Joanie is ready

for summer.

She picked fuchsia color

Hat, purse and shoes

Joanie is ready to go. She has other hats that will work. It was a nice day to be at the Springs. Joanie had been hoarding this material for quite some time, so this offered her the perfect opportunity to use it up. She also found the daisy sunglasses and decided to add daisy trim to the neckline of the dress to coordinate with them.

Cut and sew

On July 14th 2017 we went to Disney Springs. The event was to make a Gertie Dress from Butterick pattern #B6453 and we would all see what others had made. The men came along dressed up just to make it more exciting.

Dress Pattern with Two

Variations.

As you can see from the main photo above, the dress could be made with either a full, gathered skirt, or with a slim pencil skirt. As the ladies began choosing their material and the styles they were deciding to sew, the information on the sewing Facebook page began flowing. It was such fun to watch the comments and see how progress was being made by each participant. Questions began circulating about the best way to attach the straps to the bodice, whether or not to use hardware to make them adjustable, who was changing the design to add wider straps, and what modifications were being made to the pattern to make it fit each seamstress properly. We each learned a few things from each other as we constructed our dresses.

Summer Styling at the Springs

Photos by: Alexandra

Photos by: Carolyn

Photos by: Matthew

Photos by: Ray Fuller

Joanie did a trial run at home using different hats to see which look she liked. It turned out that she used a variety of hats during the photo day so her look changed a little bit with the different photos.

When everyone finally assembled at Disney Springs on July 14th, it was a treat to see how each seamstress interpreted the pattern with style and material. A few of the ladies decided they didn’t have the time to attempt the dress, so they dressed nicely in other dresses, which added to the look of the day.

Colors and materials varied, but all of the dresses looked marvelous. It was fun listening to conversations about the straps, whether or not someone had used a zipper, issues they had with the sewing, and just the ins and outs of the pattern itself. The ladies who used the straight pencil skirt style looked completely different from the ones who used the full skirt. There were delicate, tiny prints, bold prints, one dress with two different prints and one that was even made from a sheet. The mother who made that dress for her daughter even left the tag from the sheet attached to the material and worked it into the inside of the pocket! Some of the straps were sewn in solid while others were widened and attached at the shoulders with buttons. Some of the dresses had belts and bolero shrugs, some were just worn as sundresses. The variety was almost endless, and each lady looked amazing in her dress.

The mother of this young lady, who is sitting next to her in the first photo, made both of their dresses. The daughter’s dress was made from a bed sheet, and the mother even included the label from the sheet inside the pocket. We thought this was such a clever idea. And we ALL love pockets!

As the day moved on, we had several ladies join us for the different photos. Some of the ladies who arrived earlier in the day moved on to join their families, but then others came later and joined in on later photos. We had a very nice day for the event. It wasn’t unbearably hot as Florida can sometimes be in the summer. We had a gentle breeze from across the water, which helped tremendously.

We had ample opportunity during the event to sit and enjoy visiting with people who came. We even had a few tourists ask us why we were dressed up. It was fun to tell them the story behind the event and to point out to them that the dresses were all made from the same basic pattern. The men helped us find ways to show off our dresses, and provided some extra interest in our photos.

Ann P, our self-proclaimed selfie expert, had to take her usual selfie with the group. She brought along a couple of her fellow beauty queen contestants to add to the pretty factor for the day. We always love when she does her special selfie shots!

The pencil skirt models.

Talking and shopping

That suave old-time photographer

Hurry ladies! The afternoon sun is starting to fade!

Lovely ladies by the fountain.