KCW - Days 2 and 3 - Hello Petal Meets The Geranium

I got to sew all day today.  That is, the hours while the kid was in school.

I had already cut out a dress from the Geranium Dress pattern from Made By Rae.  I've made a bunch of these previously, and they're all in heavy rotation.  A simple sew, but a very effective pattern.

Julia's still wearing a couple of the size 3's that I made previously, and they still fit, but are getting too short.  So, I lengthened the bodice about 2 inches, and the skirt about 4 inches.  Perfect fit!

I've actually got a 3 inch hem on this, so she can have another growth spurt if she likes!

The fabric is from Moda - Aneela Hoey's Hello Petal line.  I love her florals - and I really love the colors.  This is a better view of the fabric - ignore the cheesy camera face....

I did an embroidered panel on the front and back.  I actually did the embroidery last week - it took me a whole morning. 

Sparkly buttons on the back for my sparkle loving kid....

This is a great pattern.....I highly recommend it!

Believe it or not, I have no clue what I'm going to be making for the rest of KCW - I have a bunch of ideas, though....stay tuned!

A Sunflower Geranium.....Or, Too Many Geraniums?

I just completed my third Geranium.  So, how many is too many?  The pattern has been out how long - a couple of months? 

I made my first one from Aneela Hoey's Posy line...

I made the second one from some black and white seersucker - and added an applique...

For my third, and maybe final, I used some red and white polka dot fabric from Robert Kaufman that has been in my stash for at least 10 years.  I made this in the tunic length, with the pleated front.  I added a sunflower embroidery on the front.  I don't know - are the pre-school fashion police going to notice that she has three dresses out of the same pattern???

For the seersucker one and the polka dot ones, I doubled up the sleeves rather than use a single layer of fabric and zigzagging the edges...I used a contrast fabric on the tunic, and I like the way it looks.

I really, really like the tunic length - my plan is to make some natural linen shorts for the summer to go with this....how cute will that be?

My child was not really in the mood to model, so I bribed her with some chocolate morsels - yes, I did! - and these are the photos I got....

I may have to give this pattern a rest for the remainder of the season, but I just realized that I hadn't made the cap sleeve version....or the notch version.....so, maybe just one more....

And, the reason that I've made all these is that the extraordinarily picky child actually wears them!

A Seersucker Geranium

I knew I'd make more dresses from the Made By Rae Geranium dress pattern after the first one I made got such good reviews from my kid.....meaning, she actually chooses to wear it voluntarily...

I bought some seersucker at Joann's - a store I typically stay away from for fabric, but it seems like every time I go there for notions, something jumps into my cart - especially with their 50% off coupons....which makes you think how much they really pay for their fabric if they can still sell it to you for 50% off and make a profit....


 I appliqued a heart in the center of the bodice, and also used red buttons on the back for some interest. 

 Shoes and jewelry chosen by Julia...obviously!

Pretty dress, and works for the playground too...

 

 I have another one - tunic length - cut out and sitting on my cutting table calling my name....

A Posy Geranium!

I've been seeing so many adorable Geranium Dresses in the Geranium dress Flickr pool.  So, in spite of the fact that I need another pattern like a hole in the head (as my father used to say!) I broke down and downloaded it.  What I loved is the fact that it is exactly the type of dress my dress-wearing child likes - a gathered skirt, no sleeves, and pockets.  How could I go wrong?

Well, really, I couldn't go wrong.....

I chose some adorable, soft, sweet fabric from Aneela Hoey's Posy line from Moda.  I love the teeny bunnies!

There are a few shades of pink on a very pale lavender - perfect for my girly girl....I did some embroidery around the neckline to add detail and emphasize the really sweet neckline....

So, here's where I went wrong - the front and back are cut from the same pattern piece - one on the fold for the front, and the back not on the fold.  When cutting the piece for back, I laid my front piece on the fabric and cut around it.  Well, I also sliced a hair's worth of fabric off the fold, resulting in a gaping hole down the front of the dress.....I kind of figured I could hide the mistake in the pleats and just sewed a very narrow seam down the front.  Kind of ugly really....and, next mistake, I sewed the pockets too close together and am way too lazy to pick them out and re-do them.

Other than my mistakes, the pattern is wonderful!  Great options for flutter sleeve, sleeveless, and a faux cap sleeve - all great options for my sleeve-hating child!

The fabric is wonderful - very, very soft base cloth, which would be great for girls clothing or an amazingly soft quilt.  This dress is a size 3T with 4T length.  Fits exactly like my kid likes it.

She loves the dress and won't take it off....success!!