Fabric: Light Cotton/Linen Blend (Joann’s), Red Cotton Lace (Yellow Bird Fabric) worked over organza (Yellow Bird Fabric), Cotton print (Yellow Bird Fabric)
Pattern: Adapted from Simplicity 9968 which I used previously to make jammies for Bird when she was 2.
Size: Lu size 3
2013 shall hereby be known as the year of the scallop. Since dabbling in Madeira appliqué I’ve had a hard time stopping because why put a strait hem on a little girl’s dress when you could put an appliquéd scallop?! I’ve played with several applications of the appliqué. For their Easter dresses I pin stitched; Liza’s birthday dress (which hasn’t been featured yet) I used piping/stitched in the ditch. I have plans for a beaded appliqué and a standard hand appliqué stitch. For this little dress, I used a playful running stitch in red anchor pearl. It may be my favorite part of the dress in a fierce competition with the darling puffy pockets, the sheer lace back panel, and the lined flutter sleeves.
Size: roughly an 8 for Bird
Pattern: Ottobre 3/2012 #13 Hollywood Cerise
Bird has been bugging me to sew with her all summer, all year truthfully. I love the idea of her finding her own little creative outlet and sewing with me, but in reality it is hard to find a pattern that I’m interested in that is suitable to teach with and also muster the patience to allow Bird to sew seams twice—ever so carefully (and slowly), have somebody else in my sewing space, push aside other projects, and find something for my other kids to do. In an effort to make myself feel a little better I put her in sewing lessons. They don’t start until August.
In the meantime, with a resolved hopeful perspective I invited her to help me make something patriotic. She helped me plan, cut out, and sew. She sewed nearly every seam while I did quality control, zipper, hem, and embellishments. She really wanted a dress even though I originally thought I’d do fourth of July shirts/skirts and only had enough of the printed fabric for that plan. She even agonized over the color of the belt but I’m so glad I let her do what she wanted because she loves it and I love it and most importantly, we actually had a good time sewing together!
