Balloon Dress

Hello! I made a Balloon Dress last weekend, this is very gratifying because I completed it in 2 days! :)

  Balloon themed fabric for a balloon dress! Fabric is Anna Griffin for Windham Fabrics’ Mackenzie line.

 

Petal sleeves.  Yellow buttons to accent the pockets.

Say, you want to make one too?

I used Dewi Citra’s of Innocentia - Balloon Dress and Tutorial (with patterns too!) to make this but added some petal sleeves and side pockets.  Like Citra, I was also in love with this balloon dress pattern that I saw from this Japanese book cover.  She saved me some ka-chings or else I would have to buy the book for just for one pattern (the rest of the other patterns in the book are not so relevant to me as they are autumn/winter clothes). This is a very well drafted pattern I must say, it is simple and all seams hidden in the lining.  The top part sewing was quite a breeze but attaching the bubble skirt to the lining via handstitching was a tad tedious, but I second Citra that it’s worth it when you see the final product! Updated: A kind blog reader who owns the Japanese book showed me that the way they do it in the book is that you just gather the the main fabric at the bottom and attach it to the lining with your sewing machine and serge the seams to prevent fraying.  I still prefer the method I used though because the seams will be enclosed in the lining – this is a case when hand stitching can trump the machine! Thanks Citra! I love your pattern (did I mention it is free?). Citra featured my balloon dress here

Did you see the boo-boo I made on this dress? No? If yes, you have keen attention to detail. The overlapping order on the petals for the sleeves, they are on different order for each side of the sleeves.  I didn’t realize this until I have top stitched everything on the top! It doesn’t bother me too much though I am really happy with how this dress turned out.

See Little Terror model the dress here