So, in the town of Camden we have The Carolina Cup every year. (So many people at college call it Cup. But it’s not Cup it’s T-H-E Cup.) If you don’t know what it is then here’s a quick recap. Basically, The Cup is a day of horse races where the girls dress up in their cutest sundress and hat, while the boys where their brightest, funkiest bow ties, ties, and shorts. Everyone tailgates, socializes, and people watch. Anyway, this year instead of going out and buying a dress I decided to make my own. Being this was my very first garment to wear out I’ve made, it was a big step in my sewing adventures. (I’ve made PJ bottoms and a hoodie to wear around the house but definitely not a dress.) Whenever I decided to make my own dress, my sister decided she wanted me to make hers as well. I was really excited and totally up to the challenge!

I bought a sewing pattern last year with the intentions of making my own dress for the Cup. Well I was in the middle of student teaching and that just didn’t happen. I pulled that pattern out and admired it so many times… Now it was the time to use it! It was an awesome pattern. With this pattern, you can piece together your dress. (It is the NewLook #6774 pattern.) It had like five different tops to choose from and three or four different skirts to choose from.

So, I set out to the fabric store on a South Carolina SUNNY “Snow Day” with my mom and aunt. (If you’re from SC you know what day I’m talking about. lol) I found some drapery fabric I loved and decided what the heck… why not use it? My sister had given us an idea of what she wanted and we bought her some cute navy seersucker with anchors. (Anchors are SO in this year! I see them everywhere I look.) I got my needed fabric, some more fabric for other projects I wanted to do, and some patterns. (I got an awesome pants pattern that I can’t wait to do!)

I headed home and couple of weeks later on my LAST spring break started on the dresses. I went to my aunt’s house and she went over the dress patterns with me. The first dress took us a while to figure out, but we got it! The second one we decided to change the top up half way through, so we made that dress like 2 or 3 times. lol But we had a TON of fun! It’s always fun to sew with other people and it’s especially special to sew with a family member. As I sew with my aunt (Which is really my great aunt, but I refer to her as my aunt or Trish.) she tells me stories from when she and my grandfather were younger. (There are 10 of them! God Bless Mama Callie!) I also love hearing about how she would sit at the kitchen table with my great-grandmother and sew. She talks about how she used to use the peddle sewing machine and Mama Callie would sit there with her and watch her sew all day on Saturdays just to make herself a new dress for church the next day. My other great aunt always walks over and sits with us. She has a lot of great stories too. lol She always says “They sure didn’t make fabric this pretty back in my day.” And tells me I should be a home economics teacher… We have to remind her that we don’t have those classes anymore.

Once we worked for many hours and figured out the pattern we ended up with some great dresses. My sister wanted a big sash on hers and it really made her dress. I made one for mine but decided not to wear it. My boyfriend and sister’s boyfriend decided they wanted a tie and bow tie made to match, which turned out really cute! I had a tie pattern to follow and just made up the bow tie. Here are a few pictures below before the rainy cup day!