Swingset...Dress? Nightgown?

My daughter loves dresses. Bottom line. I tried putting her in a pair of jeans last weekend, and she actually cried. Scrutinizing her wardrobe, her favorite dresses (RTW hand-me-downs) are spaghetti strap, flowing, below the knee with a ruffle. Acquiescing to my child's wishes, I looked through my patterns to see if I could replicate the look. Of course, there was an Oliver and S pattern that would work. I took the Swingset Tunic pattern, lengthened and tapered the body, and added a ruffle.

 I thought it turned out a bit long, so it borders on the nightgown look.

I used a very light-weight denim for the bodice and ruffle, and Kokka print for the body.  The Kokka print was a joy to work with - lightweight, but not slippery.  I know my daughter loves the way it feels.

In an effort to continue to use some embroidery, I added a single flower at the bodice.

 The dress is from the size 3T from the Swingset Tunic pattern.  I would say that it should easily fit her through next summer.  Which, of course is a good thing.

And, she likes it, which is another good thing....

Two Swingsets

The Oliver + S Swingset Tunic pattern was one of the very first Oliver + S patterns I wanted.  It took me forever to find one in the larger size, but I finally did.

I actually had an extended long weekend from work this holiday weekend, so I found some time to sew, in between cooking, a two-year old's earache with a trip to the doctor, and some superficial house cleaning.

I chose two totally different fabrics - the first, a floral quilting cotton that I found in the remnant bin at my local quilting store for about $2.50.  The beauty of this pattern is that it takes a mere half yard of the main fabric.  I actually used an old white sheet for the lining fabric on this one.

I made this in a size 3 for my 2 1/2 year old.  I originally thought I should trace a two and add length, but this size worked out just fine.  It works well with the hot pink Sunday Brunch corduroy skirt I made previously.

My daughter was less than cooperative with the photos - refused to have her hair done....she's going through a phase where she wants her hair down, which leads to lots of tangles, which leads to lots of crying the next morning while I'm trying to do her hair for school....

The next fabric is an unknown fabric that I've had in my stash for years.  I used it for a shirt years ago for my now 22 year old daughter.  It worked really well in this pattern as well - I love these colors on my daughter - it screams summer to me....

These two tops made me happy because I was able to make both without a trip to the fabric store.  I had perfect buttons for both in my stash, and I didn't even need thread.  I'll be making a bunch more of these tops, especially since my daughter loved them.

Next, off to enjoy the last day of my long weekend!