quilts before then, but until a joined a quilt guild, quilting had not been a serious hobby for me.

Once, I was as passionate about sewing as I am now about quilting. So, I've sewn almost everything, including a fitted lace wedding dress with boning, tulle and a train. That was long before digital cameras, so I don't have any photos readily available to attach to this note--I'd have to scan them. Unfortunately, I don't feel as proficient with my quilting as I once did with sewing clothing. Now, that I rarely sew clothing anymore, I have probably lost some proficiency at it. I certainly would no longer attempt a wedding dress.

[Hannelore N.]

I wish you'd live around the corner from me, Nancy. I could learn such a lot from you!

[Hannelore N.]

I wish you'd live around the corner from me, Nancy. I could learn such a lot from you!

And I could also learn a lot from you!

[Pam D.]

Lorchen, It's beautiful!!

[Pam D.]

Very Pretty, Lorchan
I just hope the silk is washable though :wink: - I guess it is now :lol:

[Rita C.]

That's very cute Lorchen. Never mind the washing - your grand-daughter will probably get to wear it once for best and the next time they try to put it on her she will have grown out of it. It's a keeper so I hope they do.

[Deborah W.]

What cute dress. I love the heart buttons.

[Lorna B.]

What a sweet dress. I am sure your granddaughter will be lovely in it. When the kids were little I used to do a fair amount of clothes sewing. Earlier this spring I actually made a flower girl dress for my granddaughter which she wore in my daughter's wedding in April. THe pattern was simple enough but I actually tried machine embroidery on it which was a first for me. Up to that point I have just practiced embroidering tea towels.

[brenda h.]

Rosemary, My philosophy is that silk has been around a lot longer than dry cleaning! I love the feel of silk and used to wear a lot of it. It all gets washed in the washer on gentle, hung to dry, ironed wrong side out when damp if it needs it. It seems to have worked well!

[brenda h.]

Brenda, agreed, but a friend bought a silk dress for my daughter, she wore it once and it then needed washing which we did gently by hand at which point a lot of the dye dropped out of the skirt and became a totally different colour to the rest of it

That said, I once had a very expensive (£250 :shock: )pair of jeans to shorten, at the tailors shop I was working in, and they felt as stiff as cardboard literally, and the wash instructions was to dry clean only to keep the stiffness! This customer was definately a 'mug' of the 'fashion & label victim' variety :roll:

[Hannelore N.]

When I hand over the dress to Eva's mum I'll explain about the fabrics, and will also give her a handful of colour catchers (just in case). Seeing that this was my first ever venture into naking something that can be worn I don't mind if there is a disaster when it gets washed for the first time. I'll just have to make another one if that happens.