Almost two years ago, we headed to Orlando to take some classes from Liesl Gibson {of Oliver and S} at the annual SAGA conference. The premise of her classes??

“How to make alterations to a basic dress by using simple alteration techniques”

Ohhh, we were pumped after going through the class . . . we decided that we COULD actually do this! And, we were going to do it . . .

Ummmm, TWO YEARS later we finally got around to it!

Now, that isn’t to say we haven’t incorporated some of the techniques in other projects.

Yet, this dress is the first dress we’ve taken from beginning to end of the process – using Liesl’s pattern pieces as our guide.

We sewed CL a sz 3T of the Oliver + S, Building Block Dress {the latest BOOK release from Oliver + S}.

Of course, the possibilities are endless with the dress – but, we started SLOW . . . and SIMPLE by sewing a collarless, sleeveless version {taking 1/2″ off the outer shoulder seam and tapered under the arm in order to not eliminate any length from the side seam}.

We used the circle skirt pattern piece, but added 6″ on fold {12″ total added to the front and 12″ total added to the back}. This was done in order to add 2 inverted pleats on both the front and back of the dress {creating four total pleats}.

Since CL was ALMOST a 4th of July baby, we seem to have a knack at sewing her {or her sisters} something “festive” – almost every year.

Personally, we think that this style of dress might have looked better on a slightly older child.

But, CL managed to look pretty cute nonetheless! And, was pretty excited to wear it as her “1st day of school” dress. . .

Man, does this dress twirl!!  That, in and of itself, made CL an “instant fan” while it continued to make us ever grateful for hideez {affiliate link}!!

We used upholstery fabric to create the dress. So, the thickness of the fabric created some “poof” as well! Some people may see this dress as curtains, but we like to think we pulled off the look we were going for . . .

Now, off to sew some more “Building Block Dresses“!!

And, stay tuned . . . because on Friday, we will be talking about the book, Oliver + S Building Block Dress, as well as sharing another creation sewn from the techniques. It may, or may not, have 3 – 4 times the number of pattern pieces as this creation did, and when finished – might have made us jump for joy!!

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