Russian Doll Dress with Corduroy

I have a gorgeous wee pattern called the to tie for dress by Olive-Ann Designs that my clever mum found in the States on a quilting visit several years ago. The great thing about these patterns is that it comes in loads of sizes (1-6 years) and sometimes with a matching dolls dress too. I made the wee dress for Macie for a family wedding several summers ago - it is reversible and super easy to sew. 

 I found this babuska doll corduroy at Spotlight last year and have been waiting for a project to grab me. I also had a piece of lightweight denim so decided to marry the two to make this dress for Macie. I have altered the pattern slightly so that we are not tie-ing up the straps as this was too bulky with corduroy. I have shortened the front straps and kept the back straps the same length as pattern and have popped on a strip of velcro to secure the straps.

 The dress is a size 4 - made to the size 5 length. A girlfriend of mine had recently used the pattern to make a dress for her daughter and found the pattern very roomy. This way, the girls have plenty of width to grow into plus a little hem to let down next winter.

 The denim I had was a little short for the length I needed so I have joined it with an unfinished seam on the back - I quite like the wee effect it gives to the dress. I also carefully cut out one of the babuska dolls to sneak onto the back of the dress. This particular dress is not reversible. I have added a facing front and back instead.

Macie ordered herself one of the crochet beanies too this week - colour choice now my personal fav!!! A gorgeous soft green with a light grey flower. Looking forward to making another this week for a friend too.

Have a super crafty week everyone! Am taking the above little princess of to the local library - hoping for a chance to sneak to the crafting section for a little old school inspiration - in a book! Have been enjoying a great look on pinterest this week too ;) oh to have the time to just create full time ;) A xx

Designed by me

Its quite satisfying to put together all your knowledge of sewing and come up with your very own creation.

A couple of weekends ago it was raining - not a bad thing for us crafters... kids were busy with Daddy in the garage, my room was transformed into a temporary sewing room/inspiration hot spot.

On a shopping visit to Greytown I had come across some off cut material that would make the perfect tunic dress for Macie. Several of last year's winter tops have been a wee bit paint splattered so a wee tunic or two would prolong their kindy life a wee bit.

I have a really cool singlet top that Grant had bought for Macie that is currently a bit too big to wear as a singlet but works well as a tunic. I used this as the start point for shape and sizing. By folding it half length wise I was able to trace a pattern piece for the bodice part of the tunic.I traced a pattern for the skirt part and added the length that I required. I was keen to have only side seams and no other finishing seams/edges/hem. I also wanted to have the bodice attached to the skirt part with a rough seam, that would later curl a bit after washing to add a feature. The material I cut off to create the neck became the pockets so there was not a lot of wastage from the material.

After making the pattern and cutting it all out, the whole dress took about ten minutes to sew. I made the whole front first and attached the pockets. Then I made the back and attached it to the front. Last of all Macie and I hand-sewed the buttons on.. this took a lot longer :)

I have plenty of the fabric left over to make new ones as she grows - super easy, loads of fun and the best thing was that it was quick. Oh and she has worn it every week since we made it and she loves it too. I have started to put the little orange tag on things that I make - in lieu of a wee label and I reckon it looks great on this top.

I was lucky enough to make another dress for Macie on the following rainy weekend - pictures to come! Happy sewing everyone. A x