One of my greatest pleasures in life is teaching others a skill that I possess and knowing that I may have inspired them to try something new.

You’ve met Kellie before. This pint-sized, precious girlie is one of my dearest friends.

We’ve certainly rubbed off on each other over the years, although I would credit Kellie with being the better influence. She’s taught me how to always find the positives in any given situation. I’ve taught her the importance of drinking coffee… and of not talking before 10 a.m.

Kellie gave me the most amazing blanket for Christmas that she spent SIX MONTHS crocheting. Six months! Can you believe her heart?!

It was the very least I could do when she asked me to help her learn to sew. I was so honored! We started a few months ago with a basic valance for her bedroom. She moved on to making window panels for the rest of her house and finally gathered her confidence to tackle her first garment.

So, we’ve spent the last week, side-by-side during our free time, constructing the most precious little dress ever for her to wear to her sister’s graduation!

She selected Simplicity 1803 and an adorable anchor print fabric for the job.

You take a lot of things for granted when you have sewing experience – like the basics of laying out pattern pieces, understanding technique terminology, even buying the right materials. It was such a wonderful experience to walk her through all of the steps and to teach her my limited knowledge of such things.

Let me begin by saying that I would NEVER recommend this pattern for a beginner seamstress. The instructions were hard for even me to understand at times!

For the most part we stayed true to form. We selected Bodice B and added a green trim to the sleeves. I also had to take in the top a great deal because Kellie is so stinkin’ tiny. We also shortened it by about four inches.

Can you believe how great she looks? And she is so proud and ready to go for #2!