When I saw that Measure Fabrics had this pixelated fabric I knew it had to be mine. I mean…. I’d already made a crown that went with it, so it deserved to be worn on MY body, and live in MY home.
See??? They were meant to be together!!
……But then I realized that I actually wanted glasses!!!! I wanted them to be a little closer in color scheme, so I got to work with my kids’ perler beads (just kidding I bought these for myself— but I did let me kids play too!).
If you don’t know what these are, they are plastic beads that you place on a plate with little prongs sticking up to keep the beads in place. You then place a piece of parchment paper over top and a hot iron so they melt together.
For the crown I made a triangle shape, with a curved bottom. After I’d melted them together I took it off the plates (I had two plates next to each other to make it wide enough) and held it around my forehead until it cooled. (I wanted to make sure it would maintain its shape.) It only took about 10 minutes to be cool enough. I then hot-glued it to a headband. I could’ve gone another step and added a strip of felt to cover the glue, but I figured no one would really see the back anyway (except you all now!!).
For the glasses I very carefully counted out enough beads to bridge my nose (6) and made the holes for the eyes big enough as well (9 beads across the bottom– 3 beads angled to get to the vertical sides).
I made two long sticks for the sides, and attached them with wire. These aren’t everyday glasses, they are definitely fragile costume wear!
They’ll make you feel like Iris Apfel and say things like “dahhhhling.”
Now let’s get back to the dress. This dress!!!! It’s such a simple silhouette but let me tell you….. Its like a cool mumu that you never want to take off. It’s the perfect summer dress, big and breezy.
Are you wondering what pattern did I used? It was the VITA BLOUSE by Bel’Etoile !
It is a great shirt pattern with a couple neckline, sleeve, and waistline options. I chose to hack it into a dress like the children’s pattern she carries by the same name. (Yes, if I’d had any leftover, one of my girls would’ve matched me!!)
The SEWING nerd DETAILS:
*I sewed a size 36 which is for a bust size 34.5″, and though mine is 36 “, I decided to stick to this size because it is a large pattern and my hips and waist are always a smaller size.
*I didn’t do the ties at the back because the fabric I used ( This awesome Pixelated Sateen fabric from Measure Fabrics was given to me in exchange for this post.) was cotton. I envisioned having to iron those things every time it came out of the wash and this was supposed to be my easy throw-on summer dress. No ironing please!! But guess what?? This dress came out of the wash wrinkle free… I was totally surprised!
*I cut the shirt pattern off just below the waistline and added two gathered rectangles which I added pockets to and sewed together to the top.
It was a quick, easy dress, but in this fun print it really packed a punch! I get compliments everywhere I wear it. Like…. my couch (see above), my kids’ rooms, my backyard, the kitchen, the park, church. I really get around.
See? Just chilling at the local cafe….. “Chez Kortman”. I got lots of compliments there from the dishwasher/garbage man/doctor/handyman. (He also likes when I’m not wearing it or anything else, so I don’t know if his opinion counts.)
Now look out next week on my Instagram, because I may or may not have busted out some dance moves in front of this wall!
As usual, you are amazing lady!🎉ðŸ‘✌ï¸ðŸ˜Ž
Oh Thank you! I am glad you liked the post!