Hello dear Hivers,

I hope we all had a productive week. As we look forward to a refreshing and fun weekend.

As for me, this weekend holds a special place in my heart as I get to celebrate someone special, my grandma, no I didn't have the opportunity of growing up to know my biological grandma as she went to heaven when I was still quite young, a toddler, so I was told, after a brief illness, but that doesn't mean I grew up not knowing what having a grandma feels like, as my grandma made sure to have someone fill her gap as she journeyed to the afterlife, her younger sister. Without being told, you can hardly tell because she and my mum share some resemblance, also growing up, grandma has shown us nothing but lots of love and care.

She's older now and will be clocking 70 years on Sunday, So I thought to organize a surprise birthday party for her to show how much we love and appreciate her, it is better to show our loved ones we care when they are still alive instead of only organizing huge party at their funeral but neglecting them when they were alive- this is one African trait, Nigeria especially I'm not happy with.

It is better to show you care now, and not wait to send tributes. I know my grandma would live long for us, and thankfully every member of the family I've reached out to supported my plan which made me very happy, and I want Grandma to feel much more happier.

My grandma can't have her birthday without me making a dress for her, like I always say, handmade gifts are the best gifts, so during the week, I went to the market to buy this beautiful traditional-looking ankara print, knowing my grandma's taste, I know she would love it, already having in mind what style to make for her, an A-line dress which must be loose fitting yet glamourous as grandma would be uncomfortable in a tight-fitting dress.

Cutting And Sewing Process

So I started by drafting on the fabric, the front pattern first with a rounded neckline,

While the back pattern has two piece, because I would be adding a zipper for easy wearing,

To design the front pattern, I used a leftover sequin fabric I had from a previous dress I made, I cut it out as a facing and sewed it to turn the front neckline before stitching it in place.

I also turned the back neckline inwards, using the ankara fabric as the facing.

Then I joined the front and back patterns by the shoulders.

Moving on to draft the sleeves, using a funnel sleeve pattern,

Using the sequin fabric again, I hemmed the sleeves, before joining them to both armholes of the dress.

One thing you can't exclude from an African mum's dress is pockets, so I sewed in pockets on both sides, so she can easily slot in her money gifts in them on her day.

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• Finally, I joined the sides of the dress with the seam allowance given and also hemmed the dress.

And here is the final beautiful look of my grandma's dress. It was made with so much love and I can't wait to fit it on her, her birthday should come already.

*All images used in this post are mine

Thank you for reading.❤❤