Lovely Little Lolita #8444

I'm back from my break and LOOK! a new pattern was issued while I was away. Needless to say this was a fun project and not too hard.

I hate to admit that I was not in a "stop and take photos mood" while I was working on this, but I have a few photos I can share.

I think the blouses will be very useful for these Lolita dresses an for other things as well. High necked blouse patterns have been hard to find for a long time. They are often needed for theatrical costumes from the late 19th and early 20th century.

This blouse is nice because it laces up in the back for a smooth fit through the waist. This is very easy. Small ribbon loops are inserted into the back darts while sewing them. Then a long ribbon can be threaded through these.

And there are two sleeve lengths. 

If you are going to wear this with a full skirt and petticoat, the blouse should be tucked in under the petticoat to allow it to puff out to it's maximum fullness.

I bought the petticoats for this project online. Don't worry about getting one with lace at the bottom. That lace won't show. The lace that is showing is actually sewn to the hem of the skirt.

The dresses also have a fitting feature. There are five rows of 1/4" elastic in the back bodice to create a comfortable but snug fit.

 You can see I had different color bows on this dress originally. Simplicity tastefully changed them to a softer color. Thank you!

The back elastic goes through casings made by stitching columns in the double layered back panel. The top four elastics can be pulled up to fit before the skirt is sewn. I left the bottom one completely flat until the skirt was attached.

Then I pulled it up to fit and hand sewed it in place.

At which point I could clean finish the front lining by folding up the bottom seam allowance and slip stitching down.

I would love to see any outfits you make using this pattern.

Please send photos to scheweandrea@yahoo.com

​thanks