Oliver + S Croquet Dress in Liberty (?)

Well, I'm back after a 3 month(!) absence, with no excuse other than the same old story: I'm a lousy blogger. I wish I didn't have to explain my extended absence every time I write a new post...maybe this is what will be expected :)

 This is the third time I've made the Croquet Dress from Oliver + S. It's a really fun summer dress. When the pattern first came out, I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I've grown to really love the silhouette. 

Now for the fabric and the (?) in the title. About 5 years ago, I was shopping at Joann Fabrics and I came across a bolt of this stuff in the red tag clearance aisle. I immediately recognized the print as a Liberty design, and I was super curious (and excited). I wound the fabric off the bolt and saw that the Liberty logo was indeed printed on the selvage. So I'm super confused...how in the world did it end up at Joann in the red tag clearance (it was like $3/yard and I bought all that was on the bolt), and is it actually Liberty? It's not Liberty Tana lawn; it feels much more silky than that. But as to what it is, and if it's legit, and most of all how it came to be at Joann, I can't figure it out! 

Anyway, legit or not, I thought it would pair really well with this pattern. I used a sagey green fabric for the tie, and I like how it turned out. I think it has a 20s vibe with the drop waist and the Liberty(ish?) fabric.

Unfortunately, the little one isn't as big a fan of the dress as I am, so I kind of have to bribe her to wear it. Silly kid!

An Easter dress and a thank you!

This year, we're killing two birds with one stone. My brother is getting married next weekend and Easter is this weekend, so I thought I'd make a dress that would work for both occasions. 

The wedding colors are aqua and....uh, aqua, and I've had this fabric in my stash for a couple years, originally purchased for me (oh, the sacrifices you make as a mom ;). I thought it would pair well with the Oliver + S Fairy Tale dress.

I've made this pattern a couple times before and I really love it. The construction is so clever and the style is just classic little girl. I actually made two of these, one for the bigger girl and one for the baby. By the time I got done with the baby's dress, I was getting pretty fast at it! The methods result in a dress that is fully lined with a tulle underskirt for extra poof :)

I've got a fairly uncooperative model again, complete with oatmeal around her mouth and a fake credit card from the day's junk mail for entertainment. Classy, huh?  :)

In spite of the expressions, she actually does love the dress and requests to wear it for part of most days. 

I'm a lousy blogger (if you read this, bless you!), but there are some really kind people out there in the blogging world. Shelley or Lightning McStitch (that is the greatest name!) from Bartacks and Singletrack gave me a Liebster award back in March, which was so kind of her. Shelley is an amazing and prolific sewist. I especially envy her Weekend Getaway dress. Thanks so much, Shelley!

Asmita from elephant in the study gave me the Liebster blog award as well. Check out her blog for her gorgeous creations. This little dress made from Heather Ross' strawberry print is wonderful! Thank you Asmita!

I know I'm breaking the rules by not passing it on, but I do want to thank both of these kind ladies for reading my poorly attended-to blog!

A Chambray Playdate Dress

I've had this dress rattling around in my head for a couple months now. I thought the paring of this pattern with chambray would be really fun.

I also had some mini pompom trim I'd purchased several months ago. This was my first time using a pompom trim, and it was really fun! I also decided to modify the yoke to include pintucks, rather than the ruffles specified on the pattern. I used a size 2 for the length and size 12-18 months for the width, because my girl is a little skinny one :)

I swapped out the Playdate dress sleeves for the 3/4 gathered sleeves from the Apple Picking dress. I've made the Playdate dress a couple times before, and while I like the sleeve design included in the pattern, I've found it doesn't fit my skinny mini little one very well. I think she's too narrow in the shoulder for the design, so I swapped them out and I like the change. It also gave me the opportunity to use the pompom trim in the sleeve binding...you can never have too much pompom trim!

I basted the pompom trim to the yoke before placing it on the bodice. Then I topstitched it down and pulled out the basting stitches. I found this worked pretty well.

I like how it turned out. It's kind of simple, a little old-fashioned, but still modern. I'm glad I got it out of my head and into a finished product!

The Annual Apple Picking (Dress)

I think I'm on repeat when it comes to some patterns. There are certain patterns that just work so well in a specific fabric for a specific season that I can't help myself and I repeat them every year. This is the third year in a row for the combination of the Oliver + S Apple Picking dress in plaid flannel.

Really though...I love it every year! It's kind of a perfect fall/winter dress. It's warm, soft, plaid and cute!

I used a brown, tan and pink plaid flannel from Fashion Fabrics Club. It feels like a really great quality flannel. It washed up really soft and fluffy.

Here's the visual history of this tradition...years 1, 2 and 3. :)

I've got to say, it's kind of hard to get a decent picture of clothing modeled by toddlers. They (or mine at least) tend to be rather uncooperative. Anyone have any tips?

Anyway, there's not too much to say that hasn't been said before about this dress, except that I still like it!

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If you're interested in following...

Guest Post at Oliver + S

I shared a tutorial for modifying the Sailboat Top to a dress over on the Oliver + S blog today. Click over if you're interested!

Oliver + S Wool Herringbone School Photo Dress

I've had the Oliver + S School Photo Dress pattern for a long time, and I've been meaning to make it for a long time.  I just really love the style; it's so classic.  Since I saw it, I've wanted to make it out of a tweedy wool fabric, but thought that would be totally impractical for a toddler. I saw this wool blend (65% wool/35% poly) online at Fashion Fabrics Club for about $5/yard, and thought I'd give it a try.  I washed and dried the fabric by machine and it didn't appear to change it at all, so I figure I should be able to just machine wash, then hang dry and it appears it will hold up fine.

I sort of mixed views, choosing the sleeves and collar that I liked.  I also omited the kangaroo pocket, just to get a cleaner look on the front.

I think it turned out pretty cute...I wouldn't mind having one myself (although on second thought, a shift style isn't really very flattering on my body type). It's pretty darn cute on a toddler.

I made the size 18-24 month width and 2T length for my skinny, little, almost-three-year-old.  She actually likes it too, which is nice, because she's got opinions about everything. I lined it with a lightweight batiste.

I'm happy I finally made this pattern.  It was a joy to sew, as are most Oliver + S patterns, and it should be a great little winter dress.