Instant Gratification...

...is what you get when you decide you want to make something, choose a piece of fabric from your stash, start and finish it in an evening, and wear it (or dress your child in it) the next day. This charming piece of paisley came to me from Belinda in a scrap swap early this year.

I didn't use a pattern - just seamed the whole piece of fabric into a tube, shirred the top section (with the elastic very tightly wound,by hand, onto the bobbin), then got Glamourpuss to try it on and marked where the straps and armholes needed to go. I checked with a ruler to make sure both sides were even, then sticky-taped a semicircle of paper to the fabric to mark the armhole space and zig-zagged around the edge of the paper, then I cut out the armholes. I tried it on Glamourpuss again and measured exactly how long the armhole binding needed to be to fit nicely, then I ran a gathering thread along the armhole to hold it to the right length while I bound it. I used ready made bias binding (I actually had the right colour in my drawer!) and continued it on past the neckline as the straps. I added some tiny lace, also from my drawer, onto the straps, neckline, and hem, and voila!