Downloadable Mexican Sundress Pattern
Have you seen Miriam's Traditional Mexican Dress pattern? It's downloadable -- you pay $5 and can download the pattern almost immediately. (And isn't $5 a great price for a pattern? Not having to get it professionally printed saves money, which is passed on to the customers.) Miriam has created a pattern that I think would be really good for beginning sewing enthuiasts, with directions that are clearly stated and make sense. You create the pattern pieces yourself, for a custom fit, which is another good exercise for beginners ... and with a pattern as forgiving as this, it's okay if you aren't perfect. (That is a very good thing, trust me.)
Miriam thinks our Natural Hemp/Organic Cotton Muslin, Light Summercloth, and Mock Leno might be the best fabrics for a traditional version, though you may of course want to experiment with other options. I do have to take exception to her characterization of us as offering "one of the best retail selections of organic fabrics" though -- it's not ONE of the best retail selections, it's the absolute best. Or so we like to think.
I've been thinking about ways to embroider the dress sustainably, as I'd love to find a replacement for conventional embroidery thread; I'd be tempted to take some of our yarns and separate it into separate strands for embroidering. I'm not sure that it would work, but I'd love to try it someday. Let me know if you do. Similarly, I wonder if our hand-sewing thread would work, if you dyed it with natural dyes and used multiple strands at once. So again, let me know if you try it.