Pineapples and Pom-Poms Dress

Happy Summer! I’ve been in full on handbag making mode for a craft show I have coming up but managed to squeeze this dress into some late night sewing sessions. After a lot of basics sewing, I was in the mood to make a cute summer dress and this is the result!

A few months ago I was browsing JoAnn’s fabric selection online and saw the most amazing pineapple print (currently on sale!)  I scooped up 2 yards of this beauty and kept it in my stash waiting for the perfect pattern. I chose Kenedy by Seamwork Magazine because of the surprise back and the relaxed fit. Since the beginning of Seamwork, I find that when the patterns are first released they don’t entice me to sew because I am not in the mindset to sew that specific pattern. But once the patterns sit for a few weeks, and I keep seeing different versions online, it’s like my mind suddenly becomes aware of how amazing the pattern is and how perfect it would be in my closet. It happened with my Cape and the Nantucket Shorts and I already have plans for Moji pants. I also made Oslo but have yet to blog about it. I know you are probably tired of hearing how amazing Seamwork is but I love having an entire pattern library at my fingertips. And I still branch out with other patterns, I have a Rebecca Taylor dress from Vogue on my list next!

This fabric was much more sheer than I expected so I bought a simple white cotton to use for lining. Then the most amazing piece of equipment came into my life. I got a serger! It’s a beautiful little Janome and I’ve been constantly using it. So I serged each white lining piece to each pineapple piece to make them basically one piece of fabric. This way I wouldn’t have to worry about building a totally separate lining and all the seams were serged inside!

I knew this dress needed a little something extra, I mean, if you are going to wear a pineapple dress it should be as cute and bold as possible right? So some hot pink bias binding and a little pom pom trim were added!

Kenedy went together like a dream. I cut the smallest size, 0, and it went together super fast. I love the shape of this dress and the surprise back. I can see this as a very flattering style for multiple body types. If I was in need of a quick dress for an event- I would turn to this pattern in a beautiful solid- it’s a great mix of modesty in the front and sexy in the back.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a craft show next weekend! My sewing studio is a mess, fabric is all over the place and I’ve been prepping every second I get. This is my first juried show, which means my craft had to go through a panel of judges to say whether I was the right fit for the show and if my product was of good quality and I am, in fact the crafts-woman. But I got in! And now I will be selling at the Tinicum Arts Festival. It is supposed to be a wonderful show, over 300 vendors, so I’m hoping for a successful weekend.

I’ve been working on updating my booth display and have some really cool features coming up that I’m excited to share. If you are in the area, come by and say hi! I’ve been making so many new pieces, most of which are one of a kind, so if there’s something in my shop you like, grab it before it goes!

Also…it’s taken me OVER A YEAR to figure out how to link my shop to my blog but there is now an adorable little button on this blog that says SHOP! It’ll take you right to my etsy store! YAY!