a dress story: creating a one-of-a-kind darling dearie frock from start-to-finish!

the images and content below were shared this past week on my instagram feed as i completed nearly each step of my dress construction process. come see the journey (#whomademyclothes) a darling dearie one-of-a-kind super mash-up dress takes from its beginning as yards of fabric to final finished frock!


i intended to make this gorgeous poppy print into a super mash-up dress back in january...hello may!

i am so in love with this fabric! my goal is to be finished with it within a week. if one added up the time it takes me from start-to-finish (including washing and drying the fabric to combat future shrinkage, ironing it to cut out the pattern pieces, to the final washing, drying and pressing once completed) it takes over 20+ hours for one dress! each darling dearie dress, whether gateway, mash-up or super mash-up, is a true slow fashion labor of love.

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lining up the front panel prints so they are perfectly aligned on my mash-up and super mash-up dresses is an important design element for me and cannot be rushed! i can't wait to start sewing this soon -to-be beautiful dress up...

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the back and hem pieces are sewn up. now, time to get started on the fronts.

i create and print my own garment labels and love the freedom and flexibility it offers me. here you can see how i add in the label to the inside dress yoke. i love how the red geranium thread pops against the pale green dotty print! and i intentionally sew my labels on so the stitches overlap like that. it adds interest and keeps it from being too boring!

yea! nailed the alignment on the front panels on the first go!!

the zipper is in and now it's time to hand stitch the ribbon on each side. as my lovely ribbon has two colors, i will use two colors of thread so the stitches "disappear" once it's sewn in. this particular hand work takes a large chunk of time, but as you will see, the end result is worth it!

the devil is in the details: it takes me about an hour and a half to hand sew each ribbon to the inside, per each side of the zipper. but the backside of it looks so much better when i'm done, don't you agree? now, should you choose to wear your darling dearie dress with the zipper down a bit from the neck, the backside of the zipper is just as lovely as can be!

i'm all for one being a trailblazer or maverick, but when it comes to clothing label requirements, i'm a stickler for following the rules! (and it should be noted, a lot of independent labels do not.) i wrote on this subject in my july 2016 missive, posted here if you want to learn more. suffice it to say though, at least in the united states, a clothing manufacturer (whether mass production or singular pieces like i've chosen) must have the fabric content, construction origin, dealer identity and care instructions, permanently affixed to the garment when sold. (and for clarification, a paper hang tag safety pinned to the garment with some of this info that is then removed before wearing and of course washing, doesn't meet the requirements...) i also raise the bar and include a beautiful, locally-produced letterpress garment care instruction card detailing how to wash, dry and iron your one-of-a-kind garment so you may enjoy wearing it for years to come. but just in case you should accidentally lose the garment care card, the info is right there inside the garment!

french seamed pockets: i'll do this four separate times before i can stitch up the dress sides...

pockets in place, fronts and back french seamed together! just the hem band, armholes, collar and final finishing details to go.

the hem of my dresses is the most labor intensive portion of assembly, yet also, one of my favorite parts of my construction process! it is here where things really start to come together. i think of it as the "home stretch"! i pin, press, and trim the under side of the hem, then finish its edge even though it will never be seen. then i hand stitch everything into place, which takes about an hour and a half or so, at minimum. if i am not satisfied with my final stitches, out they come (as i'm hand sewing and critiquing my work) and i redo them.

yesterday i hand sewed the inside edge of the skirt band to my dress (and i have a knot in my upper back to prove it!). but i love how the skirt band looks with its complementary patterns against the poppy print of the dress! also, the hem really gives my dresses their wonderful final balloon/lantern shape when completed. today, even though i am celebrating mother's day, my plans include finishing this dress!

nothing more frustrating than running out of bobbin thread while sewing, and...not realizing you've run out of bobbin thread! i have a newer sewing machine that will alert you when your bobbin is about to run out of thread. unfortunately, i'm not using that machine to create this dress.

"sew" it goes.

armhole facings slipstitched on each side by hand? check!

now, time to tackle the collar...

blarmy! i've only just now realized i've flipped a piece of fabric during construction. see the front yoke piece in the upper left photo to the left of my label, below? this one was done correctly (it is narrower along the right edge of the neckline) compared to the one on the upper right photo is wider (to the right of the label, along the neckline). i sewed the piece to the right, upside down.

gah!!!!

which means i get to take apart all my work in that portion and make it right (including cutting new armhole facing) and that my dress will not be completed today as i had hoped.

my gran used to like to say that if a seamstress didn't have opportunities to use their seam ripper (that purple gadget in the bottom pix) you'd never get your money's worth out of it! see? slow fashion is literally slow fashion sometimes.

there, all fixed and looking even prettier than before! i decided to make the arm facing on this side green dots instead of the red florentine like i'd originally planned. the mix-mash works beautifully with this super mash-up!

next up...the collar!

hand finishing the inside of the dress collar...

anatomy of a hand sewn snap pocket tether (which keep my generous dress pockets facing forwards while being worn):

a completed super mash-up dress!

and the inside is just as lovely as the outside: french seamed interiors and hand sewn, hand finished details!

the lovely florentine print hem band contrast peeks out!

thank you for sharing in the journey of what makes darling dearie dresses truly unique, special, one-of-a-kind, wearable art! should you have further questions, please don't hesitate to comment below or send me a note here.