Easter dress: Sequins and sparkle not optional

Dresses for Myra follow a fairly straightforward formula. Pink, sparkles, twirl. For Easter, we went with all of the above.

Myra was happy to supply the sass.

The pattern I chose was the Rosy Posy dress, #26 from the 03/2011 issue of Ottobre. I've sewn it for her before here and here, so I knew it was a winner.

It's a very basic style - simple bodice with a full, gathered skirt and puffed, elasticated sleeves. I puzzled over the hem, as this fabric didn't blind hem invisibly and ended up just narrow hemming by machine. It works.

I mostly chose the pattern for it's simplicity. The fabric is definitely the star here! It is an embroidered and sequinned poly taffeta from FabricMart. Frankly, I could have just made it into a big ole sack and Myra would have loved it. The SPARKLES!

I fully lined the dress with hot pink bridal satin from my stash. The bridal satin has a lot of body, which gives the skirt more fullness. It's also very soft.

I'm very pleased with my zipper insertion. The pattern calls for an invisible zip, which would have been a disaster in this sequinned, textured fabric. A lapped zipper was a better choice. I decided to try a technique I read about in Threads (issue #171) for inserting a lapped zipper with a lining using an industrial method. It worked and it looks gorgeous! I'm so pleased.

I really love the sweet sleeves on this pattern. They are gathered just in the cap, and then elastic gathers the hem. They're so pretty, but still darn easy to do.

Of course, the most important part is that Myra loves her dress. She wore it to church and then for hunting eggs. Despite being sparkly and flashy, it's still comfortable and, for Myra at least, practical. I think she might wear it every day.

And who would argue?