Kilburn Wildflower Alteration

Ok, this is the last one, I promise.  And this promise is more something I am making to myself than to anyone else.  The simple fact is that prior to this promise, I promised myself that I would no longer sell my Selkies.  I decided to either fixing them/altering them to make something I really loved and could wear or to just give them away to a local organization that gives beautiful dresses to young girls in need.  That's something I fully support and have given many, many dresses to, including a Selkie or two and a bunch of dupes, but when it comes to these cottage puffs, I really just wanted to add a little length and keep them because I really do love the cotton dresses and the beautiful prints.

So, I set about keeping an eye out for used dresses that I could scrap for parts.  The parameters for this involved waiting until a dress was marked down reeeeeeeally low (because I refuse to pay top dollar for something I'm going to cut up) and this often meant that the previous owner had either gotten a stain or a snag on the dress or else had tried to make their own alterations.  Either way, I found dresses that I could work with and this Kilburn Wildflower Cottage puff was the very last of all my cottage puff that was in need of alteration.

What I have learned through all this (we're at number 4 with this one, 6 if you count the ruffles I have added to tea dresses) is that I really, really, really hate putting ruffles on dresses.  Somehow I feel like I have gotten worse at it over time instead of better.  I don't know how that even works, but it definitely seems like the quality of my work goes down each time rather than up.  Maybe it's just that I hate it so much it's impossible to do this well.  

In spite of everything, I am nothing if not commited to keeping the promises I make, even when I make them to myself, so I made myself see this project through and I will do everything in my power to stop myself from ever taking on a project like this again.  What really kept me going was how much I loved the finished product.  

Don't get me wrong, I actually do love the cottage puffs and they look so adorable on some, but I just felt like a silly old lady wearing a dress that short that highlighted my saggy knee skin.  No, it's just not for me.  I need a little length to my frocks and am thankfully just skilled enough to make that happen, but hopefully for the very last time.