The Anywhere Dress

The Bug looked through my PDF patterns last week and settled on The Anywhere Dress to be made for her school photo dress. Then we flipped through the knit at Girl Charlee and she picked a couple that she liked. 

I'd be lying if I told you I agreed with her pattern and fabric choices. Go ahead and say it, I am a fool. I know it. I am hanging my head in shame.

The girl has a good eye for design and she knows what she likes. Whether I initially agree or not, I am learning that if i want her to wear the things that I make for her, I need to listen to her input. This dress is a case in point.

It's not that I didn't like the pattern or fabric (I wouldn't have purchased them it if that were the case) it's just that I thought a dress for school photos should have a little more pizazz. I know, I know . . . I'm a fool. . . this dress is not lacking in pizazz just because it's a simple style.

The dress went together well and was a really fast sew. I cut and sewed it all in a couple of hours over Labor Day weekend (amid constant interruption and distraction).  The fabric is a very light weight knit which made things a little harder, but not too bad. Ideally I'd have used a knit with a bit more substance. 

I really like the way the neckline on this dress is finished with a facing and not a binding. It was a really simple way to finish it and I think it looks quite professional.  The pattern warns that top stitching might cause the neckline to stretch but thankfully, mine didn't.

The three quarter length sleeves are finished with a simple cuff.  With as lightweight as this knit is, I probably should have just hemmed the sleeve but I really like the finished look of the cuff and I'm probably the only one who sees the stripe from the underside of the cuff showing through.

In the end, I really like this dress.  I don't know if that will translate to being more willing to follow the Bug's direction in the future or not.  It's such a difficult balance since sometimes I feel like too much outside input takes the fun and creativity out of a project for me.  But in the end, it's more fun to see the things I've sewn be worn and loved really.  And if I'm itching to do it my way, I have a brand new niece who has a few years before she develops her own fashion sense! Hooray for babies!

~Lindsay

Happy Birthday Sunshine!

A very special someone is turning five this weekend.

Five.

She requested a party at "the bouncy place" and after all the work of last year's mermaid party, I was happy to oblige.  A party that requires little to no prep from me? Yes please.

I have a sickness though. It causes me to have too many ideas and not enough will power to pull back.

So I set a theme.

Because even a bounce house party needs a theme, right?

I figured rainbows made sense since those enormous bounce houses are always very colorful.  And what five year old girl doesn't love rainbows??

So I created my Pinterest board and went to work collecting inspiration.

I'll share the favors and some other things later but first. . . the dress.

 Inspired by this one on Burda Style.

I wanted it to be a tunic. The Bug wanted a dress.

You see who won.

I'm not sure how practical a dress will be for jumping. . . but it's her birthday after all. And I've learned to listen to her opinions and ideas if I want her to actually wear what I make.

I chose a simple shape so that the rainbow would really stand out. This sheath dress is a tad bit roomy but I think that will help it be comfortable for running, jumping and playing.  Not to mention it will fit for a while. Always a plus when you are spending this kind of time on a project.

The rainbow part on front is pieced from seven different solid colors.  It wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be.  After I drafted my pattern I just drew the rainbow curves on and then cut the pattern up (if you try this, remember to mark which curve is which color and don't forget to add your seam allowances when you cut your fabric).  Once it's all cut out, it's just like a puzzle, piecing it all back together to resemble a dress front.

 I went back and forth on how to treat the back of the dress. I bought an invisible zipper especially for this. But then I got this idea in my head for a line of rainbow colored buttons. . .

I searched through Grandma's button jar and came up with some fun vintage beauties but in the end, I thought the dress had a more modern look and shape so I went with these big colored buttons.

I think they may be my favorite part.

The button loops are rainbow colored hair elastics, one of my favorite quick and easy tricks.

The Bug noticed right away that the button loops were a "backwards rainbow".

I'm pleased over all.

It's hard not to look at it an see things I would have done differently but I guess that's all part of the process, right?

I definitely have ideas for using this piecing technique in the future.

And the Bug loves it.

You can tell because she actually agreed to model it.

And she smiled.

Can't wait to test it out at the bounce house!

~Lindsay