Hope Valley Family Reunion Dress

Last year I made my youngest a denim family reunion dress for her fourth birthday.  Although it proved popular on pinterest, she wasn't keen on it.  "Too dark," she said, "Can you make me one in pink?"  So, only a year later, a pink version for my sweet almost five year old.

The fabric is Hope Valley Fiesta ordered from hawthornethreads.com.  I debated about added piping and contrast fabric but didn't have anything suitable in my stash.  (Since I've been keeping track of how much I spend, I'm really trying to use what I've got. It's like keeping a food diary when you're dieting!!).   I'm really happy with how it turned out -- I think the print is busy enough that any other fabrics would just be distracting.

I think she will love the ruffle and I know she will love the sleeves.  They are from the Fairy Tale Dress -- the size 4 fairy tale sleeves fit almost perfectly on this size 4 dress, just needed a little extra gathering.  Otherwise the only change I made was to add 4 inches of length to the bottom.

Now I have to decide if I'm going to give it to her as a birthday present (which I've done in the past but which hasn't always had the best results) or just hang it in her closet close to her birthday, lol!!

Fabric: 1 1/2 yards Hope Valley Fiesta from hawthornethreads.com approx. $15
Buttons: stash
Pattern: used before (cost per use $6.03)

Total Cost: approx. $15

Dotty Ombre Fairy Tale Dress

Just like the other fabric from this line begged to be made into a Seashore Dress, when I looked at the Dotty Ombre I couldn't visualize anything but a Fairy Tale Dress.

Even though I've made this before, I underestimated the amount of time it would take and was still handsewing the day we before we left for a vacation in Cuba.  I somehow managed to get it finished, though -- minus the bow (but don't tell my daughter, she hasn't notice it missing!).  Little did I know that I could have gotten away with packing the dress, her bathing suit and not much else -- she loved it!  It became her sit-down-for-dinner-dress (as opposed to the much more casual line-up-for-the-buffet outfits) and she wore it to every a la carte dinner we went to.  (And somehow managed to keep it clean, hehehe!)

The fabric is Dotty Ombre from the Simply Color line from Moda.  It's got a nice weight to it -- it's a little heavier and sturdier than some of quilting cottons but still soft.  I lined the dress (plus the sleeves and collar) with a lightweight white voile and this time around, added the tulle between the lining and the skirt.  It gives it some nice poof. 

I really wanted to do the piping and band in a bold colour like orange but was outvoted 2-1.  My girl is fairly conservative, as is my husband.  I am pleased with the yellow, though.  I think it adds just enough interest and sweetness.  And has the added bonus of not drawing your attention to the areas where the piping isn't quite as neat as it could be :P. 

(she lost a tooth while we were away so wanted to show off her new"grin)

This is a size 6 with a size 8 length in the bodice for my tall 7 year old.  The only change I made was to eliminate the side seams in the skirt.  The pattern on this fabric is railroaded so I cut a length equal to the size of the front and back pieces and only have one seam at the back. 

But then I did a bad thing -- I left the selvedge on when I folded it under to hem it, I'm suspecting that's why the hem is looking a little dodgy even though I handstitched it.  My girl likes the length (and is growing like a weed) so I'm just going to leave it.  But before it gets passed down, I may fix that and also cut off the two rows of white dots at the bottom.  I debated about leaving them and now have decided I really don't like how it looks.

Fabric:
Dotty Ombre (from fabric.com): $12.82
White voile lining (from dharma trading): $9.58
Tulle: $0.86
Yellow shirting: $1.95
Invisible zip: $3.55

Pattern: Used before $0
(cost per use $8.05)

Total Cost: $28.76

New Sewing Store!

There is a new sewing store in Ottawa called Fabrications.  Desperately needed in my opinion.  I was very excited to see from their website that they carry patterns from all sorts of independent companies -- Oliver and S, Sewaholic, Megan Nielsen, Colette.  No more shipping costs, yay!   And they have lots of classes, including some advanced ones.  The online sewing community is fabulous for so many things but sometimes it would be nice to actually talk to someone in person :). 

I haven't been yet but one of my girls is going to a birthday party in the area this weekend so it will be a perfect chance for me to check out their fabric selection.  And maybe pick up some "this took forever" labels for my next round of homemade gifts :).