Dress made with FS Dried Herb Midweight Linen

My daughter was asked to be a bridesmaid at her friend’s wedding. The bride assigned each bridesmaid a color and asked them to find their preferred dress for the special day. The bride (our dear friend Courtney) wanted her bridesmaids to have a garden party style, maybe with a full sleeve and all the dresses should give a nod to a picture she provided for inspiration. Amanda came to me with a picture of a dress she had found on Pinterest and we got very excited. We wanted to make this spectacular design in linen. Amanda’s color was a very herb type green and we happily chose Dried Herb from FS.

Dress made with FS Dried Herb Midweight Linen

I knew I had skills in my “tool box” from past projects and things I’ve learned in my 20+ year sewing journey. I’ve made balloon skirts and children’s balloon dresses – both of these skills would help me with a very grand sleeve idea. I’ve made a fitted 50’s style halter neck dress for myself where I used boning – this would help me with the bodice idea. I also have extensive practice working with linen – this will help me with the entire dress and fabric manipulation. I also have a stunning, kind and sweet daughter – this made the dress truly beautiful.

Dress made with FS Dried Herb Midweight Linen

I made the entire bodice and sleeves with cotton muslin first and that became my pattern. The bodice has boning, pleating and a keyhole cut out in the mid section. I fully lined the bodice to make all the edges perfectly neat. The dress zips at the center back. The balloon sleeves made with extensive gathering, have elastic in the upper and lower portion and are attached tightly at the top of the bodice under the arm. The bottom of the dress is long, full, pleated at the waist and as always, has pockets!!

Amanda and all her friends danced the night away and Courtney was truly a beautiful bride. Our entire family was honored to celebrate Mr and Mrs Talley. And everyone was delighted with how the dress turned out.

Dress made with FS Dried Herb Midweight Linen

Sometimes you forget what skills you have mentally tucked away. At some point, you may have learned a skill, used it and then filed it away because it wasn’t something you use day to day. Pull all those “tools” back out to try new things, mix and match for garments and create even better sewing projects that you thought possible.

Dress made with FS Dried Herb Midweight Linen