Hi
Hey ya’ll! Suzanne here with my very first blog! Yeah, I am thrilled and honored to be here! I’m a relatively new to garment sewing gal but I have done machine embroidery and gift type things for years.
Ellie & Mac has been my gateway into this fantastic world of garment sewing! Who knew this community existed! Ya’ll are awesome! And the patterns amazing!
So, the Anticipation Dress, was one of my first sews and I loved it so much that I began hacking it.
Here it is as it is written in the pattern:
I made this from Double Brushed Poly (DBP) from Joann Fabrics.
Notice those cool sleeves (BTW due to the way they are cut, they do NOT interfere at all with using your hands), straight fitting dress, and that awesome low back. I knew I had to make this again and I wanted to share my hacks with you.
Anticipation Back Hack #1
- I lowered the back opening by 1” creating more room for the “ties”.
- I sewed the dress straight by the pattern (plus for a few fit alterations), except for topstitching the back facing.
- I added a 4” ruffle to the bottom.
- The ruffle is 2 times the width of the bottom of the dress gathered to fit. Hemmed with a rolled hem on my serger.
- I simply cut ¾” strips of cotton lycra and pulled them by hand until the curled, creating a tube and tied knots in them.
- Place them where you like on the wrongs side and topstitch the back.
- This dress is made from a rayon blend from Farmhouse Fabrics.
Voila! You hacked the back.
Anticipation Back Hack #2.
This was my Inspiration Picture:
The dress looks similar, right? So why not?
It is the same idea.
- I made the dress except for topstitching the back facing.
- I cut strips 1 ¾” wide.
- I added a lightweight interfacing for a bit of body.
- I sewed the right sides together, turned right sides out and placed them where I wanted on the wrong side of the back.
- Topstitch the back facing down to hold everything together.
- This dress is made from Cotton Lycra from Blended Threads.
I’m not gonna lie, this one is a bit trickier to keep the strips straight. Notice that I basted and used Wonder Tape to hold mine down while I stitched it. I used a regular sewing machine with a walking foot. They will move a bit, go slow and you will be fine!
Voila! You did it again!
I love this pattern and can’t wait to think up more cool back hacks for it!
Until next time, Happy Sewing!
(Written by: Suzanne Giles Todd)
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