Today we’re featuring a delightful contribution from our Advisors Circle. This is yet another installment in our Sew + Tell series, where our fans get to showcase something they’ve crafted and share its story with us. After all, every sewn item carries its own unique tale.
**Name:** Emily Stone
**Where can we find you on the internet?** Instagram, Blog
**Project Details**
**Pattern Used:** Oliver + S Carousel Dress
**Fabric Used:** Quilting Cotton
The fabric worked beautifully for this project. My daughter spotted this particular print while we were shopping for something else entirely. Around the same time, I’d purchased the Carousel Dress pattern, and this medium-weight quilting cotton seemed like the perfect match—it’s one of the recommended fabrics. Although I typically lean toward apparel fabrics, there’s something undeniably charming about quilting cottons. The fabric really enhances the A-line silhouette, and working with such sturdy material is always satisfying.
During the sewing process, everything went smoothly. Unfortunately, my serger is currently out of commission, so I opted for French seams on each seam to ensure a clean finish. I was thrilled to discover that this was actually suggested in the pattern instructions! I almost overlooked French-seaming the shoulder darts, but once I realized my mistake, I quickly unpicked and redid them—it was absolutely worth the extra effort. For the hem, I decided to use single-fold bias tape as a sort of tiny hem facing, since all the other seams were already finished so neatly.
One adjustment we made was omitting the button-and-loop closure. When we tried the dress on—a size 12 that fit slightly larger than her usual size 12—her shoulder darts looked great without the closure. She felt comfortable enough without it, but later we added a ribbon in a matching color from my stash. If I’d planned ahead, I would’ve tucked the ribbon under the bias binding at the neckline. Instead, I applied fray check to both ends and stitched it directly onto the binding.
Another small modification involved the keyhole facing. It kept flipping up despite pressing, so I ended up stitching along the outer edge of the facing instead of topstitching the keyhole opening itself. She absolutely loves how comfortable it feels now.
The best part? Watching her excitement when the dress was completed! She’s worn it to church nearly every Sunday since I finished it and even chose it for the first day of school. Both of us adore the generous pockets, and I’m thrilled with the overall clean finishes. Taking the time to double-sew every seam was definitely worth it.
If you're interested in similar projects or want to learn more about sewing with quilting cotton, be sure to check out some of the other contributions in our Sew + Tell series. There's always something inspiring waiting to be discovered!
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