The Sew and Tell Project

We’re nerds.

There, I said it. We love Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Dr. Who…well, let’s just say we like lots of geeky, convention-worthy things. My husband and I played AD&D well into our 20s, and I even LARP’ed now and then. And…we both played Magic: the Gathering. Husband calls our eldest “Number One.” Our kids are following right in our footsteps, and we watch Star Trek together often. Eldest and husband watched the entire Star Trek: Voyager series, then The Next Generation, and now they’re watching the Original Series. Good times.

I saw a dress on a popular geek shopping site, daughter loved it, and I thought “I can totally hack that.” When her birthday rolled around, I decided it was time. So, ladies and gents…ENGAGE!

When Patterns for Pirates released their Sweetheart Dress (and the Me Hearties dress for girls), I knew it would be a good starting point for this dress. It was just a matter of hacking the bodice to get the color blocking that I wanted (the Sweetheart comes with a plain bodice, or a sweetheart neckline, and a circle skirt).

I started out by printing the plain bodice. I decided where I wanted the color blocking, and then carefully cut the pattern pieces, being sure that the front and back were cut at the same point. I then cut my fabric, making sure to leave a seam allowance at each line where I’d cut the pattern.

I sewed the front and back together and decided to add some contrasting top-stitching. I felt like it added to the uniform vibe.

The skirt was a little trickier. I was psyching myself up to colorblock it, when Judy Hale of Patterns for Pirates suggested two skirts. Sheer. Genius. I cut two circle skirts, with the top layer being several inches shorter than the bottom. I folded it in half, and the free handed the v-cutout. When attaching the skirt, the cut out needs to be off center. You should probably baste the tops of the skirts together, but I’m kind of lazy and so I just used my Wonder Clips.

After those two simple alterations, the rest of the dress goes together just like the pattern says. I chose to use fold over elastic (FOE) for my neck and arm bindings, for a simple and neat finish.

I stayed up waaaaay too late the night before her birthday to make this, and boy was it worth it. I make her a lot of things, but she LOVES so few of them.

We had a lot of fun with this photo shoot. We happen to live very near a big university, and the art museum is a very interesting structure. I thought it was the perfect futuristic look!

While this would be a great costume for Halloween or any suitably geeky convention (the pattern includes a sleeve, too, which would make it even more ST:TNG-esque), I love that it’s also just a pretty dress to those not part of our tribe.