Sarah and Caroline’s pre-Quilt Market Swap

A couple weeks ago I made a quick excited post to facebook about the dress/bag swap Sarah and I arranged, and there were so many positive comments and ‘likes’, that we thought everybody would like to see the end result.

It all came about when I offered to make Sarah a cute dress to wear at quilt market {this week!!!} if she made me one of her coveted bags. I’m sure I could make my own bag just as easily as Sarah could make her own dress, but since I love to sew clothes, and Sarah makes the most darling bags around, I thought it would be a good trade. Sarah was pretty excited too. In fact, when you’re done reading my blog post, you can read her side of the story over at the ‘BlueSusan Makes’ blog.

So… this is the dress that she picked out. It’s from the Ottobre Design Women’s issue that came out this spring (2/2012). 

The first thing I did was sew up a quick muslin (or test dress) using a vintage sheet I had picked up at a yard sale somewhere. I love using these for my test projects because they cost pennies and sometimes make really cute things. I made the muslin in my size and wore it the next time I saw Sarah so she could give me input. She loved it (especially the sleeves) so we pushed ahead.

Next, I knew that Sarah’s favorite fabric comes from Anna Maria Horner, so I found a cute AMH voile at Fabricworm and ordered a bunch. When it came, it was so silky and beautiful we nearly died!

And here it is! We put fewer gathers in the front and added clear elastic to the back horizontal seam allowance to cinch the waist in a bit, and I’d say it’s perfect (not to brag or anything).

And what about my bag??? Well to tell the truth, I haven’t actually held it but Sarah keeps sending me pictures to drive me bonkers! Just kidding, I know she’s had a terribly busy day and we’re getting together tomorrow and I can’t wait. So here’s the pictures:

Swoon… It’s a whole new design she made just for me! We talked over a few details like the size, and the cinched paper-bag type top, but it’s so much cuter than I ever imagined. Isn’t Sarah the most talented bag maker you ever saw? I think so. If you’re wondering, she might have a few pieces left in her etsy shop, but this whole quilt market thing has kept her too busy to replace all the sold orders (sorry, babe).

Okay, that’s all I’m gonna say about our swap. If you want to read more, head on over to the BlueSusan Makes blog. And watch for our Quilt Market pictures coming soon!