Thursday, November 22, 2012

Pretty in Plaid

I've had a sewing block for a long time because Gracie has So. Many. Clothes. We've been blessed with multiple trash bags of hand-me-downs in good condition, and one of her grandmother's love languages is so clearly gifts - most frequently shown with cute outfits for Miss to wear. I'm ashamed to count the number of garments I've washed, folded, and then had sit there never worn until she outgrew them. But! We're finally towards the end of the bags, and she is in need of winter clothing. Also, now that her growth is slowing down, it's worth putting the energy into sewing darling little garments for her.

If you haven't found Pinterest... don't. It's a problem. I found it. I've been collecting girl's sewing tutorials for months now... and it's time to break them out! Inspiration is easy to find:

Oliver + S Jump rope dress

Libby Top tutorial, Craftiness is Not Optional
I've combined the two ideas above, plus a handful of other ideas I've seen in person and online, to create this cutie:
I followed the Libby Top tutorial almost exactly, incorporating my own styling while following the directions. I'm not a huge fan of white bibs, which is why I used the same fabric as the body of the dress except set on bias. The pockets are on bias, too, just for fun :) They're gathered like on the Oliver + S dress. And since I thought buttons would detract from the lines to compete with the pink bias trim, I opted for three little snaps hand sewn into the overlap on the bodice center front.


And a ruffle to make it dress length :) And pink bias trim from a scrap in my stash. It makes me so happy.

What? You don't wear butterfly wings when you play?
This is the first time I've drafted a sleeve from scratch. It frightened me to no end, but I think they turned out ok. And Gracie smiled, right before flinging herself down the slide. Little Miss was NOT interested in being photographed today so I'm afraid the pictures don't do it justice. It's *really* cute and I'm *really* going to the Joann's doorbuster sale Black Friday morning to buy more fabric to whip up a couple more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Oh my GOODNESS! What a darling, darling little dress! (and a darling little model, as well - she is seriously SO CUTE!) I love what you came up with by combining your inspiration images. The finished result is great and Grace looks adorable in it. This is how I hope to dress Anne when she gets bigger. Thanks for the warning about pinterest. I keep thinking I need to join but I haven't yet. I'm afraid I'd like it TOO much!

Jenny P. said...

Thank you! I'm sure you'll come up with 100x better :) Although my challenge to myself is to just *sew* and set aside perfection. I think I'll get more done this way.

Gillian said...

So adorable! The dress is lovely, too :) I love the combination of brown and pink! (And her butterfly wings match perfectly!)