A New Summer Picnic Dress

Last weekend I created a New Summer Picnic Dress which is another version of my Free Summer Picnic Dress Pattern. I haven’t made this dress in a long time, so it was really fun to sew one of these again. I originally created this dress for my Matilda (who is now 6 years old), but the one that I sewed here is for our little Josephine (16 months old).

A New Summer Picnic Dress

I used this really pretty fabric from Dear Stella called ‘Junebug‘. I like the gray with the different florals. It’s still feminine, but a little more graphic. I also have a really soft spot for pears. My husband and I had a jeweled pear at each place setting as a favor and decoration for our wedding. Also, I have a pear oil painting that my late Grandmother painted that is displayed prominently in our home. Anyway, I was really happy to see the pears as part of this fabric line.

In the original Summer Picnic Dress I used rick-rack trim as the accent, but for this version I used piping. I think the piping is a more subtle use of trim. I still love rick-rack but the piping seemed more appropriate for this fabric. I actually had this teal green piping in my stash, so I didn’t even have to make my own piping this time!

I always like to add my Cottage Mama labels to the things that I make for the kids. It’s really fun to have your own labels. If you don’t have some, you might consider getting some printed…….they really aren’t that expensive. You can read more about my garment labels HERE.

The Summer Picnic Dress is a great beginner sewing pattern. It doesn’t have any zippers or buttons, but allows you to practice your gathering techniques. You could also eliminate the trim at the top of the dress if that makes you too nervous. It’s not necessary, but is a nice touch. I’ve also made a version of this dress with buttonholes and longer straps and you can check out that dress HERE.

If you haven’t given the Summer Picnic Dress a try, check it out……..it’s totally free and you can find it HERE.