Lotus Pond Meets Oliver + S

When the fabric line Lotus Pond came out from Rae Hoekstra (shop link), I was immediately struck by the color palette.  I knew I had to test it out, you know, so I can vouch for it if someone asks....

I started with one of the more subdued prints, called Fluttering Fields.  It's a really sweet peachy pink, with teeny butterflies and flowers.  I knew the look I was going for; I wanted to make a 2+2 Skirt from Oliver + S.  I thought and I thought about what type of top - in the end, I decided with a modified Oliver + S Class Picnic top.  The top fabric is a really nice white cotton from Robert Kaufman - really, really nice quality.

You can clearly see my crappy ironing job at the bottom; I swear, it looks better in real life!  I used a blind hem stitch, and I really need to do some better steaming along the hemline.

Julia actually chose the really short sleeve length on the top, and I agree with her.  I'd wear it.  I added some decorative stitching around the bottom, because, really, I just can't leave well enough alone.  I was going to add butterfly embroidery (in lieu of the decorative stitching) but in the end, I like the way it looks.  In fact, I'm going to make a pair of leggings to go with the top to get some extra wear.

The 2+2 skirt is a size 3 with about 5" added to the length.  She's still wearing a couple of old size 3's and it fits her fine, but the length is super short.  I like the 2+2 skirt with the pleats stitched down, and not ironed like crazy.  Kind of more of a dropped waist effect.

As always, here's the overload of modeled shots....

We're getting near the super-crazy end of school here - school play, dance recital, and the start of summer activities - beach, concerts in the park, all the good stuff!