Summer Fling

A lot of times you can find really great fabric at the thrift store in the form of an outdated frumpy dress. That was definitely the case for this little summer fling. The dress had buttons up the front, so they even matched the top. The great thing about dresses from the 80’s and early 90’s is the excess of pleating and buttons and zippers. Great for making multiple items. Who knows, maybe I’ll make a little skirt to match. Heck, why not a little going out bag as well.

About the pattern, it’s made in a formula, so you plug in your measurements and draw your own pattern pieces. Read the whole pattern so you have a feel for how it goes together, that way you can make any alterations before you cut the pieces. You can allow for more ease, put a zipper in the side instead of buttons, or even put a draw string in the below the bust band.
The sky is the limit as far as alterations go. Have fun with it.

Now something has changed a bit. Instead of clicking on the image in order to print it out, you can download it in pdf format here. It’s hosted on lulu.com, and it’s still free. If you have problems with it, just let me know and I will post the images of the pattern here on the blog like before. I had a really difficult time deciding whether or not to charge for the pdf format or not, looking at the “price” box honestly caused a dilemma. The argument was running though my head “I could just continue to offer them the way I do now and make the pdf available for a $1, that wouldn’t be too bad, and it would be nice to help raise the money for the application fee for renegade…” well, no. I think it’s really important to offer my patterns for free. Period. No matter if they are printed, jpg, pdf, etc. So what I decided was that there is a suggested donation of $1. So if you appreciate the pdf, click on the donate button in the sidebar here and donate a $1 towards the Craft Leftover project. Every bit helps.

Now there is something else I need to talk to you about. That’s right you. Everyone out there who reads this blog and maybe, just maybe take a swing at making them. I need your help. I need your feedback, I’m on my knees here. It has come to my attention that I really need help proofing my patterns. Making, writing, and testing them all myself, well, just makes it inevitable that there will be errors. Big errors. And I really don’t want to confuse you, I want it to be crystal clear as to how the pattern is supposed to be executed. So two parts. One if you notice an error, think you notice an error, or fix an error, let me know by leaving a comment or emailing me at kristinmroach@gmail.com. The second part: I’m going to try to start working about a month ahead and would like to get a team of pattern testers out there. I would send you what you need as far as materials go, pretty much like a kit, and you would make it and let me know if it’s a-ok for being put out there or if it needs revisions. This most likely wouldn’t get started for another month or two, but if you are interested, send me an email with “pattern tester” in the comment field to krisitnmroach@gmail.com.

Okay so recap:
+++PDF format is now available, donate a $1 by way of the donate button in the sidebar if you feel so inclined
+++If you have problems with the download, please let me know, it’s my first time trying this out
+++If you find an error in a pattern email me at kristinmroach@gmail.com and I will fix it asap
+++If you would like to be a pattern tester email me at kristinmroach@gmail.com with “pattern tester” in the comments field
+++Enjoy your weekend and keep it crafty!