Ruthie's Strawberry Dress

After having the fabric sitting there for ages, this afternoon I finally got round to doing something with it, and here's how it turned out!
I used the Bubble Dress Tutorial from sewadollable.com.
This dress turned out pretty cute, but it was quite frustrating to make! I used the bodice pattern from Melody's Birthday dress (see picture), and the sleeves from a t-shirt pattern, because I wanted it to have long sleeves.
So obviously I didn't have too much trouble with the bodice, given that it was a very simple pattern and I'd made it before, so apart from a few unwanted tucks when setting the sleeves in, it was pretty much fine.
The skirt was definitely the worst bit!

1. I forgot to add 1/4'' to my bodice measurement for the skirt lining, hence why I had to put velcro all down the back, because it was too tight around her bottom (the pictures will explain more).
2. The gathers were really annoying! I hate gathering, especially when I have to make it really poofy so the threads are really tight, and then all they break when you try to pull them out, and you have to pick at them for ages to make it even before you sew, etc.

Now for the photos:

Birthday dress. Notice the similarities?

The sleeves were actually meant to be set straight in, but I think the gathers worked well, no?

The cutest, pouffiest skirt ever!

Dodgy back closure :(

The funny velcro arrangement I came up with to make it work.

And all the time I was taking photos, the cat was looking at me like this.
Aka: What are you doing near my playground???
Me: Well, it is my house, in case you hadn't noticed.

I thought the lining would make the dress to tight for her to sit comfortably in, but I was wrong! She can actually sit quite nicely, provided that I remember to put undies on her next time (I was in such a rush to get the photos done that they aren't very good quality, and I had to get a funny angle for this one so that you couldn't tell that she'd forgotten her underwear!)

Overall, the dress turned out super cute, and I would definitely recommend you try out the tutorial yourself. Only, please don't make the same mistake on the skirt lining that I did! It was so annoying, and I wouldn't want it to happen to anyone else!