Fiona of the Rainbow Butterflies

I have been going nuts wanting to post this all weekend, and I´m sitting outside now (to get an internet connection) right at dusk (prime mosquito time) in hopes of finally uploading it.

I made another new dress for my daughter that I am very proud of.  So much so that I am entering it into a contest on Pattern Review.  Wish me luck.  This is another pattern by Patterns by Figgy´s.  This one is called Fiona.  I actually finished it a couple of days ago, even got pictures taken, but then we ran out of internet credit (on Saturday).  And we weren´t able to get more until today (Monday). *SIGH*

Butterfly fabric on the outside, green floral on the inside, and stripes in the pleats & hem facing.

I actually got the idea to make this pattern with these fabrics when trying to decide which fabrics to use for the previous Figgy´s dress pattern I made a couple weeks ago, the Sunki dress.

Those are great big, curvy pockets on the front.  She LOVES pockets!

Sorry it´s a little blurry.  She just won´t stand still!

The fabrics I used for the Fiona dress I considered for Sunki, but then I realized they would be cute for this one! 















 

I bought the Fiona pattern in pdf form last year, but couldn´t make it work (in my head) with African wax prints, which is all I had before the stash arrived on the boat.  I´m really glad I waited, because I think these fabrics were the perfect choice.

Here is my daughter modeling the dress:

As for the pattern, this one is pretty involved.  You need your wits about you when cutting out all the pieces.  Or you just need to look closely at the cutting layout pictures (which I never do).  Since this is an asymmetrical design, it matters which way round you cut some of the pieces (duh!).  Ask me how I learned this lesson.  I did a detailed review of the pattern on Pattern Review.

This project took a few days to make, in part because we experienced a lot of power issues, and in part because I didn´t have my wits about me enough (bc of said power issues).  Also, having children interrupt every five minutes doesn´t really help when you need to concentrate.  My son did help me to find the off white thread in the dark though (the "marquise", where the sewing room is, doesn´t have power when we are on the generator).  And I had to use the big extension cord to power the sewing machine most of the time.  I can´t always do this though because sometimes the kids need this for their movie player.

When the lights are out on this box, the power is out from the grid.  K loves to help me search for thread shades in the dark.  Me, not so much.  There´s my extension cord setup.  It has a reel.

I did finish it though, and I am very happy with the result.  I used rainbow thread for the topstitching and shell buttons.

There are little peek-a-boo spots on the front of the bodice, but mine don´t show so much, but I wanted you to see them anyway (bottom left pic).

Unfortunately, I can´t find my awesome, American, cordless iron, which we carried back in our luggage the last time we flew here from the states.  The (second) one we bought here seems to have developed some nasty burn spots!  So, I had to take care to only use the tip of the iron so I didn´t inadvertently ruin the dress.   And when I finished, I had barely any of the variegated, rainbow thread left.  Had I run out, I´m not sure what I would have done....

Notice the two black burn spots on the iron and resulting marks on the ironing board? Yikes!

There is a matching vest (Franco) for the Fiona dress included with this pattern, but I haven´t found the right fabric to make it for my son yet.  Maybe something green to go with the lining I  used on the dress?  I wonder if any of these would work (please comment if you have any thoughts on this).

The solid green is thick like denim (twill maybe).  The middle three are quilting cottons.  The stripey one on the right is a little finer.  I was liking the checks, but now I think they are too 80s.....maybe the stripes on the left?

While we´re at it, I may as well show the previous Patterns by Figgy´s dress I made about 3 weeks ago, Ofelia.  I think this one has a little old fashioned & fancy look to it because of the fabric and lace.  This one was easy breezy to sew by the way!

I guess you can tell that I like Patterns by Figgy´s, huh?  Here´s why: 1) They are unique; 2) They have interesting details; 3) The customer service is top notch (Any questions?  Just send an email and you will get a response within hours!); 4) Sewing these patterns is making me a better seamstress.  I have another Figgy´s dress pattern I plan to make soon, Scirocco.  I haven´t decided on a fabric yet though, maybe an African wax (batik).

By the way, I swear they aren´t like paying me or anything to rave their patterns.  I just genuinely think they are great.  I think this Fiona dress might be the best thing I´ve ever made.  In fact, I like it so much, I made it its own hanger:

I swear I sew other patterns than Figgy´s.  I will prove it to you in my next post.







I need to get inside and away from the mosquitoes now.  Please send good vibes in our direction to help them fix the "cable that burned" that is causing the current power outage.  I don´t know if it´s a good or bad thing that we actually know the cause this time.  We usually have no idea why the power is out.  All I know is, our water pump needs electricity from the grid to give us running water; and I need running water.