Lesley is here today from the Advisors Circle. She recently stopped by to share her water-proof School Days Coat. Now she’s here with her latest make, a reversible/double-sided dress she created. Here she is, enjoy!
Hi folks. It’s Lesley here.
When I was first shown the Cartwheel Wrap Dress it looked like a great option for my two year old who is going through that darling phase of “I do it”–a.k.a., mega tantrums in the morning when I try to help her dress. This regularly results in her wearing her t-shirts back to front and inside out. It struck me therefore that turning the Cartwheel Wrap Dress into a reversible dress could be an option to reduce our arguments in the morning.
Initially I attempted to create a single skirt with bias binding to hide the seam lines, but it didn’t hang very well. The joy of the Cartwheel Wrap Dress is doing, well, cartwheels. Therefore, it seems important to let the skirt drape and hang well.
So back to the drawing board and I decided to just do a double sided-skirt same as the bodice. I think fabric choice is important here. I used cotton of similar weights and drape (actually both were from repurposed duvet covers) and made sure both had been washed well before hand. It would be awful if one of the sides was to shrink more than the other once I washed the dress. I created a pink gingham sided dress (with contrasting tie) and a funkier grey abstract sided dress.
Also, normally I can be a bit lackadaisical about pressing my fabric as I sew but for a double sided dress it’s really important to take your time with pressing to ensure it is balanced on both sides.
The burrito method for the bodice is quite frankly genius, but I would highly recommend looking at the Cartwheel Wrap Dress sew-along for this. Definitely do not try to do it late at night, when you’re tired on a tiny phone screen that is running out of battery.
As a final thought on creating the Cartwheel Wrap Dress into a reversible dress. If your toddler is anything like mine and drops food down herself at a family party, just whip the dress off, turn it inside out, and no-one is any the wiser. Some may even think you’re a good parent because your children are so well turned out.
A bientôt!
Wonderful idea and the dress looks super on your little one!
Thank you Karen that’s really kind of you to say.
Love this. My 8-year-old never left the “I Do It” phase so I may have to try this myself.
Hi there, could you clarify this a little? What do you mean about “a double sided-skirt same as the bodice”? Did you hem the two fabrics together or leave them to hang separately? Thanks!