My First Dress

Sewing was always around when I was growing up. I first learned to sew when I was around 10, but I wasn't very interested. I didn't like the perfection that it took to make something look nice. I'd rather sit down and just get started, and that didn't really work. So it wasn't until this past year that I really started sewing.

I started with simple things, like bags or pillows, but at some point I just decided to dive in and learn by doing. I think it was seeing all the patterns at the fabric store and realizing that I could create something of my own, something unique and one of kind. And that inspired me to really learn the craft.

The first project I did for myself was this dress. I had a friend's wedding coming up and I just wasn't finding the dress that I wanted in the stores. So I decided to attempt to turn my idea into a reality. I started out by trying to design something from scratch, but quickly gave up realizing that I wasn't quite ready to design. So I found a pattern that was close to what I wanted and fabric that was similar to my vision.

It took me about a week to get it done. I was worried about fit and getting the lines just right. I had to call my mom a few times and get a little help, but in the end I had a dress that I loved. I even found shoes to match for $10 on clearance! The only thing left was a clutch. Again, I couldn't find what I wanted so I made my own. I tweaked the pattern just a bit and ended up with this over sized clutch. (Apologies for the poor picture quality)

All in all, I spent around $25 for the entire outfit (I'm including shoes here!). About $10 for the dress fabric (with a coupon), $1 for the dress pattern (on sale!), $5 for the clutch fabric (on clearance), $1 for the clutch pattern (also on sale!), and $10 for the shoes (holy clearance)! I think I'll keep this dress forever. Even when it doesn't fit me anymore, it will still mean more to me than anything I could have bought in the store.